Did you manage to remain active during lockdown?

 

 

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  • Why massage in the work place?

    Obviously I am a firm believer of massage in the workplace, so I will start by acknowledging my bias on the topic.  What people may not know is that during the many years working in IT, I suffered from a verity of neck and shoulder issues.  This lead me to go to see a GP, chiropractor, osteopath and masseur.  While they all helped, what was most beneficial to me was regular seated acupressure neck & shoulder massage which helped me nip the tension and the problems in the bud. We all know getting a massage feels great. Once your massages starts, the nerve cells in your skin send messages to your brain to release feel-good endorphins .  As a result stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline begin to decrease and the other all effect is to boost your mood and give you a natural high.  On a physical level the tension and tightness in the muscles begin to release. This means your awareness shifts so your mind and body can function better.  Researches find your mind gets de-cluttered helping you to think more clearly, improve your alertness which leads to improve performance. So why not book a massage see>> http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/booking

  • More factors that contribute to muscle cramps

    Previously I discussed how dehydration & lack of sodium or potassium may cause muscle cramps.  I now want to explore other nutritional factors. Calcium Calcium plays an essential role in muscle contractions.  Some active people report their problem with cramping disappears when they boost their calcium intake.  This anecdotal evidence is disputed by scientists who state that when dietary deficiencies of of calcium occur, calcium is released from the bones to provide what the body needs for proper muscle contraction.  If you are plagued by muscle cramps, it may be worth trying to increase your intake of dairy or other calcium rich foods to see if it helps. Magnesium Just as muscles need calcium to contract they need magnesium to relax. Roffe et al demonstrated that magnesium helps reduce leg cramps that occur in the middle of the night.

    Reference

    Roffe C1, Sills S, Crome P, Jones P (2002), Randomised, cross-over, placebo controlled trial of magnesium citrate in the treatment of chronic persistent leg cramps. Med Sci Monit. 2002 May;8(5): p326-30.

     

  • How to prevent Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

    If your training was effective, you should feel some soreness the next day, and for two days at the most. If the second day is significantly worse than the first, and your soreness lasts into a 3rd day or beyond, you have what they call delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it’s a sign that you trained too hard for you.  There are no hard and fast rules on what is too hard as DOMS varies from individual to individual. So now I want to talk about how to prevent Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

    1. Anti-Inflamatories
    As DOMS is created as a result of inflamation, in the past it was considered a good idea for those susceptible to DOMS to take anti-inflamatories e.g. ibiprofen.  However the downside of this approach is that anti-inflmatories reduce muscle growth and excessive use can damage your liver.  Hence this approach has fallen out of favour.

    2. Static Stretching

    As its not that beneficial to stretch cold muscles, start with a gentle warm up to wam up your muscles.  So both your joints and muscls are prepared and get the most benefits from stretching.

    3. Constrast Showering

    Ideally after stretching, jump in the shower and give yourself around of contrast hydrotherapy by alternating the temperature between hot and cold every two minutes. The contrast effect has definitely proven to be effective for reducing soreness and restoring muscle performance more quickly when its used the day after the workout, and any other day that a muscle is sore.

    4. Warm Up

    Ensuring that you warm up before exercising by lightly working the same muscles that you are going to train can go a long way to reducing DOMS and injuries. References Vaile JM, Gill ND, Blazevich AJ. The effect of contrast water therapy on symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness. J Strength Cond Res. 2007 Aug;21(3):697-702.