Low Back Pain

About a week ago I found an article on MSN about low back pain and the benefits of receiving a weekly massage.  Well I found another article about this subject in my September/October 2011 issue of Massage and Bodywork magazine.

To summarize:  a study was conducted by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, and found that massage was more effective at treating low-back pain than medication. 

When you break it down and think about why massage therapy had such a positive impact, it really comes down to this...muscles in the low back connect to the pelvic and so do muscles in the leg.  If you have tight or shorten hamstrings they will create an imbalance on the waist area or your pelvic.  Same holds true for back muscles.  Many of us have jobs where sit all day long, or maybe stand all day long, creating tight or shorten muscles pulling on the pelvic from another spot. 

Getting a regular massage will help lengthen and loosen these problematic muscles and offer some relief with long term benefits.  Combine this with a regular exercise routine to create a strong core, and you will have a pain-free, stress free, winning combo.

So wrapping it up, start working out, stretch, drink water, and get a regular massage!!!

Seasonal Allergies

Many of us battle seasonal allergies and many of us do not.  Well, I happen to be one of those that have to battle them.  And for those of you that battle them too, you know that they can turn into sinus infections and all sorts of other fun stuff. 

What helps me get thru them?  Yep, you guessed it, exercise, massage, and yes I take Allergra. 

Exercise for me, helps the circulation and opens up my sinuses.  It also helps me deal with my allergy medication, Allergra-D, which tends to make me feel a little "groggy." 

Massage Therapy helps me too because once again, it helps with circulation and if you can find a good LMT who knows how to incorporate some lymphatic drainage and open us your sinuses, then you've got a winning combo! 

So keep on working out and get a regular massage!

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with
Him forever in the next.
Amen.

My resources and sources

I recently completed a 551.5 hour Massage Therapy Program at KeKino Massage Academy in Plano, Texas.  From time to time, I will share and pass along useful and beneficial information that I learned, studied, and practiced.  Some of the information that I may share, may come from the following sources:

• Massage Therapy Principles and Practice...3rd Edition...Susan G. Salvo
• Trigger Point Therapy...Finando & Finando

I am also in the process of studying to become a Certified Personal Training.  I may site info from:

• NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training

I believe in sharing useful information that may benefit us all.  These resources that I have sited are well worth the money and I highly recommend them if you are looking for detailed information in regards to Massage Therapy or Personal Training.

And remember, stay active and get a regular massage!

Maintain and Sustain

Daily work-outs at LA Fitness and getting a weekly massage help me maintain and sustain my health and energy. 

Don't get me wrong, I still battle allergies and the occasional cold/flu, but I feel like I'm able to bounce back a little faster, and I'm not down for the count for very long.

I do my best to eat right and minimize the junk food.  My goal is to feel better and give my body what it needs to operate at its best. 

So start working out and get a weekly massage!  And serve up a few extra veggies while you're at it...:)

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is the external, therapeutic application of cold.  Cold application is the safest, simplest, and most effective method for reducing pain and swelling in injuries and has replaced the use of heat in many sports and rehabilitation clinics. 

During the cold treatment, a client most likely experiences the following sensations:

• Coldness or cooling
• Burning
• Stinging or aching
• Numbness or reduced sensation

Allow cold application to remain on the body until the fourth and final phase (this may take from 5 to 20 minutes), and then promptly remove it to prevent tissue damage from excessive cold exposure.

Remember, cryotherpay should be performed by a LMT.  If you have an injury, ask your LMT about using cryotherapy during your massage therapy session.  You may benefit from the application of cold.

More Swedish Massage Techniques

Swedish massage is the systematic and scientific manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for the purposes of establishing or maintaining good health.  Massage is used for a variety of reasons:  to bring a client to a deeper level of relaxtion, to rehabilitate, to prevent an injury, or to slow the progression of an illness.

Joint mobilizations involve moving a joint through its normal range of motion.

Stretching involves a single muscle (and its synergist) being drawn out to its fullest length. 

...Susan G. Salvo

Trigger Points

Normal healthy muscle tissue feels supple and elastic.  A healthy muscle will contract in response to a nervous impulse, returning to its normal shape after contraction. 
A dysfunctional muscle will contract, but it will not return to its normal shape following contraction.  It will instead remain fixed in a shortened position, one that often results in local reduction of blood flow, lymph drainage, and range of motion. 

A trigger point is painful upon compression.  A trigger point may begin with a muscular strain or overuse that becomes the site of sensitized nerves, increased cellular metabolism, and decreased circulation. 

