In this blogpost I’d like to review the informative and entertaining book “Explain Pain,” written by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley (plus very unique artistic illustrations by an artist called Sunyata). As mentioned in the preface to the book, the authors describe the book’s four primary aims:
1) To assist health professionals who deal with patients in pain by serving as a conduit from the modern field of neuroscience.
2) To help people in pain understand more about their condition and to encourage them to be less fearful of the pain. Modern neuroscience tells us that by helping people understand their pain, it lessens the “threat value” of the pain and by reducing the threat, can help even reduce the pain and improve functional outcomes.
3) To assist those in pain (and the other people involved), to make the best decisions about the management of their condition.
4) Lastly, to provide modern models of magement to help those suffering from pain to overcome their pain and return to normal life.
So in general, the book is actually aimed towards both clinicians and patients suffering with chronic “non-specific” type of pain conditions (such as low-back pain or elbow pain) as well as anyone (such as friends and family members) who helps or is part of the support system of those in pain.
The book is broken down into 6 sections that explain the various aspects of the basic neuroscience of pain, as well as pratical management tools to encourage healthy coping strategies and improvements in function. Complicated concepts are explained in more “laymen” terms and are visually represented with unique and provocative artistic/cartoon-type of illustrations. Below is a summary of some key points that stood out for me as particulary important and interesting:
*Pain is a very normal and protective repsonse to stiimuli that your brain determines to be a threat or danger. Many people have “arthritic” or “degnerated’ joints yet have no pain whatsoever. Simply put, if you’re brain doesn’t perceive the tissue damage to be threatening, there will be no pain. Interesting!
* The amount of pain that any of us epxerience isn’t necessarily related to the actual tissue damage present. A solider in the heat of war for example, may have a life-threatening gun shot wound that he/she hardly even feels at the time of the injury. Conversely, a tiny papercut can be excruciating, yet isn’t life threatening at all!
* Pain relies heavily on the context in which it is occurring and is influenced by social and emotional factors. For example, a musician (violinist is used in the book) might experience more pain in a minor finger injury than someone who doesn’t consider their hands and fingers as valuable to their line of work. Also, emotions can directly affect things like muscle tension and breathing patterns, both of which have an immediate impact on the pain experience.
* Every body part is represented neurologically in the brain in what is called the “virtual body.” Technically called the “sensory homonculus,” the virtual body lets us know where our actual body is in space (also referred to as kinesthesia or proprioception). Sometimes, pain can remain or exist in bodyparts that have been lost or amputated, a phenomenon known as a “phantom limb pain.” So while pain is actually “in our heads (brains), it doesn’t make it any less real. However, by understanding how the brain works, pain can be better controlled and even lessened. This is a recurrent theme in this book.
* There are danger sensors located all over the human body. A minimum threshold of stimulation (known as the “all or none” point) must take place in order for a message (impulse) to be sent to the spinal cord and brain. Once arrived at the brain, an impulse from a danger sensor must be evaluated for an appropriate output to be made. Only if the body percieves sufficient danger or threat from the impulse will it result in pain.
* Damage to tissues causes inflammation which helps to activate the immune system and promote healing. Tissue healing is dependent on blood supply. When tissues are chronically deprived of adequate blood (ischemia), healing is compromised. This is why prolonged inactivity or bedrest has been shown to be counterproductive and even harmful for things like simple back aches or sprains.
* If pain persists for longer than would be normally expected, the danger alarms system become more sensitive and certain neurons can become more easily excitable and produce more sensors for excitatory chemicals and neurotransmitters. This is the genesis of chronic type of pain syndrome in many people.
* As the chronicity of pain continues, thoughts and beliefs (including emotions) become increasingly more powerful in contributing to and perperutating the problem of pain.
* The brain can then adapt and become more efficient at producing what is called the “neurotag” of pain, or the “pain tune.” However this tune would be a bad tune if actually played as music! It would be noise and static.
* Modern pain management models are less concerned with the tissue level, and more with the brain’s alarm system sensitivity as well as the fears, thoughts, beliefs, and attitude about their specific condition or situation.
