Your body is an amazing, complicated organism; it automatically adjusts your blood pressure, heart rate, hormones, brain chemicals, even your sense of vision according to your surrounding environment.  And then, of course, there are non-automatic functions: walking, talking, working, exercising, etc.  Your body has an incredible ability to coordinate all of these things at once.  Some people, of course, are better at it than others.  Walking and chewing gum, I can handle; patting myself on the head and rubbing my stomach was never my strong suit.  Thank goodness that most job interviews don’t call for those sorts of things.  Whew!

The point is, your body has hundreds of things it’s responsible for, and so massage therapy can affect your body through many of these systems.  The main ways massage affects you, though, are these:

• The relaxation response
• Mechanical responses
• Nervous system responses

The relaxation response is what most people associate with the benefits of massage. It’s that “aaaah” moment, where you get to relax and the time on the massage table is all about you. However, it’s not just an emotional response; your body has physical responses to the “aaaah” moment as well.  These physical responses include decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, better digestion (has your stomach ever gurgled while you’re getting your massage? Physical “proof” that your body is relaxing!), increased serotonin (happy hormone), and decreased cortisol (stress hormone).  Your muscles relax, and even your pupils dilate!

Now, why on earth are these physical responses related to the relaxation response?  Shouldn’t they be counted as mechanical responses? Well, yes and no.  By now, you should know that there aren’t any “easy” answers, in this blog at least.  :)  You’re looking for real information, and I’m here to give it to you.  So, yes, these physical responses have mechanical triggers.  However, most of these responses are due to the fact that you relax!  Your heart rate goes down partially because you’re not thinking about work, or the grocery store, or your errands.  Your pupils dilate because even the muscles in your eyes relax. Feeling better increases your level of serotonin, which in turn makes you feel better.

An interesting digression here is the idea that how you feel affects your body.  When you’re angry or upset, do your hands shake or does your stomach or chest hurt?  Nothing “physical” necessarily happened, but your body changes.  Well, those changes can be for the positive as well.  Get a massage, go for a bike ride, go outside for 10 minutes, go to a museum. Whatever floats your boat; and that, too, will affect your body for the better.

The mechanical responses are far more complicated, and thus more interesting to me, which is probably why I focus on orthopedic and medical massage, and not just relaxation massage.

The simplest mechanical response is increased circulation.  Massage increases the circulation of blood and lymph through your body.  Better blood circulation decreases your blood pressure and heart rate, and relaxes muscles. Increased circulation in tendons and ligaments also decreases pain in those structures; tendons and ligaments don’t naturally have a lot of blood flow, so bringing blood flow to those structures helps them heal by bringing in more nutrients, as well as flushing toxins away.  Better blood and lymph circulation also improves organ health.  Just like muscles, organs need a steady, fresh supply of blood and lymph to do their best work.

Another mechanical response is the physical impact of the massage on your muscles.  Massage directly relaxes muscles and other tissue, not just via better circulation.  Different massage techniques affect muscles in different ways.  Some techniques help stretch muscles.  Other techniques get rid of “knots” in muscles.  A “knot” is an area of constricted muscle tissue; in other words, the muscle has tightened up, but now can’t un-tighten on its own. Massage can physically rub out the knot; the physical motion of massage-on-muscle breaks down actin-myosin bonds in the muscle tissue, allowing the muscle to relax.

Want to know more about muscle contraction?  Send an email or post a comment and ask about it!

The next article will discuss nervous system responses to massage.  Nervous system responses are probably the most complicated; there are many elements in the nervous system as well as many types of nerves.

Doctor: “Ummm….”

Okay, you’re probably not a contortionist.  Don’t feel bad; most people aren’t.  However, most of us, like our hapless contortionist, make ourselves do things that we don’t really need to do.

“My shoulder hurts, but I’ll just do one more set.”  ”I pulled that muscle yesterday, and I can’t really move in certain ways, but that buddy is counting on me to help him move.”  And so on and so forth.  Why on earth do we do these things to ourselves?  Is it really necessary?

Just as in the old joke, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.”  Doctor: “Well, don’t do that!”

