Core Strengthening Part 3 of 3

As stated in the last two week’s posts, core strengthening is not just limited to working your abdominal muscles by doing crunches. It also includes exercising other muscles that help stabilize and strengthen your back, trunk, pelvis and hips. In this three part series, I will be writing about three different muscles that I like to encourage my Seattle Treatment Massage clients to strengthen if I find they are weak. Strengthening these muscles is a great addition to any core workout program.

In the last two parts of the Core Strengthening Series, we talked about the hip flexors and the adductors. The final third section is really going to get to the core of the matter. I am referring to the muscles know as the pubococcygeus muscle or the PC muscles. This muscles is located between the pubic bone and the tailbone. The PC muscle and the pelvis make up the bowl that holds your internal pelvic organs. When this muscle is weak it can contribute to hip instability and incontinence in men and women. A strong PC muscle can also aid with child birth and prevention of pelvic organ prolapse.

To exercise the PC muscle, you must first be aware of this muscle. Awareness can be found by attempting to cut of the flow of your urine midstream. The muscle you feel clamping down is your PC muscle. It is important for men and women to have strong PC muscles. If you are having a hard time feeling your PC muscle, see if a health practitioner can help you.

Exercises strengthening your PC muscles are generally called Kegels. One way to do a Kegel is to squeeze and hold your PC muscle for as long as you can. You might feel your PC muscle start to weaken and other abdominal muscles take over. That is fine. With time you will get stronger and getting a little abdominal strengthening with this exercise can be an added bonus.

Another way to strengthen these muscles is to picture them tighten like an elevator climbing your pelvic muscles, tightening at the bottom and working your way up.

You can also just do repetitions. One thousand and one, one thousand and two- squeeze.  One thousand one, one thousand two – release. You can use Mississippis, if that is your counting preference.

This concludes the core strengthening series. I hope it has been helpful and thank you for reading. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/

Can Massage Help Heal Tendinitis?

I am going to give you all a quick rundown of information regarding Tendinitis. This injury can be successfully treated with patience, diligence and even massage.

Tendinitis
Tendinitis is inflammation (swelling) of the tendon. A tendon is the type of tissue that connects muscle to bone.

Symptoms
* Heat and swelling
* Referred pain
* Burning and/or sharp pain

Cause
* Repetitive motion, overuse
* Tendon/muscle weakness
* Poor posture
* Sprains or strains are often accompanied by Tendinitis

Four Types of Tendinitis (symptoms)
1. Painful after activity
2. Painful at the beginning, goes away during and then returns after activity
3. Painful beginning, during and after activity and might inhibit said activity
4. Painful with all activity and is getting worse

Treatment Tips
1. Ask your doctor to give you an actual diagnosis
2. Ice after activity
3. Rest from causing activity
4. Massage
5. Painless stretches given to you from a Health Practitioner
6. Strengthening exercises given to you from a Health Practitioner

Some believe that deep friction massage helps stimulate collagen production in the damaged fibers. Others believe that using massage to break up the scar tissue is the key to healing Tendinitis. Either way, massage is most beneficial in the treatment of Tendinitis. Don’t wait, get relief. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/

Beware of Treatment Overload

Have you had chronic pain for a while and are ready to do something about it? Are you fed up with ignoring your pain in hopes that it will go away? Are you fired up to take action and do what ever you can to heal your body? That is a great mindset to be in to make a change in your life. It often is what is required to help yourself light that fire and make a difference.

Often clients come to my Seattle Treatment Massage practice and they are motivated with a capital “M” to break their cycle of pain. Those clients are usually the ones who progress the fastest. They do their exercise homework. They focus on better posture. They make their health a top priority. All of this is inspiring and quite effective.

They also might start seeing many different practitioners to address all of the causes of their pain and nip this in the bud. The  outcome of that approach can create, if one is not careful, what I call Treatment Overload. This happens when the client is spending so much time going to tons of appointments that they get burned out. They feel overwhelmed and possibly frustrated when they are not healing as fast as they would like. They then might swing to the other end of the spectrum and quit all kinds of treatment entirely.