* How well one undertands their problem and the basic science of pain will determine their coping strategies over time. Using pain only as their guide is a poor management tool since pain is often inaccurate as to the actual state of tissue health. Often pain can remain (in the brain) yet the injury is actually healed at the tissue level. The brain still thinks it is in harm however so the pain continues.
* The key is to learn to gradually increase the activity level of a painful area while knowing that some pain and stifness may occur. This requires patience and persistence to establish a slope of improvement over time. Some days will be better than others. The goal is a long-term reduction in pain and stifness and improvement in function.
*There are also ways to activate the “virtual body” in your brain by doing things such as:
1) Imagining Painful Movements: just by thinking of moving in a particular way, the brain activates many of the same parts of the brain as when doing the actual movement. Sometimes even imagining movements can be painful so movements can be made smaller in your image to try to lessen the pain neurotag for that movement.
2) Alter Gravitational Influences: Movements can be alterd by performing them in various lying postions or even in water to alter the mechanical stress that would normall be associated with that movement.
3) Varying the Visual Inputs: Clsoing the eyes during a movement alters the demand to virtual body as can looking at the body in the mirror. Perhaps watching a non-injured limb perform a normally painful movement for the other limb in a mirror can trick the body into lessening the pain tune by seeing the apparent reflection of the painful limb perform pain-free activity.
4) Performing Various Neurodynamic Techniques: By using various movements designed to particularly sensitize nerves in the body, nervous tissue can learn to be less threatened with movements that stretch in a bit. Under normal, healthy conditions, nerves slide within and around muscles and fascia freely without excessive tension or pressure on them. In painful or pathological states, nerves can be overly stretched or compressed leading to what is often called “adverse neural tension.” By gently performing what are called “sliders,” particular nerves can be gently mobilized within their myo-fascial housing.
Conclusion
This is a fascinating book that could and should be read my many people who suffer from pain, help treat those in pain, or are a friend or loved one of someone in chronic pain. The book can be purchased from Amazon on the internet as shown below.
While 2009 seemed to be a pretty crappy year for many people and our country in general (due to bad economy, doom & gloom media, etc….), it was actually a very productive year for me personally when I look back on it.
It all started with meeting Patrick Ward, who was a fellow contributor of articles and quality forum discussion on Michael Boyle’s StrengthCoach.com website. Once we realized we lived in the same town (Chandler, AZ), we started trading for soft-tissue work and talking shop. This was shortly followed by something I’ve been meaning to do for several years: starting up a podcast. This we named the Reality-Based Fitness Podcast.
After that, we set out to find a facility of our own since both of us were in the same boat renting at various massage and fitness facilities where we were not able to be at our full force. In July of last summer, after having searched for months for a quality space, we were not having any real luck and were both pretty dejected. But, on one very hot summer day I drove relentlessly around a particular industrial area of Tempe and found the exact location we were looking for. In just a few days we had signed a lease and were on our way to creating the Reality-Based Fitness/Optimum Sports Performance Training Center!
Later, in August, I successfully completed the Russian Kettebell Challenge in San Diego, CA, someting I had wanted to do for years. Since then, its just been great having a place to call my own again and being able to see clients when ever I want and even being able to start some small group fitness/kettlebell classes. In March of this year, I am hosting the first ever HKC certification at the RBF/OSP facility and Patrick and I are also starting to work on our own client assessment seminar for fitness professionals and massage therapists. So things are definately moving in the right direction!
As with most years, 2009 was a year when I read and studied some excellent educational material of various but related topics. Some of things I thought were noteworthy enough to write a blog about include the following:
1) I learned that Mike Boyle’s Strenthcoach.com website has a lot of quality coaches and practitioners on it! The articles and videos available are incredible and the forum discussions is quite lively and entertaining. For just $9.95/month it is money well spent in my opinion.
2) I learned about Flexible Intermittent Fasting from Brad Pilon and realized that you don’t have to eat 6-7 times per day and that small 24-hour breaks from food once or twice per week have incredible effects on fat loss and health in general. It’s simply the most no-brainer simple method for weight (fat) control. Brad Pilon was a guest on the Reality-Based Fitness Podcast and you can listen to the great interview here!