So you have pain, possibly trigger points, what to do?  Find a qualified and skilled Licensed Massage Therapist who can address your trigger points and release them.  Also, repeated stretching throughout the day is unquestionably one of the most important aspects of treatment. 

Don't live in pain, find a LMT and get some help.

Stretch, stretch, and stretch

Stretch before, during, and after your work-outs.  Examples are:

• Static Stretching:  process of passively taking a muscle to the point of tension and holding the stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds.
• Active-Isolated Stretching:  processing of using opposing muscle groups (hamstrings & quads) to dynamically move the joint into a range of motion. 
• Dynamic Stretching:  the active extension of a muscle, using force production and momentum, to move the joint through the full available range of motion.  (walking lunges, prisoner squats)

Finally, drink water before, during, and after your work-out too.

Benefits of Cardiorespiratory activities or exercise...

Decreases:

• Daily fatigue
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Coronary artery disease (CAD)
• Hypertension
• Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
• Cancer
• Osteoporosis
• Obesity

Increases:

• Flexibility (potentially)
• Work, recreational, and sports performance
• Sense of well-being
• Blood lipid profile
• Insulin sensitivity
• Glucose tolerance
• Immunity

Find something you enjoy, and do it daily.  Yes daily.  Even if its only for about 10 to 20 minutes, daily exercise is very beneficial.  I work out daily because I personally enjoy it and it helps me feel better too.  Combine this with eating better, and you'll be on your way to hitting your health goals!!!

Flexibility Training

Flexibility training should be progressive, systematic, and based on an assessment.  There are 3 phases of flexibility training:  corrective, active, and functional.

Corrective:  improves muscle imbalances and altered joint motion by using self-myofascial release and static stretching.

Active:  improves the extensibility of soft tissue and increases neuromuscular efficiency by using self-myofascial release and active-isolated stretching.

Functional:  improves the extensibility of soft tissue and increases neuromuscular efficiency by using integrated, multiplanar techniques that move through the full range of motion....NASM.

On the run...

So today, had to work from 8 to 12.  No time to do my Saturday ARM Work-out.  I ate my usual breakfast...Flaxseed cereal with rice milk.  About 2.5 hours later, I managed to inhale an egg sandwich on a good grains bagel from Einstein Bros.  Then by 11:30 AM, I drink my Advocare protein shake, ate a banana, and nuts.  I headed to LA Fitness at 12:30 for an ARM work-out, then ate my Egg White Veggie Omelette from Cafe Brazil.  Off to a birthday party and household duties now!!!

What you should expect from a LMT...

What you can expect from Wally Sagui, Your Licensed Massage Therapist: 

• I will be professional.
• I will listen, observe, and be mindful to your needs.
• I will utilize all the techniques that I have learned and practiced to help you.

Many times people go to a massage therapist because they just want to relax.  But more often than not, people are now going because they have issues that need to be addressed.  Whether they sit in an office all day long, drive a service van all day, or just came back from being the “Weekend Warrior,” they now require some sort of “body-work” to address soreness, tightness, limited range of motion, or stress.

You will not just get a Swedish Massage from me.  You will receive a Therapeutic Massage that will address issues, and yes, it can and will also be relaxing.  Massage relaxes, soothes, calms, aids in moving waste out of congested areas, creates length in muscles, increases blood and lymph circulation, and many more benefits.

My beliefs and goals:  I believe that through Massage Therapy, many of these issues can be addressed and may offer some relief with long term benefits.  My intent, anytime I work on someone, is to help facilitate “healing.”  Based on our anatomy and physiology, I believe the human body possesses the ability to heal itself, if we just give it what it needs. 

Therefore, I am not just going to offer you 1 technique and charge you a different rate for using different techniques.  I believe in giving you a very thorough and complete massage and I will utilize everything that I have learned, studied, and practiced to help you.  This is my goal and intent.     

Sample Weekly Work-out Plan

Prior to starting any work-out, I warm up for about 5 mins, and stretch lightly.


Mondays:  Legs

Tuesdays:  Upper Body (focus on chest, back...low, mid, upper..., abs,)

Wednesdays:  Arms (focus on biceps, triceps, forearms, shoulders)

Thursdays:  Legs

Fridays:  Upper Body

Saturdays:  Arms (same as above, but no shoulders)

Sundays:  Shoulders

I do abs everyday, but vary the ab routine.

I do cardio everyday, but it consists of a very slow and intense cardio (stairmaster or treadmill at max incline..walking)

I stretch and cool down after each work-out.

