How to Deal With Recurring Night Spasms and Maintenance Between Massages

A common complaint I hear from my clients is that they can't get through a night of sleep without a tight muscle waking them up.

 

Often it is a foot, calf, shoulder or neck muscle that is the culprit. 

After waking up and moving around throughout the day, the pain goes away only to return during the night just like it did the night before.

This can have a dramatic impact on the health of the individual for obvious reasons. 

Lack of healing and recuperative sleep can have many side effects: 

Diminished cognitive function, lowered immunity to illness, susceptibility to injury and ultimately depression, just to name a few.

Here is a list of tools for combating night spasms but useful as well for general maintenance. 

Click on any of the links to order these products online and have them shipped straight to your doorstep. Click on the tutorials to grasp a better understanding of how these products work.

 Then make sure you schedule a massage!

1. Heating Pad: The heating pad is wonderful for the back and legs but can be a bit awkward for the neck or feet.

 

The goal is to increase blood flow because the affected area has tightened up and restricted this.

 

My recommendation is to heat your trouble spot for at least 20 minutes before falling asleep.

 

Another useful option is if you are to wake up at night with your issue agitated, try using the heating pad to calm the area, allowing you to return to sleep.

 

2. FROZEN/ROUND 16 oz. water bottles: This is an amazing tool for calming an overused or slightly injured muscle. 

The key is to not overly agitate the affected area. 

If the spot is in the hips or the IT Band the technique is to place the bottle on the floor and roll over it with your body weight. 

The cold allows inflammation to be reduced and numb the active nerves while simultaneously rolling out knots or trigger points (see previous blogs on these subjects). 

The bottles can also be rolled like a baker's rolling pin on the quadriceps. 

Ice packs or frozen bags of vegetables are better options on other areas. Stop when numbness is achieved or it becomes uncomfortable. 

An option as a final step is to immediately place the heating pad on the rolled out area. Special healing properties are achieved with this action.

 Rotating between hot and cold several times can be especially beneficial.

3. Hot Water Bottle: As with the heating pad but a better option for the neck or feet.

4. Yoga Foam Roller: Here's a great tutorial. Foam Roller tutorial

5. Trigger Point Balls: These work really well for specific issues. With a little practice you can really find and release problematic areas. TP Ball tutorial

 6. Thera Cane: An excellent tool for maintenance or when an area becomes achy. Here is a good tutorial on how to use one. How to use a Thera Cane

7. Tens Unit: Tens units are usually by prescription only. Prescriptions are very easy to obtain from your family doctor. Tens Unit training video

Optional is the microwaveable rice or corn filled neck pads that are commonly used but I don't recommend using microwaves for anything, especially heating food.

Access to a hot tub or a hot epsom salt and baking soda bath soak can be very beneficial periodically. Salt and Soda bath explained

Some of these items or gadgets can be found in your local drug store. Trigger Point Balls and foam rollers can often be found in a local jogging shoe store or any business that caters to athletes. You might want to check out the products yourself and talk to a sales representative. 

Check out Fleet Feet, Chico CA

Russell Hallock

http://russellhallock.massagetherapy.com

Massage For Athletes: Important for Health and Performance

I've massaged a lot of athletes; runners, swimmers, soccer players, bicyclists, dancers, body builders, and so on.

Most of them have been very dedicated to their workout routine: 5, 6 even 7 days a week. 5 miles of running a day for a moderately serious runner. 2 hours a day (or more) for the serious body builder in the gym. 5 days a week for a swimmer at 4 hours a pop.

When anybody works out that hard, their body gets TIGHT and sore. Muscles and their attachments get knotted up. Blood flow is restricted and muscles are no longer able to perform at their peak levels because oxygen and nutrients are inefficiently being supplied to the soft tissue.

Not to mention the metabolic waste that isn't properly flushed. Now the body becomes susceptible to pain and injury.

When we workout hard, we're breaking down the muscles so we can build them back up and make them stronger.

