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No More Ice Ice, Baby

Published: 15 October 2012
Written by Leah
4 Comments
Categories: Blog

That’s Right, Stop Icing. Old habits are hard to break, but icing of sprains, strains, and sore muscles is a BIG NO NO. I know, many docs and PTs are still supporting the “ice is good” treatment. Well, all research on ice and inflammation shows that ice actually hinders your body’s innate ability to repair tissue. This creates a poorly healed injury, and potentially more pain in the long run!

Let The Healing Begin

Fact: There are 3 stages of the healing process after an injury, be it small or large. I’ll focus on Stage 1, The Inflammatory Stage, where macrophages come in like garbage cleaners to clean up the injured sight. They bring along with them cells that help build and grow tissue that was previously damaged. So without the macrophrages, we do not get optimal healing of muscle, ligament, or other soft tissues. When you add ice to an injury, you are effectively stopping the blood flow to that area, thus not allowing the macrophages to enter and do their job.

So How Do I Get The Swelling To Go Down? Swelling occurs when LYMPH is unable to take all the garbage away from the injured site. When using ice, you are under the pretense that BLOOD moves the garbage away. But this is not how our body works- blood vessels DO NOT carry the “garbage” from an injured site, and since LYMPH VESSELS DO, that means we need to promote lymph movement. And we do that by contracting the muscles around the injured area or using compression- like with massage or a semi-tight bandage. Even if your arm is in a cast, you can help along the healing process by moving your fingers, which moves the muscles in your forearms, promoting lymph to move away from the injured site.

“Seriously, do you honestly believe that your body’s natural inflammatory response is a mistake?” – Dr. Nick DiNubile, Editor in Chief of The Physician And Sports Medicine Journal

But Icing Helps With The Pain I’m gonna have to be a strict Mom here and say, Yeah, for the moment it does. But are you looking for short term pain relief, or long term healing and pain relief? And please think twice before taking advil, aspirin, or ibuprofen if you get injured or sore- they mess with the healing process even more than ice does! Not to mention, tearing up your liver and kidneys along the way. If you want your body to be in top shape, allow it to heal on its own, while giving it some support.

Compress, Move, Massage The more movement you can do without causing unwanted pain, the better your injury will heal. Now, this doesn’t mean, put weight on it right away. It means mobilize it as soon as you can without creating pain. Take the joint through a range of motion that is comfortable for you, and seek the help of a wellness expert or trusted physical therapist if you’re unsure of what to do, pain does not decrease, or swelling does not go down.

When it comes to pain, we are all too quick to jump at the quick fix (usually a pill or surgery), but there is always a process behind pain. Allow your body to go through the process it needs, and give it support and encouragement through movement, massage, chiropractic, or any other modality you see fit before you consider surgery or reach for the pills.

Yes, Knee Injuries Can Heal On Their Own I have a dear dancer friend who injured his knee in London while dancing. He saw a doctor there who was very blunt with him. The doctor said, wait 6 weeks to allow your knee to heal before you see a doctor in the US. Otherwise, they will most likely recommend you have surgery, not to mention the costly MRI. Lo and behold, his knee pain was gone in just that amount of time, and after 2 years it is still feeling as stable and strong as it did before the injury. Yes, he had to baby the knee for 6 weeks and pay attention to its movement, but Imagine where he’d be if he went in for surgery? Of course, not all knee injuries are created equal, and yes, sometimes surgery is the best option. Just know your options.

A Piece Of Literature To Chew On “When ice is applied to a body part for a prolonged period, nearby lymphatic vessels begin to dramatically increase their permeability (lymphatic vessels are ‘dead-end’ tubes which ordinarily help carry excess tissue fluids back into the cardiovascular system). As lymphatic permeability is enhanced, large amounts of fluid begin to pour from the lymphatics ‘in the wrong direction’ (into the injured area), increasing the amount of local swelling and pressure and potentially contributing to greater pain.” The use of Cryotherapy in Sports Injuries,’ Sports Medicine, Vol. 3. pp. 398-414, 1986

I hope you enjoyed my little rant. Please feel free to do your own research! Your body should be in your hands.
Sincerely,
Leah Nelson, LMT

photo by Neil T

Nutty Fruit Breakfast

Published: 6 September 2012
Written by Leah
1 Comment
Categories: Blog, Tasty, Healthy Recipes

Many people ask me, what else can I eat for breakfast that’s healthy besides eggs?.. Well, here’s my go to second breakie option that keeps my gut happy and me satiated until lunch rolls around.

