Summer is here! Finally, we've moved from the unusual dreary and cold spring into warmer weather. My weekend warriors, golfers and athletes are starting to gear up for the summer - please be careful and pace yourself so you don't have to come see me with an injury issue!

Next month, I will be converting to a new email distribution software. I will send out an email asking each of you to opt-in to the newsletter and the open appointments email at that time. This new version requires a double opt-in feature which means that the email address must be confirmed by the owner of the address before he/she will be added to the list.

This month, I'm including an article with information on how to prevent the stiffness and achiness that most of us consider a normal part of the aging process. I’ve also included tips on keeping your low back in shape during long graduations and school programs, and more information on Muscle Release Therapy.

Enjoy!

- heather wibbels (615.294-6672)

Many clients come to massage sessions and express frustration that their bodies have betrayed them as they grow older. Their minds and hearts want to be active, to garden, run marathons, play music and play with their children and grandchildren, but their bodies respond with stiffness, aches and pains. It’s just a normal part of life, right? Wrong.

In The Whartons’ Stretch Book by Jim and Phil Wharton, they take on these myths of aging in one of their last chapters. They argue that through stretching, maintaining flexibility and strength training, the achiness, loss of function, chronic tension and pain that people associate with aging can be decreased or overcome. Each year after 30 about 1 percent of muscle mass is lost in the body. “As muscle mass diminishes, the body can’t burn fat as efficiently, literally becoming less lean and more fat” (Wharton 203). Exercise and stretching, for the Whartons, allow the body to overcome that loss of muscle mass and increase joint flexibility and range of motion.

The type of stretching advocated by the Whartons is short duration (2-3s), high repetition stretching. They do not advocate holding stretches for longer than a few seconds because the muscle reacts to longer stretches by “automatically and ballistically recoil[ing] to protect itself from ripping” (Wharton, xxiii). They contend that stretching gently for just a few seconds at a time, but repeating that stretch 10, 20 or more times is far more effective in increasing flexibility and preventing injuries than longer stretches.

Stretching as they advocate increases blood flow to the muscles (bringing oxygen and heat and removing wastes) as the opposite muscle must contract to take up the slack in the stretched muscle. For example, in order to stretch your bicep, you must contract your tricep. All muscles work in pairs so that each muscle has an opposite (agonist) muscle whose motion contrasts it. As you stretch, you are contracting that opposite muscle, giving strength to it. And, as you reverse the stretch, you’re giving strength to the muscle that’s being stretched.

Is the soreness and stiffness in the morning inevitable as we age? No, it’s not, but it does take time and effort to stave off the effects of an increasingly sedentary life. Just as the muscles atrophy as part of a decrease in activity, so do the connective tissues in the tendons (connecting muscles to bones) and ligaments (connecting bone to bone) lose flexibility and elasticity as blood flow decreases to the joint and as dehydration keeps the joint from the lubrication that it needs.

Stretching and exercise bring blood to the muscles and the joints being moved, bringing oxygen, breaking up stagnant fibers and getting connective tissue to loosen up. “Having joints that are capable of going through their full range of motion allows the muscles and connective tissues to respond to strengthening exercises and decreases the chances of a deformity” (Wharton 206). Stretching out the hands, feet, or whatever is sore in the morning and in the evening assists in reversing the “normal aging process” and gets the body back into a stable and functional state.

When the body experiences pain, it often reduces its range of motion, or refrains from the motion in order to protect itself and give itself time to heal. However, according to the Whartons, keeping the body immobile can do great harm and keep the body from healing efficiently. Instead of immobilizing injured joints or muscles, they advocate very careful, gentle mobilization of the area in order to keep blood flow to the area bringing oxygen and removing wastes that accumulate as part of the healing process.

They do not advocate working or pushing through the pain (which only succeeds in further injuring the body and increasing the damage of the area), but they do contradict the traditional wisdom that complete rest is what is needed in the case of soft-tissue injury. Thus, as age brings on aches and pains, reducing our activity levels or our range of motion only makes the “aging process” faster as we keep blood flow from the area, and keep adhesions from breaking up by remaining still.

The Whartons’ Stretch Book is an incredible collection of stretches to do alone or with a partner that can counteract the effects of increasingly sedentary life (what others would call part of the normal “aging process”), reduce the occurance of injuries, start people on the road to recovery for specific soft tissue injuries, and increase energy. The next time you blame your body and its aging process, take a minute or two to check out the book. Try some of the stretches for your problem areas and you'll find out – the effects of aging are not inevitable.

More on Massage: Muscle Release Therapy

The Muscle Release Technique (MRT) (sm) taught by Michael Young treats repetitive use injuries. It is designed to decrease and remove scar tissue, while lengthening the muscles back to their original length. The technique is used specifically to treat chronic pain and repetitive use injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis, Sciatica Syndrome, Knee Pain, Plantar Fasciitis, and Hammer Toe.

When a muscle contracts, its length is shortened, enabling bones and joints to move. With repetitive use, the muscle constantly moves in and out of that shortened state, or the muscle remains in a shortened state for long periods of time. This stresses the muscle, making it more susceptible to injury. Just as mentioned in the article above, injury to muscles creates scar tissue through the body’s attempts to repair microtears. This scar tissue works to shorten the muscle. In addition, through repetitive use, muscles “forget” their natural, lengthened state, and begin to think that their shortened state is normal. Repetitive use resets muscle memory to tell the body that this short, tight muscle is healthy and normal.

MRT uses stretching in conjunction with massage and compression in order to lengthen the muscle and remove scar tissue. In an MRT session, the therapist isolates particular muscles or muscle groups, and stretches them for 2-3 seconds while massaging the body of the muscle. The muscle is returned to a neutral state, then worked again for 2-3 seconds while in the stretch. By stretching the muscle repeatedly, and for short periods of time, the therapist is able to reset muscle memory so that the muscle no longer stays in a contracted, shortened state when not in use.

Sessions last anywhere from 1-2 hours, and generally include education of the client on the nature of muscle injury and how the body attempts to repair itself. In addition, the therapist may suggest self-stretches to be done on a daily basis to keep the muscle in a lengthened state and pain free. The goal is to use massage and education to get the client to a place where pain is no longer a constant presence, and where the client has control over their own treatment through self-massage and stretching.

I received training in the technique, and would be happy to discuss it with you. If you have questions about it, please give me a call at 615-294-6672.