When a specific muscle or muscle group gets overly tightened or fatigued it can create 'hitches' in a runner's gait. Suddenly a bicyclist's back gets very sore because his hamstrings are too tight. Feet, calves, shoulders and necks can all fall prey to improper body mechanics.

Question: Why put all of these grueling hours into a workout routine and a strict diet plan only to have a set back because of pain or injury? 

Chronic soreness is a serious issue. Not much fun as I'm sure most athletes can attest to. Tylenol is a quick fix. Yoga is great. Hot tubs are wonderful.

But massage can alleviate, even eliminate a lot of these issues.

Take note of a professional athlete's routine; all of these guys have a team of trainers and specialists making sure nothing gets too out-of-whack when it comes to their multi-million dollar investments. Olympic athletes, MMA, rockstars; most get massaged. I even know a few firefighters, teachers and office warriors that recognize how important massage is to maintain their health and livelihoods.

The rest of us should be no different. I recommend a minimum of one massage a month for even the most casual weekend warrior.

If your gearing up for a marathon or the big bike race, give back to the body that you demand so much of. In the long run (pun intended) it will always pay off.

Keep in mind that not just any old massage will do. Seek out a specialist that knows how to focus on the areas with issues by having the right techniques to address what virtually all athletes battle.

Russell Hallock

http://russellhallock.massagetherapy.com

What Is Neuromuscular Trigger Point Therapy?

Wikipedia defines this massage technique: Neuromuscular therapy (NMT) is an approach to soft tissue manual therapy in which a practitioner applies quasi-static pressure to soft tissue in order to stimulate skeletal striated muscle. Often these areas of muscle are myofascial trigger points. NMT practitioners claim to balance the central nervous system (brain, spinal column and nerves) with the structure and form of the musculoskeletal system.Through applied knowledge of trigger points, neuromuscular therapy addresses postural distortion (poor posture), biomechanical dysfunction, nerve compression syndrome, and ischemia.


If that seems a little heady, let's see if we can break it down into layman's terms.

Simply stated, trigger points are hyper-sensitive ares of the body that respond with a burning or aching feeling when rubbed or pressed. Active trigger points flare up when a muscle is exhausted after a long run or a hard workout that one isn't conditioned to. Injuries from accidents or over use can especially be quite painful and require special attention.

What is referral pain?

When a trigger point is active it can send all manner of pain into other areas of the body. For example, active trigger points in the neck can send referral pain down the shoulders, into the arms and even reach the fingers. Simply releasing the muscles in the neck area with proper massage can provide dramatic relief.
Below is a map for common trigger point pain referral areas:

• 

Notice how active trigger points can refer from the gluteus muscles into the lower back as well as the back of the leg. Neck pain can originate from trigger points in the middle and upper back.

If any of these patterns seem to match conditions you are experiencing, please contact me for a massage. These conditions don't usually go away on their own and can even be exacerbated over time. I have the experience and techniques to help you find relief.


Russell Hallock

http://russellhallock.massagetherapy.com

The Fuzz

This video was made aware to me by a client. She thought I would find it interesting. Boy, did I ever! Dr. Hedley makes a wonderful case for proper hydration, stretching, doing yoga and of course getting massage. Stop 'The Fuzz' from taking over your body! Warning: this video is not for the squeamish. Check out Dr. Hedley's site: www.gilhedley.com

Postural Analysis

Remember your mom telling you to stand up straight and 
quit slouching? Mom was right. We now live in a society where a large portion of the population sits in front of a computer monitor, spends too much time behind the wheel of a car or carries around an old injury that was never correctly rehabbed, e.g. an old football injury or skiing accident. Bad posture can also be genetic.

Life long habits of improper posture create 'postural distortions' and in the long run can cause debilitating and agonizing pain. Eventually, over time, everyone develops an issue, no matter how major or minor. When this occurs, 
the body compensates by developing the muscles to counteract the distortion. This could happen to a woman just from carrying around a growing baby for years in the same arm. My advice: alternate arms whenever possible.

