What is the difference between sports and deep tissue massage?

In clinic we frequently see clients who had an issue with either their neck or shoulder or their lower back that was resolved then a few weeks or months later they are back with the same issue.  So why does this happen?  First, it depends upon the client, as human body is unique and the issue. What I want to explain below are some influencing factors: Posture – Because lots of clients come to us in pain, when they walk out of clinic they are very vigilant about their posture.  When they start to feel like the issue has been resolved good posture becomes less of a priority.  More importantly bad posture creeps up on us slowly – particularly slumping at you desk when you have a tight deadline! Over training – One of the most common questions we get asked, is when “will I be able to go to the gym again?” – clients are always very eager to get back training.  If you are unable to train for a while, you need to gentle easy yourself back into training.  Over training is when the physical trauma from exercising occurs faster than the body can repair the damage. Overuse – An overuse injury typically stems from: training errors. Training errors can occur when you take on too much physical activity too quickly i.e. when you are training for a marathon you build up your distance and speed too quickly.

Previously, I discussed what carpal tunnel syndrome is and how desk based workers have an increased risk.  So what can you do to help youself:

• Vitamin B6 - Carpal tunnel syndrome has been linked to low levels of vitamin B6, so suplementing with the vitamin may help.  In fact, several trials have found B6 may alleviate the symptoms, even in people who are not deficient in the vitamin.
• Yoga - In one study a yoga based therapy was more effective at easing carpal tunnel syndrome than improving grip strenght than wrist splints or no treatment.
• Acupuncture - In one radomised control trail, acupuncture was just as effective as steriod treatment,and it was also better at reducing sleep disturbance and improving never conduction than the drugs and came with minimal side-effects.

I want to finish the series of blog articles on the mechanisms of healing by looking at what happens in the client's body. Independent medical research has shown that this range of frequencies will stimulate healing in the body, with specific frequencies being suitable for different tissues.   For example, 2 Hz encourages nerve regeneration, 7 Hz bone growth, 10 Hz ligament mending, and 15 Hz capillary formation. For example, it has been known for many years that placing an electrical coil around a fracture that refuses to mend will stimulate bone growth and repair.  In addition Physiotherapy equipment based on these principles has been designed to aid soft tissue regeneration, and ultrasound technology is commonly used to clear clogged arteries and disintegrate kidney stones. Both Zimmerman (1990) in the USA and Seto (1992) in Japan further investigated the large pulsating biomagnetic field that is emitted from the hands of energy practitioners whilst they work. They discovered that the pulses are in the same frequencies as brain waves, and sweep up and down from 0.3 – 30 Hz, focusing mostly in 7 – 8 Hs, alpha state.  Within the range of frequencies that will stimulate healing in the body. For me, all complementary therapies including Reiki work on the principle that they are stimulating the body to heal itself. References Zimmerman J, ‘The laying-on of hands, healing and therapeutic touch: a testable theory BEMI ‎currents’, Journal of the Bio-Electromagnetics Institute. Vol 2, 1990.‎ Seto A. et al., ‘Detection of extraordinarily large bio-magnetic field strength from human during ‎external ‎Qi emission’, Acupuncture and Electro-therapeutics Int. Jnl. Vol 17. 1992.‎