3) I also realized that I’m still OK and quite healthy by not taking a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. I started this experiment in the Spring of 2008 when there were several studies and experts saying that a healthy under-50 adult probably didn’t really gain any health benefit by taking extra vitamins and minerals beyond what one should be able to obtain from a relatively mixed, or “omnivore” type of diet. The only supplements I use now are a protein powder occasionally for smoothies and to add to my tasty morning Oatmeal. I also alternate between using some flax-oil in my shakes (1 Tbspn/day) or a couple of teaspoons of lemon-flavored fish-oil at night. But these I don’t even use every day, just a couple of time per week. I’m not even sure I need to be taking those omega-3 supplements? I may try some creatine again this spring and maybe even some of the much touted “leucine” amino acid to see if I notice anything from it. In general though, I feel most supplements are not worth the money and most people would benefit from just trying to eat more nutritious foods (fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, low-fat dairy, etc…).
4) I learned just how much fitness, health issues, weight control, neural science and adaptations to stressors in general are more easily understood through the lens of evolution. Everything just seems to make more sense through an evolutionary perspective! One of the many Evolution books I’ve read that really helped give me a better grasp on this incredible scientific fact and theory includes: Why Evolution is True, by Jerry Coyne.
5) I was humbled to say the least, after taking the RKC certification and I realized how great of a system Pavel Tsatsouline and Dragon Door have for teaching the absolute fundamentals of moving well and getting strong; the tool they use just happens to be the kettlebell. I’m very much against gimmicky type of things and some people may see kettelbells as a gimmick being that they’re now being sold at vendors such as Wal-Mart, etc… But learning the simple, yet powerful techinques that Pavel and his band of instructors have continued to refine and improve every year is one of the most valuable things a fitness or strength coach could do for themselves personally, and for their clients.
6) I learned how much I continue to enjoy science, critical thinking, and skepticism. I also came to truly realize how wonderful and scarry the internet is since any jackass can practically create a cult if he is persuasive enough! We live in a country that allows us to speak our mind, whatever non-sense might come out if it; and for that I am greatful. But I also know we need to be critical of claims that are made and not just accept what somebody says is the truth without adequate evidence. That’s what science is for…its the ultimate truth filter..hence the name of the podcast we created Reality-Based Fitness!
7) I continued to learn how powerful listening to podcasts can be while driving. Its like turning your car into a University on wheels. Some of the podcasts I routinely listen include: (just look these up on iTunes if interested)
* Brain Science Podcast
*The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
* Quackcast
* Skepticaility
*Skeptoid
*Point of Inquiry
*The Strengthcoach Podcast
*In The Trenches Fitness with Mike Robertson
* Adonis Lifestyle
There’s a lot more I listen to but those listed above are probably the ones I like the most. As you can see, there is a heavy skeptical theme to the podcasts I listen to because most stuff out there these days is so uncritically biased and we all can make major mental errors in our thinking with out second guessing ourselves for even a second. Well, its good to second guess your thought-processess and many of the podcasts mentioned above can help us to stimulate our critical thinking skills!
Most importantly, I learned how challenging and rewarding it is to be a father of two incredible boys and the huge responsibility we (as parents) have to our children to foster and encrouage them to have an insatiable appetite for learning, for caring and loving others, and for life! This year is also very special to me and my wife Tammy as we will be celebrating our 10th year Wedding Anniversary in February!
It’s official! On Saturday, March 20th, I will be hosting the first Dragon Door HKC certification to be taught in the state of Arizona at the combined Reality-Based Fitness/Optimum Sports Performance Training facility in Tempe. The course will be taught by Master RKC, Mark Reifkind from Northern California and it is sure to be a fantastic one-day event.
This course is a pre-cursor, or a stepping stone for anyone interested in the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge), a course I was fortunate enough to take and pass last August. The course could also serve as a stand alone certification for those just interested in the absolute minimalist learning of proper kettebell training.
The course is a one-day event only and goes over all the in’s and out’s of 3 fundamental Kettebell lifts:
1) The Swing- this is the center of the kettebell universe!