My Meal Plan

The following is what has worked for me in regards to my eating habits and meals:

Breakfast (6:00 AM):  Bowl of Cereal, topped off with fresh blueberries and rice milk

After Morning Work-out Meal (8:45 AM):  Egg White Veggie Omelette & vitamins

Mid Morning Snack (11:15 AM):  Protein Shake & Nuts

Pre-Lunch work-out snack (1:00 PM):  Banana & Fiber One Bar

Lunch (1:45 PM):  Kobe Hamburger(Fuddruckers) or Chicken Burrito Bowl(Chipotle) & vitamins

Mid Afternoon Snack (4:30 PM):  Fruit & Almonds

Dinner:  (7:00 PM):  Lean meat or fish, black beans, brown rice

Throughout the day I am constantly drinking water and avoiding "junk" food.  If I go for an evening work-out, I will eat another meal in addition to having dinner.  That meal will be scrambled eggs.

These are just some ideas that I have picked up from books like:

• The Abs Diet
• The Belly Off Diet
• Your Best Body at 40+

The one thing they all had in common...eat every 2 to 3 hours, control your portions, and cut out the bad fats and junk food.  The books went into more detail and offered more ideas.  I modified for myself and kept it fun while doing it.  I enjoy the snacks and meals I eat and I believe that is what helps me stay on track too.

Pre-workout and Post-Workout

So this is what I do before my morning workouts:

1.  Upon waking up, I drink a full glass of water.
2.  Eat bowl of Nature's Path Organic Pumkin Flax Plus cereal, topped off with fresh blueberries and rice milk.
3.  Then I'm off to the gym.
4.  At the gym, I am drinking Nitric Oxide by APEX or SPARK by ADVOCARE.  (I alternate them).
5.  Immediately after my work-out, I am eating an Egg White Veggie omelette from Cafe Brazil, and then I take my vitamins.

Benefits of Regular Exercise...

Though it may seem counterintuitive, doing regular exercise such as walking can actually help soothe the pain because it strengthens muscles and tendons that support the joint and improves blood flow to the area for faster healing. "If you avoid walking because your knee hurts, then you'll lessen your range of motion so it'll hurt even more later on," says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of the new book Real Cause, Real Cure (Rodale, 2011). "Try using a heating pad on your knees for 10 minutes before walking to help muscles relax so you'll get a better range of motion as well as pain relief." If you find walking too uncomfortable, another good option is swimming because it doesn't put as much pressure on your knees. In fact, people with arthritis in their knees or hips who did water exercises for 6 weeks reported less joint pain and better overall quality of life, according to the journal Physical Therapy.

More benefits of Massage Therapy...

New research shows that massage therapy may be more effective than commonly used treatments such as drugs for short-term relief from soreness in your lower back, according to the Annals of Internal Medicine. After 10 weeks, study participants who received either a 1-hour relaxing Swedish massage or a form of massage focused on treating the tissues of the back were twice as likely to have spent fewer days in bed, taken fewer meds, and continued everyday activities (think: walking up stairs or having sex) compared with those who got usual care, such as painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, or muscle relaxants. Moreover, benefits lasted more than 6 months. "This study showed that massage is not only helpful in relieving lower-back pain, but you can get the same benefits with the more commonly available relaxing massage as you can with a more targeted massage," says lead study author Dr. Cherkin.
Experts aren't sure how massage works exactly to relieve back pain, but one theory might be that spending an hour being touched in a relaxing environment calms the central nervous system to lessen the perception of pain. To find a trained massage therapist near you, check out the American Massage Therapy Association. Massage may not be covered by your insurance even for medical reasons, but an affordable option is to find a teaching school near you. Relaxing massages can cost only $35 for 50 minutes, and students are under the guidance of a licensed massage therapist.

Exercise for your Health & Wellness

Type 1 diabetes mainly affects children and young adults, who are unable to make insulin. Type 2 diabetes is more common and is often tied to obesity. It develops when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to break down glucose, inflating blood sugar levels.

The disease can be managed with diet, exercise, and medication but chronically high blood sugar levels cause nerve damage, which can result in kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.

 

 

Keep it simple

I was talking to my brother today, Patrick Sagui, who is a full time Personal Trainer, and we were sharing training tips and discussing how our weeks went.  I found it interesting and reassuring that works well in our general daily lives, also applies to Health and Fitness...KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Workouts in the gym dont need to be complicated.  Your daily nutritution and what you eat, does not have to be complicated.  Eat more of the "right" things, cut down or eliminate the "wrong" things, (all based on your fitness goals and requirements), and you have a simple formula for success.