Elbow & Lower Arm Massage

Every active person can benefit from massaging their lower arms and elbows once in awhile and depending on your sports and activities you may need it daily.

Check out our YouTube video: Elbow & Lower Arm Massage: Do It While You View It

Wrist Massage

Every active person can benefit from a wrist massage once in awhile and depending on the state of your wrists you may need one every day.

This massage is recommended for people who train with weights, practice yoga, ride mountain bikes, climb rocks, swing rackets, bats or clubs, spend their days working on a computer keyboard or anyone who wants healthy happy wrists.

7 Steps to Happy Wrists
Step 1: Roll’em Up
If you’re wearing long sleeves roll them up and bare your wrists.

Step 2: Squeeze
Rest your hand on your thigh and wrist in the air. Squeeze your wrist. Then begin pulsing your squeeze by alternately tightening and loosening your grip about ten times. When you’ve massaged the first wrist move onto the second and then to step 3.

Step 3: Front Press & Roll
Rest the back of your wrist on your thigh and press & roll your thumb into your wrist. Relax your arm and breathe deeply. When you’ve covered one wrist move onto the other and then to step 4.

Step 4: Back Press & Roll
Turn your wrist over, rest it on your thigh, and press & roll your thumb or three middle fingers from your other hand in small circles into the back of wrist. Relax your wrist and breathe deeply. Press & roll a finger into the sides of your wrist. When you’ve covered one wrist move onto the other, then to step 5.

Step 5: Experiment
Rest your left hand on your left thigh with your fingers pointing toward your left knee and your hand folded at a 90 degree angle from your arm. This position will flex the muscles on one side of your wrist and stretch them on the other side. Massage both sides of your wrist by pressing and rolling your fingers into your wrist. Look for tender spots. Try folding your wrist the other way and massage both sides of it. Relax your arm and go slowly looking for tender spots. When you’ve covered one wrist move onto the other and then to step 6.

Step 6 Drumming
Drum or tap your fingers on your wrists.

Step 7 Rock’n Roll
Let it go, move your arms quickly keeping your hands in a fist!

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your wrists feel stiff or painful.
Suggested Time: 3 to 4 minutes (but take as long as you need)

Benefits of Wrist Massage
*Relieves muscle pain and soreness
*Prevents Injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
*Renewed flexibility to wrists
*Younger happier wrists
*Improved muscle performance
*Energizes
*Releases trigger points
*Feels good
*Activates acupressure points
*Relaxes
*More flexible wrists

Check out our YouTube video: Wrist Massage: Do It While You View It
For more information on the wrist see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrist
###

Trigger Points and Booty Ball Massage

If you want to run faster Booty Ball Massage is your ticket, here’s why:

Over time everyone, you, me, President-elect Obama develop knots in our muscles that reduce our strength. These knots are called trigger points. (For the extensive scientific evidence supporting this theory this see the two volume treatise by Travell and Simons Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual . In a more accessible form see Claire Davies book The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook.

Trigger points develop spontaneously in muscles all over our bodies. Pressing on them through massage and other forms of body work releases them. That’s one of the reasons massage can be painful.

Until a trigger point is released the muscle in which it lives is weakened and other muscles must do the inhibited muscle’s work which weakens those muscles as well. You’ve probably seen elderly people whose old bent bodies can barely function. It’s usually not old age per se that’s crippling them but the accumulation of unreleased trigger points.

Releasing trigger points is easy to do when you’re young and relatively healthy. All you have to do is press on them with enough force to release them which can be painful. As a matter of fact that’s how you know you’ve found one, it emits what has been described as an “exquisite tenderness” when pressed. Yikes!

Anyway one big place these trigger points live until they’re released is your butt. Your glutes are the largest muscles in your body and unless you’re massaging them regularly trigger points are growing in them and weakening them and the surrounding muscles. This of course reduces glute and leg strength which reduces your running speed.

One easy way to release trigger points in your glutes is to allow your body weight to do it while you’re sitting at work or watching a video. That’s why I created the booty ball massage video now on YouTube. Watch the video, do booty ball massage and your trigger points will disappear like a fist when you open your hand. You’ll feel better and run faster.

Massage Your Hands (mano y mano)

Every active person needs the benefits that massage can give their hands. Here’s how to get those benefits whenever you need them.

Eight Steps to Happy Hands

Step 1: Glide
Glide your hands against each other to warm them. This rubbing should produce an energy or force in your hands. After briskly rubbing the fronts of your hands together for about 30 seconds stop. Hold your hands palm to palm about a quarter inch from each other without touching. When you can feel the force you’re ready to move to step 2.

Step 2: Finger Pull and Squeeze
Script: Squeeze each finger beginning with your thumb. Make a fist, put a finger in the center of the fist. Squeeze the finger, pulling and twisting it out. When you’ve massage all five digits on one hand massage the remaining five. Squeeze the skin on the side of the hand below the pinky.

Step 3: Hand Squeeze
Squeeze your left hand with your right hand. Begin at your wrist, move your right hand towards your finger tips re-squeezing every inch or so until you’ve covered your hand. Then do the other hand and alternate a few times between the two until you’ve got it covered. Relax, look for tender spots, and breathe deeply.