2) The Get-Up (also known as the “Turkish Get-Up)- an absolutely essential drill to teach the mechanics of proper over head posture and a full-body mobility/stability challgenge!
3) The Goblet Squat- probably one of the best ways to teach someone how to squat properly.
To find out more about this awesome 1-day certification, the price, and the physical fitness testing that will be required to pass it, check out Dragon Door’s page on it here.
So again, if this interests you or anyone you know, save the date: March 20, 2010!
As some of you may know, I am a recreational Master’s Sprinter and real fan of track & field in general! With the track season almost ready to roll here in AZ (our weather definately permits it), I wanted to post both the youth and open/masters 2010 schedule (tentative) for those who might be interested in getting involved in track and field.
To me, the basic and foundational movements of running, jumping (you could add landing as well), and throwing, which are so paramount to success in several sports, are trained so superbly in the various track and field events. For children, these events serve a foundation for proper movement pattern development that can set them up for succes in sports and movement in general as they get older. The only other things I would add would be calisthenics (boyweight) type of exercises that come from disciplines such as gymnastics to get kids to improve their agility, balance, and coordination though various tumbling, summersaults, head/hand balancing, etc… Add some free weight work (Dumbells, Kettlebells, even barbells, medicince balls, sandbags, etc…) to this equation and you have an ultimate recipe for quality human movement and conditioning.
For adults, track and field can serve to maintain many of the movement qualites and attributes just mentioned for youth as these tend diminish and erode each decade after 30; especially if we don’t do anything about it. Use it or lose it always holds true when it comes to physical attributes!
I’m especially fond of sprints for aging adults as it stimulates much more muscle mass and even the hormonal system when compated to long slow-distance type of training. Keeping your ability to jump (become airborne) and sprint might be some of the most important things to maintain as we age! All right, enough rambling, here’s the schedule:
USA TRACK & FIELD, ARIZONA 2010
Adults TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE (Tentative)
January 16 Sat. Lumberjack Invitational Open 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ
January 23 Sat. Puma Indoor Invitational Open TBA Paradise Valley Community College
January 30 Sat Mountain T Invitational Open 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ
February 6 Sat Pima Indoor Invitational Open 12:00 P.M. Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
February 13 Sat PV Indoor Invitational Open 10:00 A.M. Paradise Valley Community College
February 14 Sun Arizona Indoor Classic Youth & Adult 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ (Masters Western Region Indoor Championship)
February 20 Sat Grand Canyon State Games Adult only 8:00 A.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
March 6 Sat Bobcat Relays Youth & Adult 8:00A.M. Horizon High School
March 13 Sat Arizona Relays Open TBA Central Arizona Community College
March 19-20 Fri. Willie Williams Open University Of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
March 20 Sat Knights of Columbus Invitation Open TBA Glendale Community College, Glendale, AZ
March 19-21 Fri-Sun Masters Indoor Nationals Master only TBD
April 3 Sat Puma Outdoor Invitational Open TBA Paradise Valley Community College
April 9 Fri Mesa Classic Open 1:00P.M. Mesa Community College
April 10 Sat Sun Angel Classic Open TBA Arizona State University
April 24 Sat. Arizona Flames Invitational Adult only 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
May 22 Sat USATF Weight Throw Pentathlon Adult 8:00 A.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
May 29&30 Sat&Sun Arizona State Championships Youth & Adult 8:00 A.M. TBD
June 12 Sat. Masters Invitational Adult only 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa AZ
June 26 Sat Grand Canyon State Games HS & Adult 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
July Masters West Region Championship Adults TBA
July 22-25 Thur-Sun Masters Outdoor Nationals Masters only University of Sacramento, CA
September ?? Fri National Masters Weight & Superweight Championship
September ?? Sat National Masters Ultra-Weight Championship
Open = Meets that allow Masters athletes. Unless meet director approves
masters implements, you have to throw Open standard weights. Races are seeded
based on time. Opening heights are based on Open standards.
Youth & Adult = Both Youth and Adult compete, with youngest age going first
in heats(except hurdles).