Be very careful and balanced in your health approach. When dealing with an issue of chronic (long term) or acute (recent) pain it is important that you make decisions coming from a grounded space. I often will suggest that a client , unless it will be a detriment to their health, limit the amount of practitioners they are seeing to 2-3 at a time. It is also important to question the validity of a course of treatment that seems to not be providing results. Do not be afraid to ask your practitioner questions regarding their intention with their choice of treatment for you. Remember you are the leader of your health team.

Thank you for reading. PJ Harris, LMP. http://www.pjharris.com/

Do You Need Immediate Muscle Cramp Relief?

Do you ever get a muscle cramp in the middle of the night, during exercise, or other inconvenient times? You are not alone. Many of the clients at my Seattle Treatment Massage practice have a challenge with this.

I am going to teach you a trick that works like a charm for some muscle cramping. This trick works using the theory of reciprocal inhibition. What reciprocal inhibition is based on is the fact that every joint has synergistic and antagonistic muscles. Synergistic muscles perform the same action. Antagonistic muscles perform the opposite action. When a muscle is contracting the antagonistic muscles must relax. For example: When you flex your biceps, your triceps must relax. That is reciprocal inhibition.

So, keeping this fact in mind, stretch out the cramping muscle halfway and give the motion resistance with your hand or an object like the wall. For example: If your calf is getting a cramp, you would bend you ankle and bring your toes towards your head while you are creating a resistance at the top of your feet/toes. You should use gentle resistance and pressure. It doesn’t take much.

Another way to look at this is if you have a muscle cramp, do the muscle’s opposite action with resistance. For example: If you get a cramp in your hand while writing, you would put your fingers around the affected hand with the other hand and open your fingers. Opening your fingers is the opposite motion of the squeezing motion of using a pen. If the motion with resistance you are using is not working, you might be getting the theory backwards. Try doing the opposite.

Does that make sense? If not ask a question in the comment section regarding which muscle or action you are having a problem with and I will do my very best to describe how to use reciprocal inhibition to relieve your pain. Thank you for reading, PJ Harris, LMP. http://www.pjharris.com/

10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk

This post is an interview with Kate Conwell, Personal Trainer Extraordinaire followed by her tips of 10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk. Below are some of the questions I asked her:

What suggestions do you have for people who have a hard time motivating themselves?
When someone wants to get back into shape and needs some help getting motivated, I would recommend two things: 1) Find someone to hold you accountable to your workouts – either a personal trainer or a friend. This person should be encouraging and dependable. You want him or her to “force” you to follow through on your commitment. 2) Figure out what physical activities you enjoy most and pursue those first. There are so many ways to exercise these days – dance and fitness classes, yoga, running, weight lifting, swimming, kick boxing, pilates – the list goes on and on. Try them all, and find the one for which you have the greatest passion. If you like doing something, you’re more likely to stick with it, and you will be excited about including it in your day. After you get going, if you feel it’s necessary to add something that you don’t enjoy as much in order to accomplish your goals, then do it. But always start with the stuff you like!

How do you think that a fitness trainer and massage therapist could work together to help a client?
When I work with a client, the first step is to decrease/get rid of any muscular imbalances in order to help her body function properly and effectively. Over time some muscles get too tight, while others are constantly stretched, and therefore weakened. Correcting these imbalances will help exercise be more productive, and overall life more comfortable. I enjoy working with massage therapists, like PJ, because massage helps decrease muscle tightness and increase mobility, which would help a person get rid of her imbalances more quickly.