Step 4: Press and Roll
Front of Hands
Interlace your fingers, rest the back of your right hand on the outside of your left thigh, stretch your right hand with your left. Press and press & roll your left thumb into your open right hand. After covering your right hand reverse positions and use your right thumb to massage your left hand.
Back of Hands
With the fronts of your hands facing each other and your fingers interlaced, press and roll the fingers from your right hand into the back of your left hand. Massage between the bones in the back of your hand. Just below the knuckles feels especially good. Massage the muscle tissue between your thumb and index finger. When the back of your left hand has been massaged, return the favor and massage your right hand. Then release your hands from their embrace and massage the backs of each hand by pressing and rolling the fingers from one hand into the back of the other.
Going Deeper
For an extra deep massage rest your left hand, palm up, on your right thigh and press and press & roll your right elbow into it. If it feels good on your left hand massage your right hand.


Step 5: Gliding
Repeat Step 1 by gliding your hands together.

Step 6: Drumming
Drum, slap, or tap your hand with your fingers, fist, or palm.

Step 7: Rock’n Roll
Shake your hands. Let them dance.

Step 8: Breathe Deeply & Sit Quietly
Take three deep breaths into your lower belly and feel the difference a good hand massage makes.

Suggested Time: 5 minutes.
Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your hands deserve it.


Benefits of Hand Massage
Relieves muscle pain and soreness
Prevents Injuries
Renewed flexibility to hands
Younger happier hands
Improved muscle performance
Energizes
Releases trigger points
Feels good
Activates acupressure points
Relaxes
More powerful hands

For more information on hands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand


Booty Ball Massage

If you want to run faster, jump higher, or sit prettier, a glute massage is your ticket. Yes, every active person needs the benefits that only a glute massage can bequeath. If you have a desk job, here’s how to get those benefits at work.

Choose One

Softball, baseball, hard rubber ball, golf ball, squash ball

Get a ball. Size matters, so does hardness. Choose the size that’s right for your chair and seat. The softer the seat the bigger the ball. It’s a hard ball and a hard chair you want. Choose the smallest ball that you can feel when you sit and roll your hips over it. A hard squash ball is best butt if your seat has lots of padding you’ll need something bigger maybe a golf ball, tennis ball, baseball or even a softball. Then you’ll need to get on the ball.

Five Steps to Massage Your Glutes
Step 1: Choose sides
Choose the side you want to start with, the one that most needs a massage.

Step 2: Roll it
Place the ball on your chair and your glutes on the ball. Then roll your hips in small circles, clockwise and then counter clockwise. Periodically shift the position of the ball. Continue shifting the ball and circling your hips. You may find that a different sized ball works better, if you have another ball handy try it. After massaging one side give your other side a ride.

Step 3: Turning the other cheek
Rotate your hips in small circles, then every once in a while move the ball to a new spot under your glutes. Look for tender spots. You can move the ball by shifting your glutes or just picking up the ball and replacing it.

Tips:
Music makes this massage more effective and fun
Relax your glutes
Breathe into your butt
Press the heels of your hands into your quads while continuing to roll your hips.
It may take you a couple of tries to find the right ball but when you do you’ll know it

Step 4: Drumming
Drum, slap, or tap your glutes with the heels of your hands or your fists. You’ll have to stand up to drum your glutes but they’re worth getting up for.

Step 5: Rock’n Roll
Get up and dance. Wake it and shake it, move your booty!

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your glutes feel tight, or your lower back or hips need attention. If it’s been awhile since you had a good glute massage do this routine often.

Suggested Time: 5 minutes (but take as long as you need).

Benefits of Glute Massage
Releases trigger points
Activates acupressure points
Relieves muscle pain and soreness
Feels good
Improves athletic performance
Relaxes
Energizes
Gives your hips a workout
A treat for your seat
Massaging your glutes massages the largest muscles in your body
Massaging your glutes may relieve pain in your lower back and hips

Note: I recommend a hard squash ball. Squash balls are made of rubber of two types: hard and soft. The hard ones make great massage tools, the soft ones do not.

For more information on the gluteus maximus muscle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutes

For more than you ever wanted to know about the butt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt

Watch the YouTube Video Booty Ball Massage: Do It While You View It

Assisted Back Massage

massage: what every athlete needs every week.....
Uploaded by sparkiejames

Nice massage video at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3t8wt_massage-what-every-athlete-needs-ev_music

The Hip Butt Massage

Every active person needs the benefits that only massage can deliver to their glutes and hip flexors. Here’s how to get those benefits when you need them.


To get the best massage for your hips and glutes, you’ll need a couple of massage tools. For your hip flexors, those skeletal muscles that flex your hips, you'll need a Backnobber II. For your glutes a hard squash ball, super ball, or golf ball will come in handy. You'll also need a hard chair. If you have any questions about whether your hips and glutes should be massaged or any of the techniques described in this post consult your doctor, massage therapist, or medical practitioner.

Eight Steps to a Hip Glute Massage
Step 1
Glide your hands over your hips to warm them up.

