Core3 Massage

Back in the 80’s, when I was runner @ Northfield Mount Hermon, I learned something that has stayed with me since. Relaxing your jaw helps relax your whole body.

It is hard to tense up your shoulders and other muscles, if  your jaw is relaxed. This works with cycling as well as running….and I am guessing with other activities as well as work situations.

Try it: if your jaw is relaxed, it is hard to tense up your shoulders. And tense shoulders can make you tight all over. Shoulder tightness, if left untreated, can spread up (into the jaw) and/or down (to the low back and pelvis) the body. (This is not based on scientific studies, but on my own massage experience and knowledge of how the body is connected…this said just to cover my butt.)

So, instead of wasting your energy clenching your jaw (and hence tightening your shoulders….etc), you could spend it actually running or riding  faster. All this in the spirit of relaxing all those tight shoulders out there.

The illiotibial band (ITB) is a fibrous band of fascia that runs down the outside of your upper leg.  More specifically, it goes from the junction of the tensor fasciae latae (TFL-otherwise know as the hip flexor) and gluteus maximus (the big butt muscle), down the outside of your leg and attaches just below the knee to the lateral condyle of the tibia (that bump just below the outside of the knee).

(FYI – As mentioned above, the ITB is fascia  not muscle.  Fascia is a type of connective tissue that also takes the form of ligaments (attaches bone to bone) and tendons (attaches muscle to bone).  And like other types of connective tissue, fascia binds structures together, provides pathways for blood vessels and such, and serves as a framework.  Perhaps more on fascia in a later post. But together with the TFL, the ITB helps with hip flexion, abduction and medial rotation.)

One often first becomes aware of their ITB when they feel pain on the outside of their knee.  This pain could be from the increased friction of the ITB rubbing over the bony lateral condyle of the tibia, with every running stride or pedal stroke. If left untreated, the ITB gets tighter and tighter with use, and movement at the knee becomes more painful, eventually causing so much pain that one has to stop running/cycling because it is so painful to do.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!!! All it takes are some preventative measures — and some time.  Believe me, severe ITB pain is not something you want to have, unless you are looking for an excuse not to exercise.

I have worked on so many endurance athletes with ITB tightness/pain,  that I  almost assume that it will be a problem area on all endurance athletes that I work on.  I actually work on the ITBs of every single client I have, since ITB tightness/pain is so prevalent overall. 

Therefore, as you might have guessed, I strongly believe that one should use preventative measures regarding the ITB. If caught and dealt with early enough, it doesn’t have to be an area of concern.

Regular massage is a great preventative measure, since most massage therapist will massage the ITB to help keep it loose. However, even better is to do self-massage on a regular basis by using the foam roller.

Foam rollers can be purchased online (www.performbetter.com) or locally @Peak Performance (www.mypeakmultisport.com). I suggest the black ones (3′ long 6″round). They are firmer and last longer than the white ones. There are other foam roller options, but regardless you can’t go wrong.

If you are totally new to these rollers, you might have someone at the store show you how to use them.  Basically you lie down on the floor on your side. Support your upper body with your arms, place the foam roller under the outside of the leg lowest to the floor.  Using your arms and top leg, release as much of your body weight as you can handle (pain-wise) onto the roller and roll from your hip down to your knee and back. Roll up and down for a few minutes, pausing and focusing on the most painful/tight areas.

This is great to do daily after your run, ride, walk. Lots of people use the time at the end of the day while they are watching TV to roll. You can roll not only your ITBs, but also calves, hamstrings, adductors, glutes, and quads.  You can be pretty creative with it. You may not “have fun”, but if it is painful, you need it. It is a lot better than having me use my forearm or elbow  on your ITBs.

I am finally settled into my new space @ Health Coaches on Free St. Still in the Old Port, but best of all, across the street from Arabia Coffee. It’s sort of like my second office. So, here I sit thinking of all the things I have wanted to write about, but have been too busy to do so.

Thinking about hip flexors lately. There is rarely a person that I work on that does not have tight hip flexors (or Tensor Fasciae Latae – TFL – in muscle speak). These muscles assist in hip flexion (such as when you lift your thigh up when you are biking, walking or running).

They also tend to get tight on people who sit a lot.  While sitting, the hip flexors are in a shortened position.  If one sits for long periods, the hip flexors get used to this shortened/tight position.

When hip flexors are really tight, they can limit leg lift. One might not notice this reduced range of motion at first. However, you will notice the tightness when you feel the discomfort/pain when they get massaged.

There are a few things you can do to keep these important muscles from getting too tight. One is to stretch them regularly. The best stretch that I have found, is one that I learned from Erica Napuli of Evolution Fitness (efitness08@yahoo.com).

Start by standing facing steps or a bench/chair. Bend your right knee and place your right foot onto the bench (or a higher or lower object depending on your flexibility). Angle inwards the toes of your left foot, that is still on the floor.  Then raise your arms above your head and arch back, pushing your hips forward to give your left hip flexor a stretch.  Repeat on other side. If you don’t feel a stretch doing this try a higher step, or maybe they just aren’t that tight on you. Lucky you.

Another great way to reduce tightness in your hip flexors is to do self massage with a tennis ball. Find your hip flexors. They are located on the outer front of your “hip”.  Between where you might feel your hip bone and where you might imagine that your quads start.