Whether you’re an athlete, a parent, a workaholic, or a student; there are some days where, darn it, we just don’t feel good.  And that’s okay.  Let me repeat:  That’s okay.  Now repeat after me: That’s okay.  Your next set or that home project can wait until that muscle strain heals.  The lesson here is Listen To Yourself.

Your body will let you know when something is wrong.  You did an unexpected amount of yard work yesterday.  You moved the barbell oddly and strained something in your back.  You injured your knee years ago and now it always acts up in bad weather.  Guess what?  Your body knows what it’s doing.  Pain is a signal that something is wrong.  Constantly ignoring pain is like putting a little piece of black tape over that annoying “Need Oil Change” light in your car.  Someday, that car’s going to break down!  Probably throw a tie rod on the highway, in traffic, during rush hour, when you’re already late… no, that surely never happened to me!  And people don’t throw tie rods.  Other than that, it’s a perfect analogy, right?  So start to Listen to your body.

What does that mean?  It means, if it hurts, don’t do it.  This refers to any kind of physical activity.  (If it hurts to do anything, then you need to get professional help right away- see a doctor or specialist, a chiropractor, an osteopath, naturopath, massage therapist, physical therapist, acupuncturist, etc; you’ve got choices here- pick the best one for you.)  Pay attention to the level of pain; is the activity uncomfortable, or truly painful?  Uncomfortable is a yellow light.  Pain is a red light.  If you “work through” actual pain, you are more than likely making things worse.  Take a few days off, or go see a professional.  (Remember- options.)  Uncomfortable, we can work with.  Just don’t bulldoze your way through the activity.  You don’t have to go really slow, but you do have to pay attention more.  Make sure that the activity never crosses the line from uncomfortable to painful.

Mild to moderate physical activity is good for you, if you’re slightly injured.  It helps move blood and lymph through the muscles and other tissues, which brings nutrients, anti-inflammatory agents, and white blood cells to the area to help heal the tissue.  It also helps stretch the muscle, which prevents microscopic amounts of scar tissue from forming and restricting your range of motion.  And if you overdo, if you cross the line into “painful”, you make things worse- the muscle contracts in order to protect itself, leading to pain, inflammation, and restricted range of motion, as well as the risk of injuring other muscles and structures that have to compensate for the injured area.

So follow Rule #1: If it hurts, don’t do it!

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Rule #1 series
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Thus beginneth the infamous “Rule #1″ series.  These blog posts are just a collection of common-sense rules for healthy living; things that we easily forget in the course of our day-to-day activities.  It is designed to be a series of reminders.  Why are they all called “Rule #1″?  Well, there are two reasons.  First, each day, whatever is most important to us can change.  So a set of numbered rules isn’t usually flexible enough.  Second, they’re all important.  Flexibility aside, I can never decide which “rule” (more like a set of guidelines, really) is most important.  So I chucked aside the whole issue, and decided that they’re all the “most important”.  Clear as mud, eh?  Don’t worry about it (I don’t), and I hope you enjoy the series!
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Have you ever had the thought, “Gee, I want to walk hunched over with my ears between my shoulders when I’m seventy!”?

I don’t think anyone wants that, but a lot of our postures and habits lead us in that direction!  This posture, beautifully illustrated, is an example of hyperkyphosis; it’s a condition in which there is an severe, excessive curve in the thoracic spine (the upper part of your back, where your ribs connect to your spine).  If you sit in front of a computer, or have a long commute, your chances of having hyperkyphosis in the future are higher.

What do I mean by that?  Well, consider the future for a moment.  Not next year, not five years down the road, but think about what you’d like life to be like when you’re seventy, eighty, and older.  Life doesn’t just stop, it usually winds down.  So, the healthier you are now, the more independent you’ll be when you’re older.  Most people who require care are not desperately ill; they have lost some physical functionality.  They can’t move easily enough to run errands, cook, clean, or take care of their homes or their selves.

Okay, so you eat right and try to exercise regularly.  That’s great!  What more do you need to do to make sure you are the person running marathons or climbing mountains at seventy, not comparing medications with the other folks at the home?  Surprisingly, your posture may be much more important to your health than you think.