Step 2: Hip Massage Using Your Hands


Stroke #1: Sitting akimbo, press your hands into your hips and roll your pelvis slowly in small circles. This should feel good.



Stroke #2: Place your thumbs on your front hip flexors (the place where your thigh meets your hips). Four fingers from each hand rest on your sides and extend towards the seat of the chair. Press & roll your thumbs into your hip flexors. If nothing else it will give your thumbs a pretty good workout. Relax your hips while pressing & rolling your thumbs. Move your thumbs around until you’ve explored the territory.



Stroke #3: Holding your hands at 90 degree angles to the sides of your hips press and press & roll your finger tips directly into the sides and backs of your hip flexors. Again explore the terrain.



Stroke #4: Press and press & roll the heels of your hands into your front hip flexors. Use your upper body weight to lean into it. Move your hips in small circles clockwise, then counter clockwise, and adjust your hands ever so slightly until you’ve got it covered.



Step 3: Hip Massage Using The Backnobber II
Stroke #1: Press and press & roll the Backnobber II into the muscle and fleshy areas on the sides of your hips. Begin at the back of your hips and gradually press & roll your way to the front. Lean your hip into the knob at the end of the massage tool while relaxing your hips. I don’t recommend massaging your hip bone with the massage tool. When you've finished massaging one side move onto the other.


Stroke #2: Front Hip Flexors
Hold the massage tool perpendicular to the floor. When massaging your right hip flexor rest the top knob on your right hip flexor. Place your left hand just above the knob and your right hand on the inside of the tool even with your right thigh and press down. Be careful you’re in delicate territory here. Go slowly and get comfortable with this stroke. Move your hands slightly to massage different spots. Or just rotate your hips in small circles. Be careful. Relax and breathe into it.


Stroke #3: Rest the bottom S curve on your front hip flexor. Then, sitting up straight, just press on the top of the upright S. Press, and press & roll the curved section at the bottom of the S into your hip flexors.

There are many more variations you can try with the Backnobber II. Find some that work for you.


Step 4: Booty Ball Massage
Place a small hard rubber ball* under your glutes and rotate your hips in small circles, clockwise and then counter clockwise. Periodically shift the position of the ball. Continue shifting the ball and circling your hips. You may find that different sized balls work better for different parts of your glutes, depending on the size of the padding in your chair and your seat. After massaging one side give your other seat a treat.

Step 5: More Booty Ball Massage
After moving the ball to your other side follow the same routine of rolling your hips and moving the ball ever so slightly until your glutes have been massaged. Stay relaxed and breathe deeply into your butt.

Step 6 Gliding
Repeat Step 2 by gliding your hands over your hips.

Step 7 Drumming
Drum, slap, or tap your hips and glutes with the heels of your hands or your fists. You’ll have to stand up to drum your glutes but it’s worth getting up for.

Step 8 Rock’n Roll
Get up and shake it, move your booty, your hips, dance!


Test: OK, now get up, walk around, and feel the difference a hip butt massage can make.

Suggested Time: 5 to 10 minutes (but take as long as you need)

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your hips or butt feel a little tight.

Notes:
* I highly recommend a hard squash ball. Squash balls are made of rubber of two types: hard and soft. The hard ones make great massage tools, the soft ones do not. Squash balls are a little smaller than a golf ball. Any hard rubber ball about the size of a golf ball should work. A golf ball can also be used but is not as effective as a hard rubber ball.

For more information on hip flexors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_flexors

For more information on the gluteus maximus muscle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutes

And for more than you ever wanted to know about the butt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt

And to watch the YouTube video The Hip Booty Massage: Do It While You View It

Upper Leg Massage

If you want all the benefits of massage applied to your quads, hamstrings, IT bands, and adductors watch this video and have at it. The massage should do wonders for your upper legs. Have fun with it. Perform it regularly and you'll notice a big improvement in how you feel and your athletic performance.

To see it in writing, take a look at my last post.

Massage Your Upper Legs

Photo by orionoir

Every active person needs the benefits that massage can give their quads, hamstrings and IT bands. Here’s how to get those benefits whenever you need them.

Eight Steps to Upper Leg Bliss
Step 1
Choose the leg that most needs a massage. (for purposes of this example massage your right leg). Seated in a chair, keep your left foot on the floor and rest your right ankle on your left knee.

Step 2
Glide your hands over your upper leg to warm it up, from your knee to your glutes.

Step 3
Quadriceps:
Stroke #1: Place both feet on the floor, press your right elbow into your interior quads, relax your leg while moving your elbow in a straight line towards your hips. Don’t be afraid to lean into it. When you get to your hip bone go back down to your knee and choose a new line to go up. Repeat this process until you’ve covered your entire quadriceps. This should feel pretty good.
Stroke #2: Press your elbow into your quads and roll your elbow in small circles to get a deeper massage. Keep your leg relaxed. Look for tender spots and work them. Be gentle but firm. If you’re like me you’ll find tender spots the closer you get to your hips bones.

Step 4
IT Bands: Rest your right ankle on your knee. While pressing into your inner thigh with your left palm, use the fist of your other hand to press and press & roll into your IT bands. The trick here is to keep your IT band and upper leg muscles relaxed. To go deeper, press your palm into your inner thigh while pressing & rolling your fist into your IT band. To go even deeper, use a massage tool like the Knobble II to massage your IT bands. To relax your upper leg, try placing your right foot on the floor and massage your IT band.


