A Massage at Tahoe Blog

In an email from Erik Dalton, executive director of the Freedom From Pain Institute:
The label “shoulder complex” appropriately describes the complexities encountered when dealing with pain in this commonly dysfunctional area. Comprised of three joints and one primary articulation, the bones are moved by a complex array of twenty muscles that, when functioning properly, permit the greatest mobility of any joint in the body. The three primary muscles supporting the shoulder complex are pectoralis minor, subclavius, and teres minor — but don’t let the names fool you. They are neither substandard nor minor in their effects on the shoulder.
Clearly, these pivot muscles set the position of the shoulder so larger muscles with greater leverage (lats, traps, pecs, and delts) can perform gross movements at the shoulder and arm. However, when underlying core pivot muscles spasm from tension, trauma or poor posture, fascial contractures bind down associated joints leading to reflexogenic muscle guarding and formation of neurologic pain/spasm/pain cycles. This ultimately triggers a wide array of shoulder complaints whose exact nature depends on the individual’s pattern usage.
Enhancing performance in sports and daily activity is determined entirely by neuromuscular efficiency and metabolic vitality. For maximum proficiency, a muscle’s reaction force must be effectively transferred through the kinetic chain at a velocity consistent with the requisite movement speeds of the activity. This is accomplished, in part, through neutralizing and stabilizing muscles that precisely control reaction force across joints and accelerate or decelerate movement to fulfill the desired outcome.
For example, during a tennis serve, power generated by the shoulder must follow a kinetic chain beginning with energy produced by the legs, trunk and back. Since the muscle mass of the shoulder is relatively small, if inadequate momentum is generated by the preceding links in the kinetic chain, the shoulder has to play ‘catch-up’ and generate power rather than acting as a force regulator.
Consequently, improving muscle/joint function in the four Spring Systems of the legs, lumbars and trunk stabilizers reduces the incidence of rotator-cuff, ligament, and joint capsule injuries. Bottom line: Efficient movement requires each muscle to produce, reduce, and amplify forces at any given joint through proprioceptive management of the action (including postural equilibrium).
The reflexogenic relationship of muscles and joints is the core of the myoskeletal method. Biomechanical assessment of specific joints will help determine the presence of soft tissue injuries. In skilled hands joint mobilization combined with myofascial balancing provides crucial and effective modalities for injury prevention and sports enhancement.

A healthy heart is so incredibly important. When people come to A Massage at Tahoe we have an in-take form that asks a series of questions. Much of it is to trigger a client’s memory about medical issues.

Massage increases circulation. If you are taking medication, massage can move it through your system much faster.

Keeping the heart running is so incredibly important.

The following information is all from www.realage.com.

When it comes to the health of your heart, what you do and what you don’t do can truly make a difference. That’s because lifestyle choices — like smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise — can be far more dangerous than hereditary factors.

Here’s a step-by-step plan that will help you make smart choices and help get your ticker in top form.

Action 1: Pump Your Heart

For optimal health, you’ll need to do enough physical activity to burn between 3,500 and 6,500 calories a week (or roughly 500 to 950 a day). Do at least three 20-minute cardio workouts a week

Action 2: Know Your Numbers

We’re talking the big three - cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar — plus, two more you should probably know: homocysteine and C-reactive. Consider these numbers a stock ticker for your ticker. They tell you how you’re doing, and when you need to do more. When you have them measured, make sure your doctor also tells you what your goal levels should be and what you can do to get there.

Action 3: Get Happy

There are lots of reasons to be happy, including your heart health. Negative emotions like anger and hostility can raise blood pressure. People with depression are four times more likely to have a heart attack. And while we don’t understand how emotional stress causes physical stress, we do know there’s a powerful connection.

Action 4: Eat Your Heart Out

When making out your grocery list, follow this simple rule of thumb: opt for foods with healthful fats, fiber, and good-for-you nutrients like flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals. And nix the salty, sugary, sat-fat-laden, or processed stuff.

Action 5: Learn from Your Relatives

Even though you have a lot of control over your own heart-healthy destiny, a family history of heart disease does raise your risk significantly. So, along with talking to your doctor about a schedule of heart screenings, talk about your family health history, too. And if Mom, Dad, or a sibling developed heart disease, you’ll want to be extra vigilant about screenings and about adopting heart-smart habits.

Action 6: Pop Some Pills

Certain nutrients, supplements, and occasional medications can work preventive wonders for your heart. Here are the YOU Docs’ top picks:
Aspirin: Taking aspirin regularly may reduce the incidence of heart attack by making blood platelets less sticky and decreasing arterial inflammation. But it only makes sense for men over the age of 35 and women over the age of 40. And even then, check with your doctor first, because aspirin can have side effects like stomach irritation and bleeding.

A multivitamin: Your multivitamin is chock-full of heart-healthy micronutrients, like magnesium, calcium, and vitamins D, C, E, and A.

Folate: This B vitamin lowers homocysteine to healthy levels. Since folate from food is only partially absorbed by your body, take a 400-microgram (folic acid) supplement. But make sure you’re getting enough B6 and B12, too, because folate can mask a deficiency in these vitamins.

