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.

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.

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)

        Many sports require an athlete’s knees to be punished over and over again. It may be the constant pounding from running, the stop and go of basketball, or the lateral movement of skiing.
        Some knee pain is the result of tight iliotibial bands. The IT band, as it’s more commonly known, starts at the hip and goes along the outside of the leg to the top of the tibia bone. The tibia is one of two bones in the lower part of your leg. The IT band is fibrous tissue and muscle.
        It’s important to keep the knees strong because when IT bands are tight they pull the knee in a lateral direction. Squats and lunges are great knee exercises. Do exercises that use both legs at once as well as single leg exercises.

Pilates seems to be all the rage this millennium. The truth is this workout that focuses on core muscles was developed in World War I by Joseph Pilates.
When the stomach and back muscles are strong, this enables the extremities to work better. A weak core can prevent people from doing the activities they love - whether it’s an evening walk, a strenuous hike, schussing down ski slopes, or picking up children to hold and love.
Pilates work can be done on a mat or through resistance devices. The reformer is the most common piece of equipment.
If you are in Lake Tahoe, look up Rhonda Beckham at www.tahoetrainer.com for Pilates training.