Knobble II

Step 5
Inner Thigh: Rest your right ankle on your knee. Grip the outside of your knee with your left hand and press or press & roll your left elbow into your adductor (inner thigh) muscles.

Step 6
Hamstrings: Slide forward so you’re sitting towards the front of the chair and can access your hamstrings from underneath. Press & roll four fingers from each hand into your hamstrings while placing your thumbs on the sides of your leg. Keep your muscles loose and relaxed.
If you need more intensity than your fingers alone can deliver try using a massage tool. The Knobble II works great for this. Move back in your chair. Place the tool between the chair and your hamstrings and rotate your right foot in small circles an inch or so off the ground. This is a surprisingly effective way to get a hamstring massage while sitting at your desk and maybe even get some work done.

Step 7
Gliding: Repeat Step 2 by gliding your hands over your upper leg muscles, moving from your knee towards your glutes.

Step 8
Drumming: With your ankle resting on your knee drum, slap, or tap your upper leg with your fists.

Watch the YouTube video Upper Leg Massage to see what this massage looks like.

Test: OK, get up, walk around, and feel the difference between your legs. Then sit back down and massage your other leg.

Suggested Time: 3 minutes per leg (but take as long as you need)

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your upper legs need it.

For more information on thigh muscles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Thigh_muscles

Foot Massage: Do It While You View It

If you run, walk or are contemplating either try this foot massage video on for size.

Self-Massage for Runners Calf Muscles

Every runner’s calves need massage once in a while, here’s how to get it done fast and effectively.

Eight Steps to Grateful Calves
Step 1: Choose the calf that most needs a massage.
Step 2: Glide your hands over that calf to warm it up, from your ankle to your knee.
Step 3: Squeeze your calf muscles with both hands moving from your ankle towards your knee. Look for tender areas and work them a little extra. One hand should be on top of your shin bone (tibia) and the other under your calf.
Step 4: Squeeze and roll the calf muscles with both hands, begin at your ankle and move gradually towards your knee.
Step 5: Press both fists into your calf muscles moving gradually from ankle to knee.
Step 6: Press while rolling your fists vigorously into your calf muscles especially the ones on either side of your shin. Keep the muscles relaxed while you massage them and breathe out deeply.
Step 7: Repeat Step 3 by squeezing your warmed relaxed calf muscles moving from your ankle gradually towards your knee. When you’ve had enough, start
Step 8: Drumming the entire area you just massaged using your open hands.
Test: OK, get up, walk around, and feel the difference between your lower legs. Then get your butt back down and do your other leg.
Suggested Time: 2.5 minutes per calf (but take as long as you need)

Extra: All you need for a good lower leg massage is a hand and a leg. To go deeper try a massage tool, like the one pictured called the Knobble II, that will do your calves good. Press it directly



into your calf muscles beginning near your ankle and moving up gradually towards your knee. Keep the muscles relaxed and press into every spot on your calf. To go deeper, try rolling the tool as you press into the soleus and gastrocs that make up your calf muscles.

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your calves need a treat. Self-massage it’s not just for cheapskates anymore.

Watch the YouTube video of this massage Lower Leg Massage: Do It While You View It

For more on calf muscles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soleus

A Modest Proposal to Rub Out Doctors

photo by Lush.i.ous
I submitted a proposal called "Rub Out Doctors with Your Bare Hands" to ChangeThis.com.

It’s not that I have anything against doctors. I just think if you can maintain your own health without their help you’re better off. The economy is better off, everyone is better off. Even doctors are better off because with spare time on their hands they can improve their golf game, brush up on their bedside manners, and get their own health back on track.

I believe that most illness and injuries can be prevented if you catch them when they’re small with a few simple techniques like massage that are easy to learn and simple to do. I believe it because it works so well for me. And there is some research that supports this thesis.

The folks at ChangeThis.com are holding a contest to see which of 20 proposals gets the most votes. The one that does gets to write a manifesto to illuminate their proposal. If you want to take a look at my proposal it’s copied below. If you’d like to see it turned into a 40 or 50 page article click here and then click on the button: Yes, write this manifesto. You can also check out the other proposals and vote for them. I hope you do.

Rub Out Doctors with Your Bare Hands
Relying on doctors to fix you up after the fact is risky, painful, and stupid. You can prevent most illness and overuse injury by going to a massage therapist twice a week or taking matters into your own hands.

When received two or more times a week, massage revs up your immune system and keeps it firing to reduce your need for scary medical treatments. The future of healthcare belongs to those who seize it.

Massage therapy made the time-tested practice of massage cool again by applying the science of modern medicine. With a few tweaks, you can apply the benefits of massage therapy to yourself. If you’re in touch with your own body, you’re less likely to strain, tear, or break it.

By making massage immediately accessible, self-massage dramatically amplifies the power of massage therapy. At your fingertips, massage is the most powerful preventive medicine available.

Self-massage! It’s not just for one small part of your body anymore.

