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As many of you know I have been in school for Massage Therapy for the past year, and am currently in the final leg of this journey, which is the clinical, hands on portion. This is by far the best part about school for several reasons: 1. We get new clients coming in every week. 2. Every client is different, and brings new challenges to every massage. 3. We get to educate them on what’s going on with their body, what we are doing to help, and what they can do to help with recovery. I’ve been in clinic for about a month now and am finding that number 3 is by far my favorite part. People love learning about what’s going on with their body and what is actually causing them pain or discomfort. So I thought I would give you guys a little info on Myofascial Trigger Points and Fascial Adhesions, that might help you locate and resolve some of your issues. Fascia is a connective tissue found throughout the entire body that provides support, shape, and suspension for the soft tissues. It’s important to understand that fascia does run through the whole body and if it were to develop an adhesion or scar tissue in a particular area; it’s not just going to be a problem there, it would cause problems both above and below it. Adhesions are formed when the fascia in our body sticks together. Once these have formed, they become a real problem because they don’t allow your muscles to move the way they are supposed to, so we compensate for this and that’s when we start to get pain. Trigger points are tender spots in muscle tissue that can cause a pain referral pattern and movement dysfunction. When you palpate these tender spots you will know right away if it is a trigger point if it either refers pain somewhere else or has a localized twitch response. Both of these responses are actually pretty cool when you feel it or see it for the first time. Causes : There are all kinds of different causes of adhesions and trigger points, some of the more common ones are: poor posture, lack of movement, improper movement, recent injury, poor nutrition, or chronic dehydration. Treatment: If you are not already foam rolling, you need to be. It is the best and most cost effective way to alleviate a lot of the problems associated with adhesions and trigger points on your own. If it is a trigger point and you find it while foam rolling, find the spot that is the most painful, once you’ve found it sit on that area for 15-30 seconds this will help break up some of it and once you release allow for more blood to enter the area. If it doesn’t show the signs of a trigger point it is probably an adhesion and will also respond well to the same treatment. One session with a foam roller isn’t going to solve your problems, just like exercise it takes time before you see results. Give it a couple weeks to a month, foam rolling (with intent) once or twice a day, and you should start seeing some good results. Here are some of the tools we use for Self Myofacial Release.  
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Want to do some cardio but find running on a treadmill or skiing on the elliptical boring? Here are my top 3 cardio finishers to do after a workout. Enjoy!
Cardio Workout 1 Kettle Bell Swings 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 (reps) Goblet Squats 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (2 rounds for time) Cardio Workout 2 Kettle Bell Swings 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Jump Ropes 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 (1 round for time) Cardio Workout 3 Line Jump 50 Squats 40 Mountain Climbers 60 TRX Row 20 Pushups 10 (3 rounds for time)  (originally posted January 2013)
I found this quote when I first started working on this blog. I know it doesn't have anything directly to do with strength and conditioning or ultimate, but it most certainly can apply to both. Being afraid of people or situations that are different, new or unfamiliar to me is something that has plagued me for a long time. I was a pretty shy kid growing up, who needed and got a lot of help from my parents. They were the ones forcing me to do more social things like cub scouts and sports in my younger years and dealing with teachers and student loan companies as I got into high school and college. I would make up some bogus excuse, just so I didn't have to talk to someone I didn't know, when in actuality I was terrified. In college I found myself way out of my comfort zone, I managed to make new friends, which did help with my confidence, but I still had a long way to go. I never talked to my teachers, one on one, until my last year of college. During that last year I was forced to do things out of my comfort zone. Whether it was putting together a community project for my internship or giving an oral presentation for one of my 400 level courses. I didn't realize it at the time but doing things outside of my comfort zone were starting to give me a new level of confidence. I've spent the past couple years (almost 4 now), sort of indirectly building this new confidence. This past year has been absolutely amazing, I went out and got myself two awesome internships (CrossfitMF, Spurling Training Systems), one of which I'm still working at, I became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, coached nationals caliber ultimate players with an amazing coach and friend (Tim Morrill of Morrill Performance and Explosive Ultimate), and played in the Ultimate Club Championships with a team I tried out for (Wild Card Bitches Yeehaa). All of this because I decided not to be afraid, was I nervous to talk to some of these people, of course, but I didn't let it stop me, and I feel fantastic for it! With all of my success in 2012 I plan to make 2013 even better, but I'll save that for another post. |
JaredSometimes I think about stuff, sometimes I write it down. Archives
June 2015
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