There are some obvious benefits from standing and sitting up straight; you look more alert, more cheerful, and more approachable.  Not to mention (for the single folks) more attractive!  Good posture makes you look 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter*.

Good postures and habits, though, can affect your independence and even your longevity, years in the future.  When you slouch over, your muscles have to work harder (leading to faster aging, over the years), and the nerves and blood vessels to your organs and muscles have to work harder, as well.  For example, a digestive system with a poor blood and nerve supply will just not function very well!  Poor posture can create other problems, as well.  Hyperkyphosis is associated with restrictive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, and degenerative disc disease*.

I have an additional challenge for you; for the rest of this day, take note of the posture of those around you- at work, in the grocery store, etc.  Who looks tired?  Who looks self-confident?  Is there a correlation between those assumptions and the person’s posture?  Please comment here or email me with your observations and questions!

The TMJ is the “temporomandibular joint”; that is, your jaw joint.  For such a tiny area of your body, it can cause a lot of issues!  Dysfunction in the TMJ can present itself in many ways:

-       Pain in the jaw, face, or ear

-       Clicking or popping in the jaw

-       Aching pain in the face or in and around the ear

-       “Locking” of the jaw, or difficulty in opening or closing your mouth

-       Headache in the sinuses, forehead, sides of head, or at the base of the skull

Anywhere from 10 to 28 percent of Americans suffer from TMJ dysfunction.  That’s 30 million to 84 million people!  Have you ever wondered why road rage is so prevalent?  Well, just try having a nice day when you’re suffering from constant TMJ pain!  In addition, women are more likely to suffer from TMJ pain than men.  I will make no further comments about women, driving, etc.

Let’s see, perhaps you have one or more of the symptoms described above. What can you do about it?  You have to eat, and likely speak throughout your day, so letting the area rest isn’t really an option.  Ice?  Heat?  Hm, that would look a bit funny.  (Not to mention making you speak rather oddly.)

If you suspect that you have TMJ problems, the first thing I would recommend is to go see your dentist!  He/ she may recommend a mouthguard, which you wear while sleeping.  It’s a bit like a retainer for braces, but more comfortable.  Mouthguards help relieve pressure on the teeth, bones, and jaw muscles, and reduce jaw clenching and grinding (aka bruxism).

Massage can also help TMJ dysfunction!  Whether muscle tension is actually the cause of the TMJ pain, or if the muscles have tightened due to pain; massaging out tight TMJ muscles can relieve pain in the jaw, face, and neck, and reduce the frequency and severity of any headaches.

Before your TMJ session, make sure that your therapist knows what he or she is doing.  Ask for credentials!  Look for a therapist with a neuromuscular therapy or medical massage certification.  Ask the therapist if they have or have had any clients with TMJ dysfunction, and if the client has had relief.  TMJ pain tends to be a chronic problem, so beware the therapist who says that the client was 100% better after one or two sessions.

A typical session for a client with TMJ would include a scalp, neck, and facial massage to help relax all of the jaw muscles, and associated head and neck muscles.  Most TMJ sessions include interoral work as well- using sterile gloves, the therapist works on the muscles inside your mouth.  This helps you open your mouth wider, with less pain and less jerkiness. Worried about a strong gag reflex?  No work inside your mouth ever touches your tongue, which is the usual trigger for gagging.  The interoral muscles are often very painful, so work here is usually light and lasts no longer than five to seven minutes.  Muscle energy techniques may also be used to restore range of motion, increase circulation, and reduce tenderness.

Self-massage is a wonderful idea, as well!  Using your fingertips, gently rub in circles on your masseter muscle.  This muscle runs from the point of your jaw, directly up to your cheekbone (right in front of your ear).  After that, place the palms of your hands flat against the sides of your head, above your ears and just behind your temples.  Rub in circles up and towards the back, but gently!  Too much pressure directly on your temples can cause headaches.  Also, remember to perform each stretch or self-massage technique for at least 15-20 seconds; that’s the minimum amount of time necessary for your nervous system to truly relax the muscle.

A third thing you can do is to teach yourself to relax your jaw throughout the day.  The best way to make sure that you’re not clenching, grinding, or tightening muscles unnecessarily is to make sure that your tongue is not touching the roof of your mouth.  Try it now, and notice how your jaw muscles relax right away!