Surgery and Running Injuries

photo by sean drellinger

I recently got an email from a running buddy I hadn’t seen or heard from in awhile. When I asked how her running was going, she told me “your mouth will drop when you read this but I just had knee surgery, for the sixth time in two years.”

The original diagnosis was a meniscal tear. She may run again, she may not, no one knows.

About five years ago, I had a swollen knee that I believed was due to a bad bike fit. The MD at the HMO who examined my knee hadn’t been practicing long. She referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon examined my knee, diagnosed a meniscal tear, and recommend surgery. I told him I wanted an MRI and a second opinion.

The MRI showed a possible but not definite meniscal tear. The second surgeon also recommended surgery to fix the meniscus. When I pointed out that none of his tests revealed symptoms of a meniscal tear, he said there were indications of meniscal tear. And “besides, he said, “the knee is swollen and once I scope that knee I’ll find something. Out of every 500 knees, maybe one doesn’t need some work.”

I deferred on the surgery and saw a physical therapist who recommended stretching and strengthening exercises which I did. My knee healed. When the problem recurred a couple of years later I discovered a yoga pose that fixed the problem once and for all.

I’m not sure what the moral of this story is or even if there is one. Maybe:

Doctors make mistakes.

or

In the end everyone is there own doctor.

or

Western medicine may result in an expensive way to resolve a simple problem.

Treating Running Injuries

I had a friend who was a physical therapist and liked to hang out with runners because they get injured so often.

When I was in law school a professor asked when does a problem become a legal issue? After many attempts to coax the answer from the class using the Socratic method, he finally had to suggest the answer. “A problem becomes a legal issue when a lawyer is asked to solve it. The same question brought to a psychiatrist is a psychiatric problem. If it’s asked of an architect it requires an architectural solution.

Think about that next time you have a running injury that needs medical treatment. If you consult a surgeon, they’ll recommend surgery. If a medical doctor who doesn’t practice surgery is selected, she’ll write a prescription for drugs. Take that same problem to a physical therapist and the solution is likely to be stretching and strengthening exercises. Take it to an acupuncturist and what do you think will be offered as treatment?

Next time a running injury requires medical treatment it might be wise to first take it to the least invasive practitioner who in your opinion has a reasonable chance of resolving the issue.

Foot Massage for Runners

Every runner needs a foot massage, here’s how to massage your feet and feel better fast.

Nine Steps to Happy Feet
Step 1: Choose the foot that most needs a massage.
Step 2: Glide your hands over that foot to warm it up, from your toes to your ankle.
Step 3: Squeeze your whole foot beginning with your toes and moving gradually towards and eventually up your ankle. Look for tender areas and work them a little extra.
Step 4: Squeeze, pull and twist each toe. Begin with the biggie and end with the pinkie.
Step 5: Press both thumbs into the bottom of your foot and press your remaining eight fingers into the tops of your foot. Begin near your toes and move towards your ankle.
Step 6: Repeat step 5, but this time roll your thumbs as you press into your foot.
Step 7: Press and roll your fingers into your ankle area.
Step 8: Repeat Step 3 and squeeze your foot beginning with your toes.
Step 9: Drum the tops and bottoms of your feet lightly with your fists.

Get up and walk around noting the difference between how your two feet feel. Then sit back down and do it all again with your other foot.

Suggested Time: 2.5 minutes per foot (but take as long as you need)

There are two types of runners those who have foot problems and those who will have foot problems. Foot massage will relieve problems that you have now and prevents new ones from forming.

Extra: All you need for a good foot massage is a hand and a foot. To go deeper try a massage tool. My favorite is the Backnobber II. While it’s not designed for the foot it’s still the most effective tool I’ve found for my feet. You just pull the little knob at the end into your foot with as much or as little intensity as you need. Move it from spot to spot until you’ve found all the spots that need work.


Backnobber II used for foot massage

Watch the YouTube video of this massage: Foot Massage: Do It While You View It

Self-Massage Techniques for Runners

If you run try these techniques to relieve muscle pain and soreness.

You can watch this video at the YouTube site under the title Massage for Runners: Do It While You View It.

Lance Armstrong Joins the Self-Massage Movement

With a recent article on his Livestrong website, Lance Armstrong has demonstrated a willingness to use of his celebrity to promote one of the most neglected and important healthcare therapies available. The article advocates and teaches the use of self-massage. It reports that self-massage is easy to learn and offers healthful self-massage routines for shoulders, feet, hands, and abs.

The feature states that, “Massage is one of the easiest ways to attain and maintain good health and well-being.” It sites improved circulation, relaxed muscles, improved digestion, increased energy, and the release of endorphins as some of the many benefits of massage.

Lance Armstrong has been an effective champion of improved public health and fitness since his battle with cancer and subsequent triumphs at the Tour de France for a record seven consecutive victories. His website is designed to inspire visitors to make healthy lifestyle changes.

As an athlete and cancer survivor, Lance knows the value of massage. He also knows that most people can’t afford to hire a professional massage therapist as often as needed, which, for active people, may be as frequently as every day.

