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There are 639 named muscles in the human body. The muscular system is made up of about six trillion muscle fibers. Each fiber is thinner than a human hair, but can support up to 1000 times its own weight. | |||
When should you NOT have massage? There are times when it is best to defer
your massage session - where having massage could actually make you feel
worse rather than better. And there are times where you can have
massage, but the therapist may need to modify the session. We do not generally massage acute
injuries - acute generally being within the first two or three days,
although this can depend on what the injury is. An exception to this
is where I will sometimes do some very light touch work to help
reduce swelling on say a badly sprained ankle, followed by icing. An example of the need to modify the
massage session is where a client is taking a blood thinning drug like
Warfarin. People taking Warfarin bruise very easily, so we need to
ensure that we only perform light touch massage for these clients.
There are a number of other drugs which necessitate a modified approach to
massage, and this is one of the reasons why the client information sheet
lists so many conditions. | |||
GIFT VOUCHERS Vouchers
are available for half hour or one hour massage sessions. They make
a great gift for everybody - | |||
Calf stretches are the stretch that I most commonly recommend to clients. They are one of the most effective methods for treating achilles tendinopathies, according to a study cited in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 1998. I have also found them to be effective for those with sore calves, achilles, or shins, and also for those with "creaky" morning ankles and feet. Stand on a step, with the balls of your feet on the edge. On a slow count of three, lower your heels gently until you feel a light stretch. On a slow count of three, rise up onto your toes. Repeat, gradually building up to 3 sets of 10, and then graduate onto doing them one leg at a time. But the real trick is to also do sets of this exercise as above, with a bent knee. This ensures that both calf muscles receive the stretching and strengthening benefit of the exercise. | |||
The Rotorua-Taupo 100k flyer www.100kflyer.co.nz was bigger than ever this year. Conditions weren't quite as favourable as last year, which was reflected in the slighter slower times that were posted. We treated the usual complaints in the massage "tent" - sore legs and backs of course! During
April I also worked at the World Masters Non-Stadia Athletics
Championships. There were athletes competing from a number of
different countries, and some of them were just amazing. He wasn't
fast and was half the size of everyone else, but the 75 year old doctor
from Calcutta completed the 10k walk, the 30k walk and the 50k walk all in
the same week. And then he popped up running the half marathon on
the last day as well! Then there was Colin from Whangarei. He
is 80. I massaged him after he ran 2hrs 13 for the half. A
week later I massaged him at the Rotorua marathon where he told me he was
a little disappointed that he didn't go under 5 hrs - "I felt good
aerobically ,but my legs were abit tired - I think it might have been from
the half last week" . I'm planning on seeing him at the
Kerikeri Half later this year - he reckons might beat me and on current
form he's probably right! | |||
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Rachael Button |