We just returned from a relaxing weeklong vacation at Center Hill Lake - a week where we basically sat around and read for six days. It was glorious! The cabin was beautiful and the weather was perfect. If you're looking for a place to have a quiet weekend with no phone, internet or other interruptions, you'll love the area.

Enjoy!

- heather wibbels (615.294-6672)

You shut a door on your finger. You run your head into the corner of a cabinet. Your foot walks into the edge of a coffee table. What do you do? You put your hand to the injury and hold it. This reflex to hold and rub the area of the injury shows up almost any time we’re injured, from scrapes and cuts to broken bones and concussions. The body sends signals to itself to put the hands on the wounds and the essence of self-massage is apparent in that reflex.

Part of the body’s immediate response to touch an injured area comes from the need to protect the area from further harm. The hands or forearm protecting the injured area keeps it out of harm’s way and also helps staunch bleeding, if there is any. With muscular or joint injuries, the impulse to touch and massage can be particularly helpful to relieve the pain.

Self-massage to muscular or joint injuries increases the short term blood flow to an area, encouraging the circulatory system to remove the waste products still left in the muscles. The relaxing effect of massage on muscles opens up the area to increased circulation because muscle contraction can sometimes restrict blood flow to an area. In relaxing the muscles, massage also increases flexibility and range of motion. This opens up the area through which nerves run, and takes pressure off the muscles themselves. It also releases adhesions that may have formed that restrict range of motion and helps to relieve pain.

Massage loosens tight muscles and attempts to get the muscles in an area to balance one another’s actions efficiently. Sometimes, when one muscle or muscle group is particularly tight, other parts of the body “compensate” for that restriction of movement, and begin to overwork or over stretch in order to keep the body moving. Keeping the muscles loose after injury prevents these compensation patterns from arising. At the time of injury, remember the RICE rule – rest, ice, compress, and elevate. Rest the injured area. Use ice if the muscle is inflamed. Use compression on the area to support the muscles and joints while they are injured. And elevate the injury, keeping good circulation going to and from the injury site.

Self-massage of an area can include gentle or deeper pressure around the injured area. If swelling occurs use small, light strokes in the direction of blood flowing back to the heart to help move that lymphatic fluid back up into the system. Gentle mobilization of a muscle soon after injury gives you a good idea of the range of motion effects of the injury, and continuing the gentle mobilization and stretching of the area will help keep those adhesions from occurring. Remember to rest the injured area. For example, if you’ve injured your lower back, refrain from heavy lifting or deep bending for a few days. If you’ve injured your shoulder, keep from carrying heavy objects with that injured shoulder (grocery bags, brief cases and heavy purses count!). Use five to ten minutes of self-massage every hour or two after the injury to keep the blood flow going and the muscle moving.

Your natural impulse is to hold and massage an injured area. Listen to your body and massage muscular/joint injuries to improve recovery time and keep the pain down. Our bodies have the means to heal itself most of the time; we just have to learn to listen.

More on Massage: Sports Massage

Preventing injury through massage

Sports Massage is a specific type of massage designed to increase circulation, prevent injuries, relieve swelling, increase flexibility, and improve performance. Using a combination of Swedish massage techniques, passive stretching, and trigger point work, Sports Massage is used both before and after sporting events to increase performance and decrease injuries. Often, sports massage is broken up into pre- and post-event massage types because the goals and techniques used are different.

In pre-event massage, the goal is to increase circulation and flexibility – to prepare the body for the event to reduce the change of injury, and to increase the performance of the athlete. It also calms anxiety, and helps the athlete focus on the event. Pre-event sessions happen within 24 hours of the event and are usually shorter sessions. Within 30 minutes of the event, the sports massage is general only 5 to 10 minutes in length. Earlier than that, and longer sessions may be performed. Pre-event massage does not include deep tissue work or trigger point work. Because this kind of work greatly effects muscle flexibility, it can effect the timing and strength of the muscles. This means the muscle is markedly different from its usual state during training – making it easier for the body to injure or over-exert that area. (www.thebodyworker.com).

In post-event massage, the goal is to work lactic acid and other by-products of muscle contraction out of the system to decrease soreness and recovery time. Muscle tension, cramping and inflammation are also important items of focus for the massage therapist. Muscle techniques to flush the muscles, slowly cool down the muscles, and prevent cramping are often performed on the client at this time.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, regular sports massage can:

• Reduce the chance of injury, by relieving stress points in muscles, before they result in restrictions or spasm;
• Improve range of motion and muscle flexibility, resulting in improved power and performance;
• Shorten recovery time between workouts;
• Maximize the supply of nutrients and oxygen through increased blood flow;
• Facilitate the body’s regular processes for recovery from exercise;
• Decrease performance anxiety and sharpen mental focus.

Often, large, supported sporting events offer pre- and post-event massage. Make sure the therapist you’re seeing is licensed. If you’re a professional athlete, find a massage therapist well-versed in sports massage. Sports massage is greatly enhanced through working with one particular therapist. The therapist gets to know the athlete’s common injuries or flexibility problems, and knows the standard feel of the body. This experience makes it much easier for the therapist to assist in the identification in problem areas and treat the body in the most effective way possible.

For more information on sports massage see the following websites:

• Sports Massage Association
• The Canadian Sport Massage Therapists Association (CSMTA)
• The BodyWorker.Com