Chest Pec Self-Massage

Since being hit by a car in July, I've been unable to run and have been doing lots of swimming and more weight lifting. As a result my pecs were sore so I came up with this chest massage YouTube video. It's done me some good, hope it does you some. Try it out Chest Pec Massage: Do It while You View It. Let me know what you think.

photo by Mylor

Foot Health and Self-Massage

Four million years for the human foot to evolve, 200 years for modern shoes to undo it.

Your feet are highly evolved complex instruments. Each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, and 20 muscles. Most of the major muscles live in the soles of your feet along with more than 200,000 nerve endings. These are among the richest concentrations of sensory neurons in your body. Their purpose is to transmit information to the rest of you, especially your legs. They thrive on sensation, without it they die.

Modern Shoes
Your shoes act as sensory deprivation chambers for your feet. Sensory deprivation has been shown to be harmful, sometimes deadly. Want to drive someone crazy? Deprive them of sensory input. Want to damage your body? Deprive it of sensory stimulation. That’s what shoes, in part, do to your feet.

Information Transfer
Our feet, as evidenced by their large supply of nerve endings, are designed to transmit information about our environment. Without shoes, our feet tell us when they hit the ground so our legs can absorb the impact. Because of the cushioned shoes we wear our feet don’t get the message and neither do our legs so neither can do their job. Our whole body pays the price, especially our legs. For more on this check out this article You Walk Wrong.

To some extent your body compensates for this lack of sensory feedback by getting used to the shoes in question and calculating the correct response to each step you take. To make the calculation easier, it makes sense to wear shoes with little cushioning and be consistent in the shoes you wear.

Massage
Bare foot walking provides a massage for your feet as they directly touch a rich and varied terrain. Shoes prevent your feet from getting the daily massage they need. Unless you’re walking around barefoot, you need another way to get your feet the sensory stimulation they must have to remain healthy.

A handy way to deliver the sensory information your body needs is massage, and the handiest way to massage your feet may not be with your hands but with your balls, tennis balls that is. Just put them under your feet and run with them. You should be seated when you try it. Here, take a look at this foot massage video and give your feet a treat.

Recommendation
Keep a couple of tennis balls under your desk, and from time to time kick off your shoes and roll your feet over your tennis balls. Your whole body will thank you for it.

Top Ten Reasons the U.S. Health Care System Sucks

Last week, I got a heavy dose of the latest health care news at the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado. The panel was titled “The Path to Universal Healthcare.” The panelists were: Dr. Susan Love, Val Koromzay, Michael Franc, and Evelyn Resh.

Photo by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

Here are the questions and the answers:

10. What’s the public good got to do with it? The purpose of a public health care system, you may be surprised to learn, is to serve the public good not the good of health insurers, doctors, hospitals, drug companies, or the very wealthy. The public good is likely to be the last thing served by our health care system.

9. Why isn’t more better? We have too much health care, too many operations, and are on too many drugs, according to doctor and best selling author Susan Love. “So it’s not just the poor who are getting screwed,” according to Dr. Love, “it’s the people with really good insurance that are getting taken to the cleaners.” “Part of the reason is that the economic incentives are all wrong. All the economic incentives are to do. I’m a surgeon, we get paid only if we surge, we don’t get paid to tell you you don’t need an operation. If you’re a radiation therapist you give radiation, if you’re a medical oncologist you give chemo. We give more chemo than any other country for breast cancer and our outcomes are no better.” “All of the incentives are to do more and we as Americans think more is always better and therefore we’re happy to have more.” Most medical problems disappear if nothing is done. Making lots of money for hospitals and doctors does not equate with quality health care for patients.


8. Why does free medical school buy better doctors? Medical school is paid for by the state in almost every country but this one. Thus medical students outside the U.S. graduate without financial debt and owe a debt of gratitude to the public and therefore are more likely to want to serve the public good. Inside the U.S., the opposite is true.


photo by celestehodges


7. Why don’t Americans get the health care they pay for? Because the money we pay for health care goes to insurance companies. Administrative expenses for health care, costs us almost 12 times more than they cost the French. Out of every $100 Americans pay for health care, $35 goes to administrative expenses. What do Americans get for all that money? You get a system of competing insurance carriers paying big salaries to insurance executives to sell policies and you get staffs of lawyers to fight insurance claims and devise contracts that shift health care costs back to the public. “According to Mike Franc of the politically conservative Heritage Foundation, “People have horror stories about insurance companies for a reason.”