Most people don’t consider massage for the sole purpose of treating TMJ pain.  It’s often an incidental thing, an add-on to any other issues.  This is a shame; while it is a tiny joint, the TMJ is rather important to your health.  First, TMJ pain that prevents healthy eating can severely impact your health physically.  Second, chronic pain of any kind affects your quality of life.  Ask yourself if a few massages that improve your enjoyment of life would be worth it!

Are you sitting at a desk for most or all of your workday, on a computer or using a phone for hours at a time?  At the end of the day, you might have a headache, or neck, upper back or lower back pain because of the stress of your job and the strain of sitting at that desk.

It’s not really an option to quit your job or buy fancy ergonomic equipment, is it?  (Congratulations if it is!)  Neither do you have the time to take a five-minute break out of every hour, or the concentration to remind yourself “Sit up straight!” every few minutes.

So what can you do?  Today you’ll find out the best, most practical ways to be more comfortable at work- the five most basic things you can do that are quick, easy to do, and easy to remember.

1. Sit in your chair.  Seems obvious… except for the fact that most of us lean forward, sitting on the edge of our seats.  This is not an epic movie; one can’t maintain that level of excitement day in and day out, week after week!  So sit back.  Take the strain off your back muscles, and allow your chair to support you.  Except now you’re too far away from your computer!  Step 2…
2. Move your chair closer in to your desk.  You’ll be able to reach things without straining.  Really simple move, very important effect.  If it feels too claustrophobic, try to take the chair arms off.  That allows you to get up more easily, too.  Wham!  Did you see that? Two birds, one stone.
3. Roll your shoulders back.  Move your shoulders up, back, and down.  Your body will automatically sit up straighter.  Bonus: if your shoulders brush your chair, then you’re sitting far enough back in your chair!
4. Keep your head back.  For every inch the head moves forward on our neck, 10 pounds of strain is added to the neck.  To keep your head back, you’ll have to sit back in your chair and move closer to your desk; if you’re reaching for things, your head will come forward.  Following any of these steps reinforces the others!
5. Get up more often. Move around.  Every ergonomics article you read will say this, and it’s not really negotiable.  You don’t have to get up for five minutes every hour- who times his workday like that, seriously?  Just remind yourself to do it as often as you feel is necessary.  Set a goal for yourself- twice a day, or ten times a day.*

That’s it.  The five quick tips above are easy to remember, and take less of your time than brushing your teeth.  (For more in-depth ergonomics articles, see the links below.)

*Brake!  Your brain just exited this freeway.  You may be thinking, “Wait a minute, I can’t do this.  I can never get away from my desk, I’m just too busy, my boss gives me the evil eye.”  I understand.  And let me explain why this is so important, so we can make it worth your while.

First, your legs, arms, neck, shoulders, and back need more blood flow.  Blood flow affects your muscles and your nervous system, improving concentration and alertness- you’ll get more done, making fewer mistakes/ overlooking fewer issues.  You’ll also have a little more energy for the family, kids, errands, and hobbies at the end of the day.

Second, moving around is necessary for your long-term health.  If you can’t get up and move around at all, you get an extreme lack of blood and lymph flow, and your muscles begin to build up too much fibrin (a type of protein). This creates a “popping”, grinding, or “crumbly” feeling, or extreme tightness and decreased range of motion in the muscles.  Most people notice it between the shoulder blades or between the neck and shoulder.  Excess fibrin buildup has the same chemical composition as scar tissue; there’s a different cause, with the same effect- fibrous tissue is not elastic, and doesn’t allow blood or lymph flow through the tissue, which means that this stuff cannot heal itself.

This is not a serious condition, nor is it permanent; but no one wants to feel seventy when he/ she’s only forty.  Excess fibrin buildup (also called fibrosis, but that term is usually reserved for describing scar tissue) is reversible.  Moving the affected muscles can help; exercise can help more; for the fastest results, see a massage therapist.

Hey, I know one of those…

Resources:

An Introduction to Ergonomics: Avoiding Repetitive Strain Injuries
Workplace Ergonomics
Time Out, a break reminder tool