For the youth 2010 schedule, go here. Also, here are the age division break downs:
Age Divisions – 2010 Season
Youth Divisions
Birth Years
Age Range
Adult Divisions
Age Range
Sub Bantam
2002-2003
7-8
Open
19-29
Bantam
2000-2001
9-10
Sub-Masters(30-39)
30-34, 35-39
Midget
1998-1999
11-12
Masters (40+)
40-44, 45-49
Youth
1996-1997
13-14
Seniors (50+)
50-54, 55-59
Intermediate
1994-1995
15-16
40-44, 45-49
Young Men/Women
1992-1993
17-18
60-64, 65-69, etc.
Note: To enter the youth meets you must first be a member or USA Track & Field which you can find out more about on the Arizona Track and Field Site. There is then additional entry fees for each meet. For Masters only events or the college events that are open to masters competitors, check out the AZ Masters Track website to find out about entry.
If sprints are of interest to you, I of course am eager to help anyone learn from youth all the way to masters. Also, there are many various clubs to help people learn the various techniques of track and field, most of them geared around youth. There are however a few here in the PHX area that come to mind that focus on adults (open/masters) as well. My good friend Rawle Crichlow runs his own club called Feel The Heat which focuses on Youth thru Masters age competitors for mostly running/sprinting (Rawle is an accomplished Masters sprinter), jumping, and hurdling events. I have been involved with Rawle’s club for some time now and have performed massage therapy on several of his athletes over the years. For specific hurdles training, James Smith of the Arizona Flames track club is they guy to contact; he still competes in masters hurdles. For learning the various throwing events (shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw), I would have to defer people to my good friend and colleague David Bickel. Dave is an accomplished Masters Throws competitor with several National Champion titles over the years. He is the one I would see if you wish to learn the throws!
Recently, Patrick Ward and I have talked about starting our own speed/strength/health club that would involve particpation in various track and field events (and lifting events like powerlifting, etc…) so we’ll have to keep everyone posted to see if we can get enough demand to get that going; it would be very cool indeed!
If anyone is interested in private or small group (semi-private) speed/sprint training I would love to help get you going! It’s cool to be fast (relative to where you are now of course!) and strong. Life’s too short to be weak and slow!
With the new year upon us, I ‘m sure many people are deeply commited to their new years resolutions right now (we’ll see how long that lasts!). Of the many facets of people’s resolutions, nutrition (next to exercise) is probably the hardest category for people to improve upon consistently.
To help, I’ve created a short video with two of my most favorite egg meals that are relatively easy to prepare and extremely healthy from a nutritent perspective (mostly whole foods, lots of fiber, micro-nutritents, etc..). They are also very tasty which shows that healthful eating doesn’t have to suck. Enjoy!
First off, I’d like to wish anyone reading my blog a Happy New Year! I hope your celebration was fun and safe. It really is hard to believe that we are already 10 years into this new decade. I can remember the whole Y2K scare and now in two years we’ll have the end of the world; oh well!
Now that 2010 is upon us, it’s time for the dreaded “R” word, that right, RESOLUTIONS. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of new years resolutions because I don’t think they work for most people. If something is important to do or change, than it is important at any time of the year, not just in January! But, the concept of creating new (or even old) goals or having a fresh start, can be a refreshing one. So with a new fresh year ahead of us (364 days left!), what are your goals?
Since most people gain some unwanted holiday fat, weight (fat) loss is usually atop many peoples list of new years goals/resolutions. Now some people’s goals might not involve a physical dimension that is my domain so I wanted to help start people off with some help learning a very valuable exercise; the kettlebell swing. If you haven’t tried this exercise, it is simply one of the most effective exercise for improving your health and fitness. Some of its benefits inculde:
1) Improved strength, power and endurance of the posterior chain (the muscle from your low back to the back of your knee). Incidentally these are the real calorie-buring muscles of the human body!
2) Improved ab and “core” strength. The core is such a buzz word these days and most people don’t even have a unifying definition of what the “core” actually is but if core is what you want, that core is what you’ll improve with a properly performed kettlebell swing!
3) Improved Grip. Although this is not probably high on most people’s goal list, having a strong grip is extremely important; especially as we age and begin to lose our strength.