Action 7: Schedule Sleep

If you don’t snooze 6 to 8 hours a night, you increase arterial aging and raise your risk of a heart attack. Inadequate sleep will also cause you to release less serotonin (the feel-good hormone) in your brain.

Health officials say kids in elementary school should have a minimum of one healthy snack a day. The problem is that if the child is left to decide what to eat, it isn’t always nutritious.
The American Dietetic Association suggests choosing a vegetable, fruit or grain. The other things to pay attention to are proteins and low-fat dairy items.
Some ideas for snacks include whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, whole grain waffle with berries, celery sticks with pb and j or grilled cheese with tomatoes on whole wheat.

An acronym that serious and not so serious athletes should commit to memory is RICE. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
When a body part is sore, injured, sprained or strained, RICE needs to be implemented. Rest. Yes, you really need to stop doing what is causing the pain for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours.
Ice is the best method for reducing swelling. Ice packs can be bought at drug stores in various sizes and shapes to conform to the specific body part that is sore. Ice the part until is numb. You need to ice several times a day.
Compression means wrapping the injury with something like an Ace bandage. Don’t do it so tight that circulation is caught off where you have tingling.
Elevation means getting the body part above the heart. At night, put your leg or arm on a pillow.

Facials are said to be the second most requested spa treatment after massage.
Licensed aestheticians can do a whole array of treatments.

Massage therapists can give massage facials. This is something I do. I offer 30 and 60 minute treatments.

The benefits of any type of facial is that is cleanses the face. Usually an exfoliant is used. A good moisturizer is often the finally step. This combination and others lead to skin that is hydrated and nourished.

Climates that are dry - like Lake Tahoe and the desert - tend to dry out people’s skin. People living in or visiting places like this should pay even more attention to their skin care needs .

Facials are not just for women. Men’s skin is just as important.

From the July 27, 2009, Newsweek article by Jacob Weisberg, “In his new book The Healing of America, the journalist T.R. Reid employs a clever device for surveying the world’s health systems: he takes an old shoulder injury to various countries. In the United States, a top orthopedist recommends joint replacement surgery, costing tens of thousands of dollars. In France and Germany, doctors steer him instead toward a regime of physical therapy. In Britain, they tell him to go home. In India, he is treated, quite effectively with herbs, massage and meditation.”

In the July 2009 issue of Tennis Magazine, it talks about how cycling is great cross-training for people who participate in high-impact sports. Cycling is so much easier on the knees then the continual pounding of a tennis court, basketball court and even hiking.

“To get the most of our time on the saddle, make perfect circles with each pedal stroke, says Sally Edwards, an exercise physiologist and champion triathlete from Sacramento, Calif.,” the magazine says. “Pull back with your hamstrings and use your claves and hip flexors to push the pedals.”

From Active.Com

Achilles Tendinitis

What It Is Tenderness in your lower calf near your heel that usually strikes when you push off your toes
You’re at Risk Men with a BMI of 25 or higher (a man who is 5′10″ and weighs 175 pounds, for example) who run a nine-minute-per-mile pace or faster
Why The Achilles absorbs several times your body weight with each stride. A faster pace and additional body weight put even more stress on this tendon.
Prevent It Strengthen your calf muscles (with your toes on a step, lower and raise your heels). Stretch your calves (keep your heel on the ground, lift your toes back toward your shin).
Others at Risk People who regularly run hills (the Achilles has to stretch more on inclines) and who have increased their mileage more than 10 percent per week (sudden increases in mileage strain the tendon)

The following info is from realage.com:If you can’t stand the smell of DEET or citronella candles, try the natural bug-bite deterrent suggestions from Chinese doctor and author Maoshing Ni.
In his book “Secrets of Self-Healing”, he recommends a three-pronged approach of clothing, diet and essential oils.

3 Bug-Be-Gone Strategies

Use these chemical-free strategies on your next camping trip, backwoods hike, or neighborhood barbecue:

Nix the Hawaiian shirt. Brightly colored floral patterns on clothing may actually fool bees and other bugs into thinking you’re a flower. So can smelling like a flower, so skip the perfume. Wear neutral-colored, protective clothing and scent-free soaps and lotions.

Eat garlic. Garlic and other strong foods, like onions, might make you less tasty to biting insects. Watch this video for tips on how to buy, keep, and prepare garlic.

Use essential oils. Natural insect repellents such as lemongrass, lavender, or eucalyptus can be mixed with water and used as a spray. (But be careful to avoid getting them in your eyes.)

Already bit? Honey, cucumber skins, and tea tree oil can help soothe, detox, and quiet the itch or sting of bites.

A survey by the British Acupuncture Council found that depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress are common reasons why people get acupuncture.
The survey also revealed that more people under the age 40 are reporting having these emotional issues. Two-thirds of the respondents were women.
Survey takers pointed to working long hours and the uncertainty of the economy as being reasons for their stress and uneasiness with life.