6. Why don’t we have the holy grail of health care coverage too? Unlike most other countries, the U.S. lacks a standard health insurance contract which lets you and your doctor know what coverage you have and don’t have. Under the American system the only way to truly know if your illness will be covered by your insurance coverage is to submit a claim and see if it’s paid. “The standard contract may be the holy grail for Universal Health Insurance,” says Val Koromzay, former Director, Country Studies Branch, Economics Department, OECD. In Switzerland, he says, all insurers are obliged to offer a standard contract to anyone who wants it. If you can’t afford the contract, it’s subsidized by the government. Insurers can’t make a profit on the standard contract but can sell supplemental policies at a premium. That’s what the Swiss system does, it’s expensive but no where near as costly as health care in the good old U.S.A.


photo by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE


5. Do we even have a public health care system? In a word, no. “Public health is rooted and based in prevention and health education,” says nurse midwife Evelyn Resh who has a masters degree in public health and is the director of Sexual Health Services at Canyon Ranch. Because public health in the U.S. is not based on prevention and education, according to Resh and Love: “there is no public health care system in this country.”

4. Why can’t you blame medical doctors when they blow it? The medical profession and AMA is against electronic medical records and the reason is that it will allow for accountability, says Dr. Love. “Because the big secret in this country is that we have no accountability in health care. Medical practices are a cottage industry. When you get your M.D. you can do whatever you want, to whoever you want, and charge whatever you want, and you’ll get paid for it. There’s no accountability whatsoever in the health care system in this country. If we had electronic medical records then we would be able to have accountability. Doctors are very afraid that people will be looking over their shoulder and figuring out that they don’t know what they’re doing.” “Accountability would be a huge benefit if we had electronic medical records.”

3. What is the best way to ration medical care? All countries ration health care. Medical doctors in the U.S. ration it based on price. If you can’t pay you don’t get it. Other countries ration health care based on waiting lists. Love and Resh believe that rationing health care based on a waiting list makes some sense because most illnesses resolve themselves with time and eliminate the need for costly medical procedures. Dr. Love believes comparative effectiveness research is as good a way to ration health care as any. “So really,” she says, “look at what’s been shown to work and what doesn’t. A lot of what we do as surgeons has been shown not to work, but that doesn’t stop us.”

photo by Barack Obama

2. Why do new medical technologies make us poorer but no healthier? The main reason health care costs are out of control in the U.S. is that the cost of new technologies are so high. Although you’ll pay for these new technologies in your insurance premiums, they’re unlikely to improve your health because they’re designed to help only a few very very sick people. But they make the financial statements at hospitals, doctors offices, and drug companies healthier.

1. Why is shutting off the lights so costly? A relatively large portion of health care dollars is spent on the elderly in their last six months of life. Maybe it’s because doctors have a financial incentive to keep patients alive at all costs. Or maybe it’s because doctors don’t want to have the hard talk with their patients’ families and tell them the final curtain is near, so money is poured down the tube, many tubes really.

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

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.

Health Nuts

“Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.” Redd Foxx.

That day is still far off. Even the healthiest nut will die of something. The trick is to figure out what you’re likely to die of and prevent it. Identifying your health problems when you’re young and they’re small is a good strategy. Dealing with a small problem from a position of strength is far better than dealing with a larger problem when you’re weak. Not to be morbid, but what will you die of?

Massage Therapy vs. Self-Massage

What is the difference between massage therapy and self-massage?

Both will do your body good. Both will improve health and mood, reduce stress, speed recovery between workouts, reduce muscle pain and soreness, prevent injury and help you feel better fast.

Massage therapy is for people who care enough about their body to go to a professional. Self-massage is for people who care enough about their physical performance to take matters into their own hands.

Massage therapy is part of the popular culture, it appeals to millions of people. Self-massage is a little edgier, it’s practiced by a relative hand full of athletes and active people who want more from their massage. It’s for people who want a massage more than once a week, who regularly test their bodies, and for people who want to take better care of themselves as they grow older. Self-massage is an intoxicant for people who are passionate about their health.

Massage therapy is for people who care enough about their body to schedule and keep an appointment. Self-massage is for people who care enough about their bodies to learn a skill set. It’s the difference between buying vegetables and growing them, both are good for you. One is active, the other is passive. One requires learning technique, the other a wallet. Both require a commitment to well being. The difference is largely a matter of degree.

People who want the best massage experience will choose both a massage therapist and self-massage. Even if both were free, a person truly interested in improving health and athletic performance would choose both forms of massage because they satisfy different needs.