Nutty FruitIngredients:
– fruit of choice (I like berries, apples, peaches, banana, or a combo. And I try to get what’s in season if I can).
– *raw almond butter
– optional cinnamon or fresh mint
– optional chopped walnuts, flax meal, chia seeds (chia seeds will especially keep you full and provide much needed omega 3s)

Put the chopped fruit with dollops of almond butter in a bowl. Depending on your mood, sprinkle with cinnamon for a little extra spice, or chopped mint if you need to cool off in the summer.
If you really need extra sweetness, pour a little honey on it, sugar!

For those who do well with dairy, a full fat yogurt can replace your almond butter… I like Red Hill Farm’s goat yogurt or Brown Cow’s “cream on top” yogurt. You want to get full fat (not low fat or fat free) because there will be less sugar and chemical additives in your yogurt, and thus better for your body. And getting a plain yogurt and adding honey (if you want it sweeter) is much better than getting the flavored yogurt with added sugar.

Yum!

*Raw almond butter because roasted almond butter can produce some trans fat from heating the nuts (and their oil) at high temps.

Three Tips to Relieve and Prevent Knee Pain

Published: 24 July 2012
Written by Leah
3 Comments
Categories: Blog

Try Other Avenues Before Going Under the Scalpel

A foam roller

As a massage therapist in Salt Lake City, I have seen runners, bikers, hikers, crossfit goers, and the average Joe come in with knee pain. Many get quite a surprise when a specialized massage relieves this pain.

Most of these clients have been told to take advil, rest, and if it doesn’t get better, they should talk to a surgeon. While some might need surgery because of major ligament and meniscus tears, the average person has knee pain from trigger points in the muscle or fascia. Tears in the ligaments can also be caused by movement imbalances; lengthening of short, tight fascia will help address these imbalances, even after surgery.                (photo by rachel)

3 Different Ways to Relieve Knee Pain

1. Pain on the Outside of the Patella (knee cap) is often attributed to Vastus Lateralis trigger points. This is one of the easiest places to do self massage with a foam roller. If you have knee pain, the first thing you should invest in is a foam roller. For this kind of knee pain, lay on the side of your thigh on the foam roller and roll from your hip to your knee. Check out youtube for helpful ways to use your foam roller. Tight inner thigh muscles can also contribute to pain outside the knee, so you can also carefully foam roll your inner thighs, to see if that helps.

The X marks the trigger point, the red shows the pain referral pattern

2. For Pain on The Patella : The main point referring to this area is hard to get to without help, but you can try sitting in a chair, putting a tennis ball where the x is indicated on Rectus Femoris and pressing gently down on the ball until you feel some tenderness. Hold for a few secs, and repeat until the tenderness subsides a bit. If you’re experiencing this pain, please call to see if I can help; it’s a difficult point to access on your own.

3. Inner Knee Pain is usually caused by a tight IT Band, running along the outside of your thigh and attaching into 2 important muscles at the hip- Gluteus Maximus & TFL. The IT Band is hard to change without relieving the tightness in the TFL, Glut Max, and surrounding fascia. Lengthening the TFL might require some assistance, and is difficult to attempt on your own, but using a racquet, tennis, or lacrosse ball on the top of your hip in the area of Gluteus Medius could do the trick. If anything, it might relieve some low back pain occurring on your sacrum.

You’d lay on the ground, knees up and place the small ball just below the top of one hip. You then roll on your side on the ball, and play around with moving the ball until you find  a tender spot (a trigger point) and hold there for a minute. Find another spot and repeat, and don’t forget the other side, even if it’s not bothering you. This should release some of the fascia connecting into your ITB, but it might not be enough if it’s your TFL that’s too short.

A number of factors contribute to knee pain, and it’s important to seek a skilled massage therapist or Structural Integrationist if you’ve stopped doing physical activities because of pain. Myofascial massage and trigger point therapy techniques are extremely helpful for relieving postural imbalances, so pain doesn’t reoccur, and the original movement pattern can be corrected. Sometimes all it takes is 1 or 2 specialized massage therapy sessions (including some personalized self care) to get you back up and running!

So don’t fret… Pain is just your body’s call to action. Do something about it, have hope, and try a few of these tips to get you on your way to healthy knees!