Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Tag: exercise

  • The Benefits of Sports Massage

    As an athlete can you benefit from massage? The average sports enthusiast might have their doubts. If you are running 30km a week, or lifting weights 3 times a week or generally pushing your body to its limits, how can a shoulder rub help?

    First of all, let’s have another look at the definition of “massage”. The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO), in their scope of practice, defines massage therapy as:

    The practice of massage therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and prevention of physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissue and joints by manipulation to develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function, or relieve pain. (Massage Therapy Act 1991)

    Pretty wordy isn’t it?  Most people that want a massage for some relaxation don’t want to hear any of that.  They would prefer a nice, relaxing, soothing massage… the kind you see on tv or in the movies.  But the beauty of the definition is how open it is.  As an RMT, I treat “soft tissue and joints by manipulation”.  Soft tissue can be muscles, ligaments, tendons, or fascia.  Well, we all know what muscles are and we generally accept that RMT’s are pretty adept at “loosening” or “getting the kinks out of” muscles.  Ligaments are what are involved in ankle sprains, MCL or ACL tears of the knee.  Tendons are involved in any kind of tendonitis or tendinosis overuse conditions such as treat golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow.  And then there’s fascia which act like ropes attaching a sail from the boat to the mast.   If you imagine that the sail is the muscle that powers the boat, then the lines, ropes and pulleys are the fascia that decide how tightly the sail/muscle will be stretched and how powerful the sail/muscle can be.  An RMT is trained to work on the muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons and joints or basically all those great little parts that work together to achieve peak athletic performance.  For the moment, let’s forget about the typical relaxing “massage” and start thinking of this as “therapy performed by a massage therapist” much the same way we think of therapy performed by a physical therapist or chiropractor.  Massage therapists are qualified to perform most of the stretches, exercises and manipulations that a physiotherapist does.

    Athletes are familiar with the burn and soreness in the muscles that accompanies a good workout.  The pain is often caused by lactic acid build-up and inflammation in the muscles or spasm (shortening) of the muscles.  During a post event treatment, RMT’s can flush out the muscles helping to remove lactic acids and other metabolic waste products while flooding the muscle tissue with fresh oxygenated blood. RMT’s can use different massage & stretching techniques to lengthen the muscle back to its normal length and reduce pain from muscle spasm.  These all help to reduce pain, increase mobility and shorten healing time after an event or a tough workout.

    During the training season athletes are constantly trying to find a balance between pushing the body harder while nursing old injuries and preventing new ones.  These injuries or imbalances can shorten an athletic career and decrease performance.   Scar tissue or fascial adhesions  often build up over injured areas or between  muscles almost gluing these structures together and decreasing strength and mobility.  Rolfing & MRT work to remove and re-align the scar tissue.  Acupuncture is also very effective at decreasing inflammation by giving the injury the equivalent of a cortisone injection.

    Here are some examples of injuries that Sports Massage can help:

    • Plantar Fasciitis
    • Shin Splints
    • Hip Pain
    • Hip Tightness
    • Knee Pain
    • Tennis Elbow
    • Golfer’s Elbow
    • Patellar Femoral Syndrome
    • Post Event Stretch & Flush
    • Frozen Shoulder
    • Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
    • Herniated Disc
    • Ankle Sprain
    • Wrist Sprain
    • Quadricep or Hamstring strain

  • Improve Your Shoulder Posture by Changing Your Workout

    One of the most important and long lasting ways to get rid of neck and shoulder pain is to change your posture.  I am sure that you have all heard it from your massage therapist, but, how can you change your posture after it’s been that way for decades?  The body has already been trained and it’s game over, right?

    Wrong!  Using the right fascial massage techniques, stretches and strength training can re-educate your body to develop and accept a new posture.  With postural re-education you will find more permanent results than simply trying to pull your shoulders back.

    Pace Yourself

    Firstly, understand that the change has to be gradual.  It can be next to impossible to change postural habits overnight.  Clients often feel like they have to change their posture instantly and that they are “failing” every time that they catch themselves falling into their old slouches.  I ask them to instead try to have good posture for a total of an hour a day for the first week and then gradually increase it.  This way they can understand that it is a gradual process and that they have a really good chance of succeeding.  Most will be able to do more than an hour a day and feel great about it.

    Strength Training for Posture

    The other approach is to start strengthening your muscles. Posture is only partly habit.  The rest of your posture depends on muscle balance.  The chest muscles (pectoralis major and pectoralis minor) pull the shoulder blades forward, while the back muscles (rhomboids, trapezius and latissimus dorsi) pull the shoulder blades back and toward the spine.  Most people are stronger in the chest than they are in the back, which is why they slouch forward.  Re-balancing your postural muscles involves stretching out the pectoral muscles and strengthening the back muscles.

    Start training your back muscles.

    By strengthening the upper back muscles, specifically the muscles that bring your shoulder blades together, you will find that your body with its balanced muscles will naturally and automatically go into the correct posture.  You won’t have to think about posture or make any real effort again.  The key exercises for strengthening these back muscles are lat pulldowns and rowing motions.

    Focus on Endurance

    The problem with pulling your shoulders back is that these muscles get tired as they lack endurance.  An 8 hour work day is a long time for these muscles to be working against the powerful chest muscles.  When strengthening your postural back muscles, build endurance by lowering the weight and working up to sets of 16 or more reps.

    Take it Easy on Your Chest

    Most people that work out love spending time on their pecs.  Guys love the strong, masculine look that big pecs give, while women like how it firms and lifts the breasts.  Remember though, that strong, short, tight pec muscles are a big reason for our bad posture.  These muscles shorten with repeated slouching and hunching over our computers.  Strengthening these muscles further shorten them and worsen our posture.  You can still work on your chest in a workout, but you will need to change your approach:

    1. Lower the weight you are using.
    2. If you can, leave the bench press alone and work the pec fly machine.  The pec fly works the pecs through its full range of motion including the stretched out end range.
    3. Stretch your pecs before and after every set.  Pec stretches will lengthen the pec muscles and keep them from going into spasm.