Look in the mirror. Does one shoulder sit higher than the other? Take note of your pelvis. Is it rotated to the right or left or tilted at an angle? An obvious effect of this can be one leg being longer than the other. When you observe your self from the side, are your shoulders rounded? Do your ears sit over your shoulders or are they forward of them?

Injured and overworked muscles in the legs can actually tighten and pull the pelvis out of alignment, wreaking all kinds of havoc on typical areas such as the back, knees and feet.

At the very least, massage can help most people find relief from the effects of theses conditions. But in conjunction with consistent work, proper adjustments by a professional chiropractor or physical therapist, exercise and stretching (like yoga) a lot of theses conditions can be reversed.

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Water, Important for Health

Image by Hypergurl via Flickr

H2O, Aqua, Wasser. Whatever term or language you use, water is one of the most important elements for life on our planet. Without it, it would look like Mars. Water is underestimated by the general population for it's importance in maintaining health. The average body is somewhere around 60-70% water. We need it for our blood, digestion and waste removal.

The general population is under hydrated. Most folks think that by consuming coffee or soda that they are doing their part in maintaining proper hydration. (buzzer sound) AAAIIINNT!!! These products actually rob the body of water. They are diuretics, which remove water from our system. Of course, alcohol falls under this category as well. Nothing can replace pure, clean, crisp, cool water for keeping our skin looking smooth and flush, our hair soft and shiny, our breath fresh, our eyes clear and our trips to the bathroom regular. So, you might be asking, what does this have to do with massage?

When a human being spends a lifetime of being dehydrated, the body starts to run ineffieciently. There could be a lot of common diseases that result from this but let us stick with an obvious one: PAIN. When muscles aren't properly hydrated, the tissue surrounded them can become sticky, like glue. Underneath, our skin can actually adhere to our muscles, reducing our flexability and ultimately causing severe discomfort. Muscles can also bond together! Our joints will no longer stay properly lubricated. The muscles and skin around them can 'tighten up', diminishing their mobility. Along with proper hydration, a good massage therapist can go in and help loosen these areas up, bringing fluid back to where it belongs. Massage can actually help reverse the process brought upon the body by years of improper hydration.

So even if you haven't booked an appointment with me yet, start drinking your water. A good recommendation is 1 ounce for every pound of body weight, divided by 2. So if you weigh 200 lbs, you need 100 ounces of water a day to stay properly hydrated. If you drink a lot of alcohol, coffee and soda, double it. I'm not kidding!

Massage: So Much More Than Just Relaxation!

Let us explore just a few of the many things proper massage techniques can offer:

1. Boosting the immune system by increasing the production of infection fighting white blood cells. With massage comes an increase in blood flow which accelerates the production of the all important white blood cells.

2. Massage accelerates healing up to 30% by increasing the activity of red blood cells. Again, with the increase in blood flow comes an increase in the productivity of red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body and likewise in return remove waste. Massage also promotes circulation throughout the lymphatic system, which also filters out waste.

3. Massage helps break down painful scar tissue. Scar tissue, being more dense than normal tissue can limit blood flow, mobility and aggravate nerve endings causing pain. Vitamin E and certain creams (on the skin) can help keep scar tissue stay more supple. But proper massage techniques can actually help breakdown scar tissue over time and help achieve a more manageable effect on the body.

4. Massage can increase your body's flexibility and mobility. That is, massage can stimulate an increase in the production of synovial fluid which lubricates the joints. For mobility, tight muscles can limit the range of motion in common areas such as the jaw, neck, shoulders, hips, back, arms, legs, hands and feet. These areas can all benefit with consistent work by a qualified therapist. By working deep into tight, overworked muscles, massage can loosen up a stiff neck or nagging back (and many other day to day 'pains'), affecting a change in the quality of life for the individual.

5. Massage creates endorphins. Endorphins can create an opiate type of effect on the mind which is typically produced during exercise and can be commonly known as a 'runners high'. Other occurrences can stimulate their production as well, such as pain and excitement. But massage can also do this for the body with a positive side effect of pain relief and overall sense of well being. In other words, massage can just make you 'feel good' while at the same time relieving your pain!