As Lance knows from first hand experience, the boost that massage gives to the immune system is significant and is reason enough for everyone to enjoy a daily massage. A great deal of research has been performed on this issue by Dr. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami.

There is an increasing awareness of the benefits of self-massage among active people. With its growing popularity, self-massage may be on its way to becoming a significant movement in health and fitness. If so it will be in part due to Mr. Armstrong’s efforts.

Do All Runners Need a Massage?

photo by Brian Ream

Any runner who wants to improve their speed, endurance, and energy needs a daily massage as does any runner who wishes to reduce injuries, stress, and muscle soreness. But who needs it more:

1. A 30-year-old Kara Goucher training to compete in the 5K and 10K at the Olympics?
or
A 60-year-old Frank Shorter doing his daily run and workout?
Your Answer:______________

2. A 42-year-old man who runs three times a week and has a history of calf muscle pain and injuries?
or
A 22-year old distance runner who just signed a contract with Nike and whose feet look like salad dressing?
Your Answer:______________

3. A 14-year-old running cross country for the first time in high school and trying to figure out what her body can do?
or
A 72-year-old man who loves running but has been plagued with a series of overuse injuries lately?
Your Answer______________

4. A 32-year old chemical engineer whose quads are killing him when he wakes up the morning after an intense run?
or
A 27-year old attorney who just started a running program after years of inactivity and is feeling uneasy about running and pain in her shins?
Your Answer______________

5. A 22-year-old steeple chase collegiate all-American preparing for the Beijing Olympics? or A 32-year-old guy training for his first marathon and planning to run in under 3 hours? Your Answer______________

6. A former bike racer who at age 36 describes running a marathon as the toughest thing he’s ever done?
or
A 49-year-old woman who is going to a massage therapist twice a week but just lost her job and can’t afford to continue?
Your Answer______________

7. A 43-year-old ultra runner who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer?
or
A 35-year-old woman who loves running but misses six weeks per year due to illness?
Your Answer______________

8. A 52-year-old writer of books on running and games for the super intelligent who has a heart condition but thinks running makes him invulnerable?
or
A 29- year-old woman who is going though a stressful divorce?
Your Answer______________

9. You?
or
Your best running partner?
Your Answer______________

The answer: In all cases the person who needs a daily massage more is the one who’s not getting one. To find out why, click here.

Benefits of Learning Self-Massage

If you run or are active in other ways you know you need a massage, maybe not at this exact moment but soon. And you’ll keep needing one as long as you live. So you can learn how now or you can keep putting it off and suffering.

Learning self-massage may not be as bad as you think. We’re not talking self-surgery or even something as painful as golf, just some simple gliding, squeezing, pressing, drumming, and dancing. You probably know how to do all these strokes anyway, you just haven’t thought of them as massage before or used them with intent. Here’s a link check it out, it’s free.

Massage is a skill worth having even if you never turn it on yourself. You can use it on others to enrich their lives and end their suffering.

Everyone has their own reason for learning massage. What’s yours?

*Reduced muscle pain and soreness because massage eliminates trigger points, cleans out toxins, and feeds muscles with fresh nutrients and oxygen
*Improved health because massage strengthens the immune system
*Improved mood because massage reduces stress
*Improved athletic performance because massage speeds recovery between workouts
*Fewer injuries because massage removes trigger points which often cause injuries
*Fewer injuries because massage puts you in touch with your body and lets you know what’s weak before it breaks
*Fewer injuries because massage is a more precise and effective way to stretch muscles
*Youth because massage not only makes you feel younger it lets you look younger by releasing tired old muscles
*Better circulation because massage presses blood and lymph through you
*Pain reduction of all kinds because massage releases endorphin cocktails
*Better understanding of your body because knowledge begins with touch
*Learning to massage others because self-massage is a great teaching tool
*Increased energy because with the right strokes massage channels energy
*Relaxation because with the right strokes massage relaxes

You may just want one or two of these benefits. Regardless, you get them all, just by learning seven simple strokes and using them. What are you waiting for? Click here and learn them now.

Good for You

photo credit: Almoko

How could anything as simple as breathing, bathing, drinking fresh water, eating whole foods be good for you? Self-massage is that simple and that good for you!

For a touch of Ayurvedic self-massage check out this post by Carole Fogarty. She begins “You Absolutely Deserve A Daily Self-Massage” this way:

“I promise, once you allow as little as 5 minutes a day to massage your own body you will notice the benefits from day one. I personally always feel a bit more loved, much more alive, lighter, grounded and rather pleased with myself knowing that I have taken the time to appreciate and then rejuvenate the energy flow in my body.”

Better yet read the post in its entirety by clicking here!

Introduction to the New Massage

A massage a day will do more for you than keep the doctor away.

The best time to get a massage is when you need one.

Benefits
You win if you can improve your health, mood, and fitness level while reducing injuries, stress, and muscle pain.

By taking simple ideas from massage therapy and tweaking them, self-massage transfers the benefits of massage directly to the end user.

Music for The Body
Massage therapy created a simple system that could be transferred from teacher to student by applying basic ideas from science, medicine, and anatomy. Self-massage delivers that simple system directly to the consumer.

