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Massage therapy benefits for athletes

By stacey | Published August 7, 2024

5 Surprising Benefits of Massage for Athletes

It is probably not surprising that massage can be beneficial for athletes. Those of us that ask a lot from our physical bodies on a regular basis can benefit from practices, like massage therapy, that support our bodies in staying healthy and performing at their highest level. In this post, we dug a little deeper and came up with five reasons massage is beneficial for athletes that you might not think of or expect.

Massage can alleviate breathing pattern disorders.

Athletes need to breathe well to perform well. In almost any sport you do, breath is important. Being able to take deep, full breaths helps to regulate your heart rate and ensures your muscles are getting regular surges of fresh oxygen. Some people, athletes included, experience what is known as breathing pattern disorders, shallow and rapid breath patterns that only utilize the muscles in the upper body, rather than the diaphragm and intercostal muscles involved in normal breathing.

Massage can actually help athletes breathe deeper and alleviate breathing pattern disorders. Massage helps lengthen and relax the muscles, including the smooth muscles of the diaphragm area, the intercostal muscles and the abdominal connective tissue. Releasing and lengthening these muscles helps improve blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body. One of the side effects of breathing pattern disorders is a rise in the pH level of the blood due to the imbalance of carbon dioxide and oxygen created by limited blood flow, which can cause a tightening of the fascia. In general, massage works through tight and constricted fascia, the sheath of tissue that surrounds muscles, so massage helps to alleviate this side effect of restricted breathing. Massage can also improve mobility in the shoulder girdle, creating more space for respiration to occur.

Massage can improve posture and form.

Having correct form is very important for athletes of all kinds. From runners to rock climbers, posture and form can mean the difference between winning the gold and staying home.

Besides the time it takes to learn correct posture or form, our bodies sometimes get into habits of poor posture and form due to physical stress. When the body is stressed, it will naturally modify its posture to reduce stress in the area that’s hurting and distribute that pain to other areas of the body.

A slightly altered posture can lead to pain and imbalance in the body that can affect an athlete’s performance and make him or her more vulnerable to injury.

Massage therapy can help reduce stress in the body, allowing it to return to its normal shape. Massage softens the muscles, allowing them to relax enough for the bones to move back into their normal structure. Massage can also target specific muscle groups in order to release tightness in the body that might be preventing you from moving in the most optimal way.

Massage can help with chronic pain.

For athletes, chronic pain can manifest itself as repeated stress on one specific area of the body that is never fully allowed to heal. During a massage, research has shown the body produces hormones called endorphins, which inhibit pain receptors, essentially reducing the intensity of the feeling of pain in the body. Endorphins also reduce overall stress in the body, which allows athletes to rest more easily and fully. Ultimately, this rest is what will allow the body to heal, so endorphin production doesn’t just reduce the sensation of pain, it also allows the body to relax and access the natural healing it needs.

Massage can reduce cortisol production.

At the same time that regular massage increases the production of endorphins, it decreases the production of cortisol, a hormone that causes stress in the body. Research has shown repeatedly that massage decreases cortisol production, which has a damaging effect on the physical body as well as the mind, impairing an athlete’s ability to perform at his or her best.

Massage can build new mitochondria.

Last but not least, maybe the most surprising benefit of massage is what happens on the cellular level. Research has shown massage after strenuous activity promotes the growth of new mitochondria in our cells. If you took high school biology or were around a few years ago when the mitochondria meme was going around, you will remember the function of the mitochondria. All together now: they’re the “powerhouse” of the cell. What that means functionally is that mitochondria are what converts the food we eat into energy in the form our body can use. The more mitochondria in a cell, the more that cell can make usable energy. For athletes, the more mitochondria they have, the stronger and better they can perform.

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5 reasons acupuncture helps reduce stress

By stacey | Published August 7, 2024

Five Reasons Acupuncture Helps Reduce Stress
Stress is a word many people are familiar with. The dictionary defines stress in multiple ways, but there is only one that matters when we discuss how stress affects our physical bodies. The definition is this, “stress is a physical, chemical or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension.” And while most people think of stress as being detrimental, it truly does have a function in our bodies. Stress is the body’s way of signaling for help or a break in the routine. If we don’t listen to these signals, we can develop imbalances in our bodies, which can then lead to illnesses.
Cortisol is the hormone most closely related to stress. Cortisol is a big component of the “fight or flight” response we feel when we are scared or threatened. And in small bursts, cortisol is helpful. However, when stress becomes chronic, cortisol levels become elevated and never return to normal. This puts the body in a constant state of being on edge, eventually causing insomnia, depression, anxiety, digestive issues and even mental illness.
There are ways to fight and reduce stress though. Simple things like exercise, meditation, coloring, talking with friends and even acupuncture. Admittedly, most people don’t think of being stuck with tiny needles as “relaxing,” but it really is. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and it is becoming more mainstream every single day. It is even being used in some hospital emergency rooms for those who are in pain and anxious.
Acupuncture acts like physical therapy for the nervous system. The tiny needles retrain the nervous system and the brain to behave as it should normally. For the nervous system to act and respond accordingly, cortisol has to be at normal levels and only used when a true “fight or flight” situation occurs. Studies show acupuncture does this.
Another way acupuncture helps reduce stress is by keeping the heart rate normal. When the body is stressed, the heart tends to pump faster and in some cases, a person may even develop palpitations or atrial fibrillation. The heart rate is closely connected to the vagus nerve. If the vagus nerve is stimulated, so too will the heart rate. There are specific acupressure points on the arms and hands that can calm the vagus nerve and the heart.