4) Improved Hip-Extension ability. The muscles mentioned in benefit #1 above are the key players involved in improving this motion of this hip joint. Improved hip-extension and core strength directly translates to improvements in so many human locomotive activities including running, sprinting, jumping and lifting things that involve the hips and thighs. Contrary to some peoples beliefs, the hips, not the calf muscles, are responsible for most of the torque/power to propel is forward in running/gait or jumping off the ground. The swing helps teach you to become more “hip-centric.”
5) Improved cardiovascular efficiency. For people who wonder how you’re going to get your “cardio” doing Kettlebell training, they’ve obviously never performed the swing. High-rep swings rival any other cardio-vascular activity that I’ve ever performed.
There are so many other benefits to the swing but these seem to be amongst the most important. Another note, swings are just fun and challenging, two elemetns missing from many people’s fitness routines these days. To finish off, here are two videos that I’ve recently created with the help of my friend and colleague Patrick Ward. They help give you the concept of the swing first, and then some key drills to help you master it. Enjoy!
Since as long as man has been around, some form of massage has probably been present. For the caveman smacking his head in a cave it was probably second nature to immediately grab and rub the injured area just as it is today. The earliest recorded evidence of massage dates back to ancient cicilizations such as China, India, Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
Egyptian Tomb Paintings Depicting Massage
Most famously, the great Greek Physican Hippocrates (know in the West as the Father of Medicine), was an advocate of rubbing and frictioning the body to help treat an assortment of conditions.
Greek Art Depicting Massage
Since massage and self-massage (especially during injury) seems to be a basic human action as long as can be recorded, I want to discuss specifically the boom in self-massage techinques have really taken off in the last 10 years or so. To begin, here is a link to an article in the New York Times about self-massage. There is a brief mention of yours truly in there as I was interviewed by the author some weeks back.
Having been in the massage industry for over 10 years now, I am as convinced as ever that healthy soft-tissues (including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fasica, the glue which holds it all together) are of paramount importance to keeping our joints healthy as we age.
Muscle Imbalances Can Theoretically Harm Our Joints!
What Does The Science Say?
Although the scientific research on massage therapy is in its infancy, there is too much evidence to ignore the benefits that carefully applied pressure to the body can have on this amazing machine we call the human body. With an ailing economy however, there is less money for people to spend on things like hands-on massage; therefore, self-treatment options, such as using foam rollers, tennis balls, lacrosse balls, massage sticks/balls and many more devices have become more and more popular. Unforuntaley, the research on self-massage is really lacking and most of the beneftis and results reported are purely anecdotal. But enough people appear to benefit from this type of treatment so clearly there is something good going on here.
There Are Many Various Massage Toll Available
Foam Rolling is Fun (and sometimes a little tender)!
Self-Massage Benefits
The benefits of self-massage are really similar to the benefits from regular massage as done from one person to another. With self-massage, people just need to understand a little about how and why they are using self-massage techniques so that they don’t end up over-doing it and bruising or hurting themselves from the over-zealous application of pressure to various body parts! Some of the plausible goals of self-massage are as follows:
1. To decrease excessive muscle tone or tonus (and the subsequent ischemia, or lack of blood flow that can result)
2. To enhance lymphatic and circulatory processes
3. To decrease trigger point activity in certain muscles
4. To decrease pain through endogenous opiate/endorphin release
5. Last but not least, to use a little power of the Placebo Effect, which is part of any therapy or treatment!
The Placebo Effect, Part of Any Treatment/Therapy!
How Does it Work?
No one knows for sure the exact mechanisms for how massage or self-massage works, but there does seem to be both local and neurological (i.e. in the brain) factors invovled as eduded to above under the Benefits paragraph. Some of the proposed theories for how self-masage (or what is also called SMFR or “self-myofascial release”) can reduce pain and improve tissue health include:
Autogenic Inhibition- One theory is that sustained pressure creates tension on muscle fibers which can eventually cause tension sensors called GTO’s (Golgi Tendon Organs) to fire which can theoretically then results in a relaxation of the muscle(s) under tensile stress or strech. I’m not sure I really buy this theory with regards to self-massage but it is very popular and the primary explanation given by the NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine), a certifying agency for personal trainers.