    A Second Look at the Elliptical

    Most people use the elliptical by powering through with their legs while their arms limply hold onto the handles and swing. This is good for cardio training and working the legs, but if you want to improve your posture and get rid of your neck pain, try using the elliptical in the following way.

    1. The key is to focus on what you are doing with your upper body.  Try to shift all the work from the legs to the upper body.  It may be difficult at first and you may need to alternate between focusing on the upper body and focusing on the lower body.
    2. There are 2 phases: pulling the handle back and pushing the handle forward.  To work your postural muscles, put all your effort into the pulling back phase while using the pushing forward phase to rest.
    3. When working the upper body, don’t let your arms do all the work.  Focus on your shoulder blade.  It should be either moving outward or pulling inward toward the centre of your back.  The more your shoulder blades are moving, the more you are working your postural muscles.
    4. When you pull back on the handle, try to pull your shoulder blade toward your spine.  This works the rhomboid, lats, and middle and lower traps: the postural muscles that pull your shoulders back.
    5. During the rest phase when the handle is going forward, don’t put too much effort on the arm, but try to distract your shoulder blade and slide it out and forward for a nice stretch.
    6. This exercise works great because there is a lot of repetition which builds  endurance in your postural muscles.  When those back muscles become as strong as or stronger than the front muscles your shoulders will automatically start pulling your shoulders back on their own.

    Good posture, naturally.

  • Massage Research – Low Back Pain

    A study published June 2000 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal:

    “Effectiveness of massage therapy for subacute low-back pain: a randomized controlled trial”

    The study followed about 100 people suffering from sub acute lower back pain.  They were divided into 4 groups: those receiving a placebo, those receiving only exercises and posture education, those receiving only Swedish massage, and those receiving “comprehensive massage therapy” (Swedish massage, posture education and exercises)

    The comprehensive massage therapy group had 50% improved function  , 70% less intense pain and a 50% decrease in the quality of pain compared with the other 3 groups.

    At the 1 month follow-up 63% of subjects in the comprehensive massage therapy group reported no pain as compared with 27% of the soft-tissue manipulation group, 14% of the remedial exercise group and 0% of the sham laser therapy group.

    The results not only show that massage therapy is an effective means of pain management, but also that a more comprehensive approach to massage therapy yields the best results.

    Ken Shim, RMT

  • "My Shoulders Hurt When I Jog"

    jogging and shoulder pain

    We expect pain and discomfort in just about every muscle from the waist down when it comes to jogging, but why would we get a pain in the shoulder?

    First of all many of us have some sort of postural imbalance where the shoulders aren’t lined up well.  Also, there is muscle tension and stress that we keep in our neck and shoulders.  This means that there might be decreased flexibility, mobility, health and strength leading to early muscle fatigue, pain and cramping.  Treating the stress in the neck and shoulders with massage or acupuncture can free them up so that they perform better when jogging.

    Another approach is to look at how we jog.  Many jog in a way that increases shoulder tension.  A quick check is to look at your hands.  Are they loose or clenched in a fist?  They should be loose.  If they are clenched in a fist, then we are likely activating and clenching every muscle from our fingertips, arms and shoulders up to our neck when jogging.  This constant tension leads to early muscle fatigue and pain.  A simple remedy is to keep our hands, arms and shoulders loose as we jog.  It can be hard to be constantly thinking of our arms while jogging, so try this simple technique: touch your thumb to your middle finger lightly and keep it there the whole time that you are jogging.  In this position it is really difficult to have any real tension in our arms and shoulders.  The shoulders will stay loose and the pain will go away.

    Stay loose.

    Ken Shim, RMT

  • 10 Simple Ways to Manage Back Pain

    massage for back pain

    It can be confusing trying to sift through all the information out there regarding back pain.  Here are 10 simple ways to keep your back pain free and healthy

    1. Exercise regularly
    2. Follow a healthy diet
    3. Maintain good posture
    4. Stretch your spine before and after sports
    5. Don’t overload your backpack or shoulder bag
    6. Stretch your legs and back after each hour of sitting
    7. Never cradle the phone between your neck and shoulder
    8. Sleep on your back or side, not on your stomach
    9. Invest in a good chair, pillow and mattress.  It’s worth it!
    10. Have regular chiropractic or massage treatments

  • How Exercising Improves Your Health

    Years ago, people who were in pain were told to rest, but now we know the exact opposite is true. When you rest, you become deconditioned — which may actually contribute to chronic pain.  Your muscles may lose strength and shrink and your body may lose stability.  As tough as it may be to start an exercise program, your body will thank you.  Here are some benefits of  exercising:

    • Help you maintain a healthy weight. Exercise burns calories, which can help you drop excess pounds. This will reduce stress on your back and joints
    • Enhance your mood. Exercise improves blood and oxygen flow to your muscles and contributes to an overall sense of well-being. Looking and feeling better can improve your confidence and self-image as well.
    • Boost your energy level. Regular exercise can actually give you more energy to cope with chronic pain.
    • Improve your sleep quality. Regular exercise can lower your stress hormones, resulting in better sleep.
    • Protect your heart and blood vessels. Exercise decreases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack .
    • Help you build strength. The stronger your muscles, the more force and load you’ll take off your bones and cartilage — and the more relief you’ll feel.
    • Increase your flexibility. Joints that can move through their full range are less likely to be plagued with aches and pains.
    • Make your body release endorphins. These chemicals block pain signals from reaching your brain. Endorphins also help alleviate anxiety and depression and stroke.