Stress is frequently related to specific emotions. Acupuncture controls anxiety and stress by affecting the part of the brain that regulates emotions and then reduces anxiety naturally. This allows the body to calm down and the mind to relax.
Chronic stress frequently leads to depression. Again, acupuncture can help with this. As the stress is relieved through regular acupuncture treatments and other mind/body techniques, then depression will start to clear up as well. Many people are even able to get off their depression medications following a regimented treatment plan that utilizes acupuncture and herbs.
Lastly, digestive disorders can be caused or exacerbated by chronic stress. Digestion occurs while the body is in the “rest and digest” phase. When stress is added into the mix, digestion may become disrupted and things like diarrhea can occur. Studies have shown acupuncture is extremely effective at decreasing or eliminating bouts of diarrhea.
Acupuncture is a wonderful tool for fighting stress. As few as two needles can reset your body and decrease your daily stress level. Talk with an acupuncturist to find out how to resolve your stress the natural way.

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Acupuncture for pain management

By stacey | Published August 7, 2024

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine examined how acupuncture can be used to treat low back pain. The researchers looked at multiple trials to determine that acupuncture shows great promise in relieving chronic low back pain. The trials were inconclusive about acupuncture for acute low back pain. Since chronic low back pain is more common, it makes sense the majority of the trials scrutinized found more evidence to support acupuncture usage for this condition.
Pain affects everybody at some point in their lives. It may be either acute or chronic. But regardless of the type of pain, it can be debilitating. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 100 million Americans have suffered from pain that lasts more than 24 hours and millions more suffer from acute pain. Chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability in the United States also, which ultimately affects not only the pain sufferer, but also those around him or her.
Many people go to see their regular doctor when they have pain. Many more go to the emergency room. But the treatments received don’t always provide relief. Everything from pain pills to surgery may be suggested to help pain sufferers. And because of over-prescription of pain medications, there is now an epidemic in the United States. Opioids, one class of prescription painkillers, has turned into a legitimate killer, causing more and more people to overdose and die. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it is estimated that nearly 2.1 million people in the U.S. are suffering from substance abuse disorders directly related to opioid pain relievers.
This is where acupuncture comes in. Acupuncture is part of a nearly 3,000 year old medical system known as Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture uses hair-thin needles to stimulate specific pressure points on the body. By invigorating these points, the brain is triggered to release endorphins, which are natural painkillers. The energy within the body is also moved and adjusted. According to TCM medical theory, when the energy is blocked or weak, then pain and illness can attack the body.
One of the advantages of utilizing acupuncture to treat pain is the acupuncturist doesn’t need to diagnose the cause of the pain before treating it. Since acupuncture has no real adverse side effects when performed by a qualified and professionally licensed practitioner, pain relief can begin the very first time a patient is treated.
The treatments are very customizable because this medicine is not a “one size fits all” type of solution. This means that as the pain shifts and changes, the patient will receive customized treatments that not only address the pain and inflammation, but they also work on resolving the root of the problem. Most patients who are dealing with pain also have added stress, insomnia and depression or anxiety. Acupuncture is great at treating all of these conditions. So the patient gets more than just pain relief.
Acupuncture is so effective at treating and relieving pain now showing up in hospitals and emergency rooms. In fact, Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota is now successfully using acupuncture in its emergency room to treat conditions ranging from car accident injuries to kidney stones. Their initial results show pain scores are just as low with acupuncture as they are with those given analgesic painkillers. Another positive action regarding the utilization of acupuncture came just recently. The Food and Drug Administration released proposed changes that plan to educate health care providers about treating pain. The new guidelines recommend doctors get information about acupuncture and suggest it to their patients before prescribing opioids.
With these kinds of recommendations and testimonials, it is hard to believe only about 10 percent of Americans have ever tried acupuncture. But that statistic is slowly changing as more and more people are seeking natural and alternative methods of dealing with pain and disease. Why not check it out for yourself? Contact me to find out more information.

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