Self-massage is massage for the digital age: it’s immediate, portable, and powerful. It’s when you need it, where you need it. Like the web itself, self-massage eliminates the frictions of time and money by delivering information instantly and freely.

Making access to information infinitely easier changes the nature of the information.

Self-massage takes a good thing and makes it better by changing the delivery system. A small change makes a big difference. It’s like moving music from the 19th century concert hall of the privileged few to the headphones of the 21st century for everyone to enjoy.

Now
Massage is an idea whose roots go back to prehistory, and contain hundreds of variations. Massage therapies like Swedish massage, shiatsu, reflexology, and trigger point therapy, are constructs invented during the 19th and 20th centuries. Their common elements are a for-profit-two-party-delivery-system where giver and receiver are separate people. Inherent in this model are the enormous frictions of time and money. These frictions are eliminated when giver and receiver are one.

By eliminating transaction costs and reducing the frictions of the market place, self-massage opens up massage to everyone. Self-massage is to massage therapy what the web is to the printed page, it’s the next step, a transfer of power from the few to the many. Self-massage takes massage to the 21st century in the same way massage therapy took it to the 20th.

Doing it yourself is new. Combining the benefits of massage therapy with the immediacy of self-massage is now. When you have an itch you scratch it, no waiting, no fee. Self-massage is massage for the digital age.

The best way to convey the power of massage is to experience it.

Check out this YouTube video: Self-Massage for Athletes.

Health Quiz

photo credit: Curious Expeditions

The value of prevention is not only that you can avoid injury and illness, you’re not subject to medical mistake, which is a larger problem than you may think.

Here’s a website that rates your risk of getting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and stroke.  While the site is owned by a respected hospital that may profit from these diseases there is no reason to believe that influences the quality of the information.

If you think you might be vulnerable to any of these problems, take the quizzes. They're a good way to learn what modern medicine currently deems important in lowering your chances of suffering from any one of these illnesses. 

Reducing your likelihood of getting sick has a huge hidden benefit. You eliminate the possibility of suffering the many problems caused by treating your illness or injury. 

Steering clear of modern  medicine may save your life. Doctors, like everyone else, make plenty of mistakes. While no one knows for sure how many people clip out each year due to medical errors, it has been estimated that around 250,000 die in the U.S . The estimate may be higher if you don’t like medical doctors and lower if you are one. In any case, if you’re in a hospital it’s discomforting to read headlines that state: “Doctors Are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.” 

 or "Medical Error Is The Fifth-Leading Cause of Death In The U.S."

Take the quizzes if you want to know how you might reduce your likelihood of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke and iatrogenic  illness and death.

Self-Massage is Obvious--But?

photo by doctormike

One of the big challenges I faced writing Self-Massage for Athletes is that a lot of stuff in the book seems fairly obvious. It’s obvious that massage is good for you. That by massaging sore muscles, improving circulation, and releasing trigger points, massage relieves muscle pain, speeds recovery, and prevents injuries. 

It’s obvious that self-massage is easy to learn and that you can apply many of the ideas from modern massage therapy to self-massage and produce an effective therapy at little cost. And because you can enjoy the benefits of massage every day you can probably produce a more powerful affect than seeing a professional massage therapist once a month or even once a week.  It’s clear that with every massage stroke you apply you get instant feedback: which muscles need work and which don’t, how deep to go, and how long to stay.  

It’s also obvious that athletes can learn a lot about their bodies from using self-massage. It’s obvious that by learning and practicing self-massage an athlete will be healthier, fitter, and faster than if he did not. Sure it’s obvious.

But precisely because it’s so obvious, it needs to be written about. Thought about.  Talked about. Because it’s so obvious, it’s easy to dismiss the benefits of self-massage and fall into the habit Americans have of ignoring their bodies until a problem explodes into injury or illness and needs professional care: MRI’s, drugs, surgeries. 

After all, if self-massage were so obvious, why don’t millions of athletes use it to complete a workout? Why don’t they use it to detect muscle weaknesses before they become injuries? Why don’t they use it instead of vitamin I to relieve muscle pain and soreness? Why do really smart people suddenly turn stupid when faced with applying simple massage strokes to their own bodies?  

Because to embrace self-massage you have to be willing to change the status quo. And many successful athletes, coaches, and doctors who are in positions of authority have climbed to the top by embracing the status quo, not by challenging it. 

It’s much easier to do nothing and hope you don’t get injured than to be proactive and try something new and elegant. To glide, press, squeeze, and drum your sore tired muscles back from pain requires effort. To get more in touch with your body and in so doing prevent injuries by catching small problems before they grow into large ones, requires effort. It’s much easier to rely on someone else to fix you when you break, to pop a pill, or employ the latest medical technology than to take matters into your own hands and minimize your chances of injury. 

Pros Do It

Yes, it would be nice to have a personal massage therapist the way high paid athletes do. We envy the superstars of professional sports who can make a call and someone comes over to work all the toxins out. But unless you’re Lance Armstrong, Kobe Bryan, Deena Kastor, Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, or Derek Jeter that’s not happening for you.