Scar Tissue Theory- The other main theory for self-massage and more “fascia-based” types of massage such as Rolfing and ART (Active Release Technique), is that the properly applied pressure and friction can “break-up” scar tissue, resulting in enhanced range of motion and subsequent improvements in blood flow and muscle function. While I think this theory has some merit, the reality is probably more that the massage can irritate the tissue in quesiton and possibly help the body reorganize the scar-tissue in the direction of the original muscle fibers that it replaced. Scar tissue is laid down in a haphazard format, rather than in the exact direction of the original tissue so this theory seems plausible. Also, this may help to alleviate pressure/compression or stretch/tensile force on nerves in the area that is fibrotic or scarred. The following injury cycle picture depicts such a process.
Mental/Emotional Factors- As we discover more and more about neural science and the science of pain, there is seemingly a large contribution from mental and cognitive centers of the brain that determine how well we cope and deal with pain and discomfort. As disccused above, the placebo affect or even the expectation bias, can form a large part of the healing or therapeutic response to any therapy, including self-massage therapies. Simply put, the more you believe in any given type of therapy, the greater the chance that you will receive a benefit, however short-lived it might be.
Risks and Contraindications of Self-Massage or Massage in General
Also, when doing self-massage, it is important to avoid putting direct pressure on the following areas of the body:
1. Behind the knees in the popliteal fossa- there are blood vessels and nerves here that are easily accesible and that can be injured through excessive pressure.
Stay Away From Behind The Knee!
2. The femoral triangle in the groin area- the femoral artery and vein are easily accessible here.
Stay Away From Here Too!
3. Excessive pressure on the 11th and 12th ribs- these ribs are ” free floating,” meaning not attached to the spine like the ribs above are and thus are more vulnerable to possible being injured or even broken if excessive pressure was applied.
4. The Sub-occipital Triangle- There are vulnerable neck structures and vertebral arteries exposed here so it should be obvious to push directly into this area.
Don’t Put Deep Pressure Here!
5. Deep into the abdomen area- although massage can be safely applied to this region, one must really know there anatomy and whether or not there are any visceral health problems or pregnancy that could be affected by direct pressure into this region.
6. Front of the Throat- just a bad idea for self -massage. This are can be worked by skilled and licensed therapists but self-treatment can be a good way to cut of blood supply to your brain by pressing on the carotid areas…bad idea jeans!
In the second intallment of this blog, I will give basic advice on the safest and most effective methods for performing self-massage techniques. There are many resources out there to help you with learning these techniques including a 2-disc DVD set that I created on the subject. It can be purchased for $39.95 right off my site here.
In the first podcast that Patrick Ward and I recorded, we talked about the “Baloney Detection Kit” that was originally popularized by the late astronomer and science advocate Carl Sagan. This kit is so important for any subject matter (especially health & fitness matters!) since we are flooded with more information daily than anytime in the history of human beings.
With the explosion of the internet in the last 12 years or so, anybody can seemingly become an “expert” in any subject matter. This is where using science and our own personal “baloney detectors” can come in real handy to help us determine what is more accurate and closer to the truth, or reality. The following videos are from one of the world’s leading skeptics Michael Shermer of the Skeptics Society. Shermer is the editor of one of my favorite magazines called, not suprisingly, “Skeptic” Magazine. In the first video, Shermer goes through 10 key questions humans should be familiar with to be able to accurately judge claims and theories given. The second video is a recording of Shermer talking at the TED convention a few years ago. Enjoy!
In the latest podcast, Patrick and I interviewed the legendary Clarence Bass. In this informative and motivating interview, we discussed topics such as Clarence’s:
Training history from age 13 to his present day age of 71
his training and nutritional philosophy
inteval training verus steady state aerobics
the importance of a training journal
how to maitain motivation
and much, much more……
Clarence’s most famous ab shot in his 40’s!
Clarence at 71! Aging is for wimps…..
To listen to the interview go here! Or subscribe in iTunes under Reality Based Fitness.