Massage therapy is dining out; self-massage is home cooking. They’re both good. The problem is not in deciding which of two excellent choices to make. The problem is that most people choose neither, leaving their bodies troubled by injury, soreness, and premature aging.

Wake-Up Massage & Yoga

The goal of wake-up massage is to make your body feel and perform better by getting out the kinks caused by a “good” night’s sleep and the soreness and stress caused by a “bad” night’s sleep. Traditionally this kind of massage is done before getting out of bed and takes about ten to fifteen minutes.

Wake-up massage allows you to zero in on the muscles most affected by your nocturnal twists and turns, on those occasions when you awaken with your neck at a right angle to your head or one of your legs twisted under the other. The problems sleep causes can drag on for days or be gone with a few minutes of massage in the morning. You can do it yourself or hire a professional.

Many people believe that they are entitled to wake up fully refreshed and invigorated. Most of the time though we wake up in the morning feeling as if we’d been in an accident. We’re tired and have deep doubts about how we’re going to get through the day.

Little has been written about massage in the morning because people use to believe there was only one small part of the human anatomy that needed a massage in the morning. Science has debunked that theory and many scientists now believe that massaging the whole body in the morning is a good idea, especially if it’s their body that’s getting massaged.

We’re not too concerned now about technique. You can pick that up on the website. What you will probably want to know now is how morning massage will benefit you. How will it improve that most important relationship of all, the one you have with yourself?
Having played around with morning massage for a while, here are the three main benefits I’ve gotten:

1. Morning massage relieves muscle pain and soreness, i.e., those tiny knots called trigger points that often form in muscles while I sleep. Massage gets rid of them.

2. A massage in the morning identifies muscle pain and soreness so I can focus on those areas of my body that are weakest and most likely to get injured. By detecting these tiny injuries early, I’m able to prevent them from growing into large debilitating problems. Massage is an effective way to eliminate them.

3. Massage has been shown to improve health and mood by reducing stress which not only affects my mental well-being but physical well-being. Most illnesses are believed to be related to stress. I notice I’ve experienced far fewer sick days since starting my day with a massage.

Can I have all these benefits independent of massage? Definitely. There are other ways to relieve muscle pain and soreness, improve health and mood, and prevent injury. So why even consider using massage? This is a hard case to make, only if you have to get a massage therapist over every morning when you wake up.

The value of self-massage is obvious: immediacy and cost. No other therapy or medicine can work as quickly and cost effectively with no harmful side effects.
With self-massage you get instantaneous feedback from the only person who knows how your body feels. Your body tells your hands exactly how deep to go, how long to go, and where to go.

I’m a big believer in using self-massage to understand how massage works, even if you are fortunate enough to wake up next to a massage therapist in the morning. After all, you didn’t understand the value of working out until you started doing it regularly yourself, even if you were living with an athlete.

The benefits you get from massage are only going to be achieved when you’re genuinely interested in feeling and performing better. If you’re interested, take self-massage for a test run, play around with it and let me know what you think.

For more about feeling better, subscribe to Feel Better Fast now.

Feel Good Running

When you feel good, running is easy. It’s a reward. The story we tell ourselves is that running is a pleasure. It’s just one foot in front of the other with an effortless floating in between. We get faster, stronger, healthier.

On bad days, we feel the weight of every step and can’t wait for it to be over. The stories we tell ourselves change. Now we run out of obligation, or fear. We fear the loss of health, habit, fitness. We promise ourselves rewards or threaten ourselves with punishments.

Of course, the two extremely different feelings take you on the very same run. It’s not the run as much as the way we feel about the run and resulting story we tell ourselves that changes.

Either our morning run felt like it was hardly happening or each step felt like it was happening with a vengeance.

The challenge for runners is how to change the way we feel so the story we tell ourselves about running will keep getting us out there. Fast run, slow run, effortless run, painful run . . .  it all adds up to how we feel. If you change the way you feel the story you tell yourself about your running changes. 

Self-massage is one way to change the way we feel about running and the story we tell ourselves.

Body Magic: Inaugural Post

This blog is intended to help you keep your body tuned, to move, delight, inform, amuse, and entertain you. 

Its subjects are the human body, health, happiness, massage, self-massage, athletes, activity, sports, fitness, movement, action, running, yoga, Pilates, cycling, swimming, triathlon, dancing, flying, endorphin cocktails, and anything else that's worthy of your attention.

It's written for active people who want to be healthier, happier, and smarter--in other words you.

Stay tuned!