Your Future

Today, your physical world is probably different than it was ten years ago. And it may be very different ten years hence. As we age our bodies tend to deteriorate. In America, they tend to deteriorate quickly. The people who get physically stronger with age are those who pay attention to their health, who are proactive, and willing to take a hands on approach.

So, yes, the basic ideas upon which self-massage are based are obvious. But using them, challenging the status quo, putting them to work—that’s not obvious in any way.

Training Goals

photo by gisarah

Goals are those terrible things that cause you to smash into obstacles because your eyes are on the finish line and not the race.

###

A determined young woman seeks to become the world’s greatest martial artist.

She travels to a remote province in China to learn from the world’s foremost teacher.

After training with the Master for a week, she asks, “How long will it take me to become the world’s greatest martial artist?

"Five years," he whispers.

"That’s too long,” she responds. “What if I were to work harder than anyone else?”

"Ten years, he whispers."

"Ten years? she repeats with astonishment. “What if I practice more intensely than even you? How long will it take me then to become the world’s greatest?”

"Twenty years," he whispers.

"Master,” she shouts, “why whenever I say I’ll double my efforts do you say it will take me twice as long to reach my goal?"

"Because my child, when you focus one eye on your goal, you can only
focus one eye on your training."

How to Choose The Best Self-Massage Tool

The most important thing to look for in a massage tool is one that will leave you feeling better than when you started. Just how much better determines how effective the massage tool is. In Part III of this series of posts called "Massage Tools that Work," we’ll take a look at some alternatives to the foam roller, in search of the perfect massage tool, or at least my idea of one.

Here’s what I look for in a massage tool:

Power: Does the massage tool let you control the intensity of the stroke?
Precision: Does it enable you to direct pressure to the precise muscle that needs it?
Reach: Does it empower you to reach your back body and the bottoms of your feet?
Relaxation: Does the tool let you relax while delivering intensity?
Release: Does it enable you to effectively release trigger points?
Portability: Is it easy to carry around? The smaller the better.
Aesthetics: Is the tool cool looking or frightening?
Ergonomics: If it’s meant to fit comfortably in your hand, does it?
Versatility: Can you use it to massage everything from your toes to your head?
Final Test: Does it leave you feeling better than when you started?

Massage Tools that Work
No doubt, hands down, the best massage tools are your hands. The tools listed below are intended to make your hands even more effective. Here are some of the massage tools I’ve tried with varying degrees of success:

The®Stick is the best marketed massage tool on the market but fails my first rule. It doesn’t make my hands more effective. The stick suffers from many of the same problems the foam roller does. It lacks precision, and unlike the roller it does nothing for my back body.

The Trigger Wheel® is powerful and precise. I’ve found it effectively releases trigger points. It’s a little short on reach and style.

The Dolphin massage tool is aesthetically pleasing and can be used to effectively release trigger points, it too lacks reach. But its snout, fins and tail make it fairly versatile, powerful, and precise.


The Knobble II® is a pleasant looking tool that comes in bright colors. It feels good in your hand and can be used to effectively resolve trigger points. It fits in your pocket so you can take it any where. And while you can rest it on the floor and lean your back into it to release trigger points it is not as effective as other tools for delivering a back massage. On the other hand, it can be extremely precise and powerful.

The Bongers are a fun drumming massage tool used to deliver a pleasant stimulating stroke. I don't find it a particularly effective tool for releasing trigger points, but it leaves me filled with energy. It feels good to bong yourself or a friend.


AccuMassage: This tool has by far the most interesting design and is surprisingly effective at releasing trigger points in the neck and shoulders. And if that is your only purpose in owning a massage tool this is the one for you. But it won’t do much for your back or feet. Use this tool in public and you’re guaranteed to attract attention.

The Ma Roller is a terrific tool if all you want to massage are the muscles on either side of your spinal column. It will also work on your hamstrings, calf muscles, and glutes but it’s less effective on your front body and certainly not on your face or hands. It suffers from many of the same drawbacks as the foam roller, but I like it better than the roller because it can be much more effective on your erector spinae muscles and it’s more powerful.

The Foam Roller lacks precision, isn’t particularly portable, and is not effective at releasing trigger points. I think of it more as an exercise tool than massage tool.


The Theracane® has reach, power, and precision. You can relax while using it, and it effectively releases trigger points. But it looks like a weapon and is not particularly portable.


The Body Back Buddy™ is like the Theracane®, it has reach, power, and precision. The large one I have looks like the Theracane® on steroids so it too lacks portability.


The Backnobber II® may have it all: reach, power, and precision. You can relax and allow your body's weight to press into the tool. It does an excellent job releasing trigger points on your back, the bottoms of your feet, pretty much anywhere you've got them. Its “S” design is simple and pleasing to the eye. And because it snaps into two smaller pieces it’s more portable than the Theracane® or Body Back Buddy™. Its two halves can be used independently of each other if you’re in cramped quarters. It’s only drawback: it won’t fit in your pocket.

*If you know of any tools I should try please let me know.

Conclusion
While no massage tool is perfect, there are many good ones to use depending on your needs. The ones I find myself using most often are the Knobble II® and Backnobber II®. Try them all, find the ones that you like best, and let me know what works for you.

This is the third of a three part series called "Massage Tools that Work."