The interview with our latest guest, Steven Plisk, was unfortunately not able to be podcasted because of some severe technical difficulties we had with the audio recording software we were using. We were able to transcribe it though into this readable format so at least we can get the main portion of the interview across to the listeners.
Steven Plisk is the Proprietor & Director of Excelsior Sports, and has over 20 years of experience in Sports Performance and Strength & Conditioning. He earned his BS in Exercise & Sport Science at the University at Buffalo and his MS in Kinesiology at the University of Colorado. Steve is a prolific author and presenter at professional conferences and symposia, and chaired the original Strength & Conditioning Professional Standards & Guidelines project.
Keats: Steven, we understand that you are actually no longer involved the coaching business anymore and have recently retired from the industry; but you are still involved professionally in some consulting, you’ve got some products as well. Can you tell us a little about what you’re doing with that?
SP: Sure, I don’t do the day-to-day coaching anymore but I am still involved in the professional developmental aspects of the field. The main thing I have on my agenda right now is a conference I’m running with Dartfish, at the University of Cortland, which is part of the SUNY System in upstate New York, and we’re doing that next month which is going to be a cool 2-day symposium. I’m also working with some other colleagues and partners on some products we’ve developed; we have a National Combine Preparation DVD set that we’ve prepared; just all things related to trying to help the field from an educational standpoint.
Patrick: Speaking of that educational standpoint, you place a high demand on evidence-based practice, understanding the science behind strength & conditioning is something that is very important to Keats and myself as well. So for the listeners, can you explain a little about your coaching philosophy and basic ways that you may go about developing a training program for an individual using the science that we currently have available to us.
SP: Sure. Well, being evidence-based is crucial; it’s also seems to be a guaranteed way to make sure that you are a very lonely person; and not very popular. But I can sum up my philosophy into two buzzwords: one is being multidisciplinary. That’s a real hack-kneed term that gets bounced around a lot in this industry, and I’m not sure many who use it really know what it means. But I don’t think we really have a choice in this field because there are so many different disciplines that are involved. Not just from the sciences that are involved – the physiology, the mechanics and so forth; the psychology and all the other retractable aspects, the teaching and the management and so on…I think that being a “generalist” it that sense, is a real important thing to be. The other thing I’ve learned is that, there’s a concept out of management called “best practices,” which might be the most underrated idea in the world. I hope it get more popular because it’s really important. Basically it shows that certain things work better than others. And those things aren’t always really highly scientifically validated; its kind of interesting because what you realize is that evidence exists on a spectrum; there’s an idea called “level of evidence” and Best Practices is based on the idea that empirical evidence is still really valuable, and still need to be battle tested; it still needs to be validated. But it does still take you to a place that is evidence-based and it takes you to a place that’s principled; and those are two truly extraordinary things to be and also really important.
Keats: Wow, that is a very interesting concept. I read about this in some of your writings on your website and it struck me as extremely important concept for people in this industry to understand. It makes sense that not everything in the lab is or a research setting is how things are going to work on the field or court or in real life. However we obviously need to have the more structured and organized lab tests to isolate a specific motor quality, variable or element in a study. Without a true science lab available the coach or strength professional still needs to have an organized way of thinking to determine what the best use of training time is I suppose.
SP: You realize through empirical evidence and experience; it gets right into the whole issue of how coaches and scientists should get along. I don’t know if a lot of coaches appreciate the fact that empirical evidence is were most good scientists are looking for their ideas. There are definitely some scientists that are just wearing a lab coat and trying to get the research money and researching the not so practical stuff; but a good practical scientist is looking to us for empirical ideas that they can then go test in the lab and validate or disprove. But that is were they generate their best ideas.
To read the rest of this interview go to the Reality-Based Fitness Podcast site here.
Most importantly, I learned how challenging and rewarding it is to be a father of two incredible boys and the huge responsibility we (as parents) have to our children to foster and encrouage them to have an insatiable appetite for learning, for caring and loving others, and for life! This year is also very special to me and my wife Tammy as we will be celebrating our 10th year Wedding Anniversary in February!
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Clarence’s most famous ab shot in his 40’s!
Clarence at 71! Aging is for wimps…..