What advice might you give someone who is having a challenge with a chronic injury due to a sport or fitness activity?
Chronic injuries are usually the result of a muscular imbalance or weakness. I would tell that person to go see their doctor, or a sports rehab specialist, to figure out if they are healthy enough to start a weight training program, and what muscle groups that specialist would recommend focusing on. When they got clearance from their doctor to proceed with weight training, I would create a program that focuses on strengthening the weak areas, stretching any tight muscles that are contributing to the imbalance, and developing an overall healthy body to prevent this injury from recurring. I would also tell them to listen to their body as we progress through the program, and suggest ice and massage to help speed the recovery process and ensure future health.

10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk
1. Heel Raises – With both feet on the ground, press toes down and lift heels off the ground. Repeat 10-20 times.
2. Isometric Bicep – Bend elbow to 90˚ angle and press hand, palm up against bottom of desk. Keep constant pressure for 10 seconds then relax. Repeat 8-12 times.
3. Leg Extension and Hold – Extend leg straight ahead and squeeze. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 8-12 times.
4. Neck Stretch – Lean head toward one ear and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
5. Toe Raises – With both feet on the ground press heels down and lift toes off the ground. Repeat 10-20 times.
6. Upper Body Twist – Cross right leg over left knee then slowly twist body to right shoulder. Hold 15-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
7. Arm Circles / Shoulder Circles – With arms straight and parallel to floor circle in each direction 10 times. For shoulder version leave arms at sides.
8. Tricep Stretch – Hold one arm behind your head so that your elbow points up toward the ceiling. With the other hand, slowly pull on the elbow and hold for 15-30 seconds each arm.
9. Seated Crunch – Hands at side to support weight. Feet start on the floor in front of you. Lift your knees toward your chest and hold for 5 seconds. Lower legs back toward ground and repeat 10-15 times.
10. Inner Thigh Squeeze – While seated with back flat, place one fist between your knees. Squeeze your fist by contracting your inner thighs. Release slightly, keeping abs engaged and repeat 10-20 times.

How can people sign up for your newsletter?
Email me at: kate@purebdodyfitness with “Newsletter Sign-Up” in the subject line. Or visit my website, www.purebodyfitness.com and click on the link there to sign up directly.

Thank you Kate. Great tips! PJ Harris, LMP, http://www.pjharris.com

What is the most important piece of your healing puzzle?

You!! You are the golden puzzle key to your health.

Better than any doctor or other health practitioner, you know what is best for you. You are the foremost expert on the body you have lived with all of your life. When a health practitioner gives you a diagnoses or health recommendation, take a breath and check in with yourself. Is what they are saying aligned with what you know about your body? Health decisions start with information provided by others. Pass this information through the knowledge of the one who actually wrote the manual on you.

• The best way to gain the information you need is to ask questions. Some people are under the opinion that this is rude or that they must trust that the doctor knows best. I believe YOU know best. The most effective way to help your doctor is to fully understand what is going on and why you are receiving certain treatments. Your body responds better if you are aligned with the intention of your treatment.
• Second and third opinions are all great information. When you receive those, check them out with the most important opinion. Yours!
• Sometimes in the moment we don’t think of questions and later we come up with some important ones. Ask your practitioner if you can you email them questions later. Why e-mail and not telephone your questions? When was the last time you called and reached a Doctor directly?
• Take notes or record your appointments. When you feel stressed you might forget the details of what your practitioner told you.
• Have an advocate. Someone you can discuss things over with to get clarity. Another option is to bring them with you to your appointment.
• If the treatment is not bringing the progress you are looking for, you can ask for a referral for a practitioner that might offer another avenue to explore.
• Educate yourself about your diagnosis. Wikipedia can be a starting resource. It is written by everyday people not experts. So I can’t attest to the accuracy. That also means the likelihood of an article written by a drug company just wanting you to take their latest pill is lowered. At the bottom of the page, are usually helpful links that can get you on the road to discovery. Other sites to try are:

Family Practice Notebook

National Institute of Health

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

In short, the person who is going to take best take care of your health is you. Thus you taking an active role in your health care is paramount to you living a healthy life. Thanks PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/