Find a tennis ball. This might involve wrestling one from the jaws of your fun loving dog.  Wipe off the doggie slobber and place it between your hip flexor and the wall or floor. It might take some trial and error to find the exact tight spot, but when you do find it, keep the pressure on the tennis ball and move it back and forth gently over the tight hip flexor.

The duration of this “massage’ depends on your tightness, but shouldn’t be longer than a few minutes. Doing this regularly will keep those pesky hip flexor from ever causing you a problem.

If left untreated, tightness in your hip flexors not only limit range of motion at the hip – but the tightness can move down into your Illiotibial Band (ITB) of the outer thigh, down to your outer knee (the ITB attaches to the TFL)….causing pain and discomfort. But I’ll save the discussion of the dangers of tight ITBs for another day.

As I have mentioned to a number of you already – I am moving, and I am excited about it.  My move is due to Tri-Me’s  office consolidation. (BTW – they put on really great races right here in Maine – triathlons and well as running races.  Check them out at http://www.tri-maine.com/  .) 

I share my current space with Will (epic leader of the Tri-Me gang) – who is consolidating all his offices to 164 Middle St, Suite 3 (instead of being in Suite 1 (with me) and Suite 4). Just in case you want to be blown away – check out Will’s successful journey to become an EpicMan (kayak from Peak’s Island to Portland/bike from Portland to Boston/run the Boston Marathon – all in under 24 hours!!), along with his fearless friend Seth the Red Bull Guy http://theepicmancometh.blogspot.com/.

I will really miss my yellow office here on Market St., and being right next to Tri-Me.  Although they are a busy group, I like to bug them now and then. Friendly guys and gals, who share Red Bull and chocolate treats.  I have a feeling that I will continue to bug them, always remembering the day they had brownies.

So where am I going?  To another wonderful place – Health Coaches @ 17 Free St in Portland,  not far at all from my current office. The parking situation should be better (a parking garage next door and parking lot across the street help), and I hope to be able to validate parking.

Health Coaches (http://www.health-coaches.com/ ) is a cool place. Especially because my friend Erica works there. It is primarily a facility for personal training.  However, they also providing massage and corporate health programs.  The Pres. of Health Coaches, Mark Holmes, has graciously offered me use (@ a good price) of one of their massage rooms to continue my Core3 Massage work.

Looking forward to it all very much.

Now that Spring is almost here (perhaps?) no more musings on winter running for me.  Enough of the snow! I am thinking ahead to long bike rides along the ocean, trail running in the woods and lots more light!

The approaching season of Spring also leads me to reflect on Springboard Pilates, the place where I take my Pilates classes. Pilates is a set movements based on exercises developed by Joseph Pilates. These exercises “…strengthen your core (torso)  muscles and work out from there to stretch and strengthen every muscle in your body.” , as is written on their website (www.springboardpilates.com). 

One can start with Mat classes, where most of the exercises are done lying down or while sitting. You learn a set of exercises and build on them each week.  In private sessions, one works on equipment instead.  With springs and leather straps, these machines look sort of scary, but they are actually pretty cool. They help add resistance to the movements, as well as support you (if needed) as you become stronger.

I love Pilates for what it does to my body. Having a strong core during movement (running, massaging….) makes me feel more effient . And working from a strong core makes me feel stronger overall.

I enjoy the structure of the workouts (Meredith telling me what to do) and the fact that the exercises progress as one gets stronger. The Springboard Pilates studio is also a very beautiful space. It is in an old townhouse (on Spring St.) with high ceilings, wood floors and great art work on the walls.

I encourage you to contact them (the lovely Meredith or Momma To Be Bethany) if you are at all interested in Pilates.  15 min consultations are free.  Right now they are having a New Client Special: 30 min Private session for $10 or a 50 min Private session for $20 – great deals!

If Pilates is not your thing at the moment, check out the Tri-Maine (www.tri-maine.com) races for the year. Along with perhaps giving you a reason to work-out this spring/summer, these races are always fun events. One might even say they are “epic”.

I  believe in the importance of core strength.  I have certainly read a lot about it’s importance, but have also felt how important it is in my own body.  When I have a strong core I am a stronger runner, cyclist, swimmer and massage therapist. 

For most of my adult life I have done some sort of core work.  I certainly have had my lazy periods when I don’t bother with it.  But after several months of being  lazy, I can feel it in my body.  Overall I am not as strong.  

These past 8 months I have made an effort to really focus on my core (and overall) strength, after a few years of haphazard strength training.  This past June I started working with Erica (efitess08@yahoo.com) which has made a huge difference in my  strength.  I do overall strength work with her, incuding lots of core stuff – and not your grandmother’s sit-ups (sorry for the reference Mom). She has me work on all the muscles around my core  incuding movements with the upper and lower body.  Really good functional strength stuff.

Then this past fall I started Pilates with Meredith @ Springboard Pilates (www.springboardpilates.com) . Not only am I now addicted to Pilates (more on this addiction at a later time), but I have seen my core strength improve even more.  Pilates includes a number of excerises (with and without machines) that help you focus intensely on all your core muscles (there are a lot of them - believe me! More than just Rectus abdominis).  I have had sore muscles that I knew existed, but never new they could be worked in this way.

The work I have done with both Meredith and Erica has helped me tremendously in my  running and in my work as a massage therapist. The increased strength of my core (“power house” in Pilates)  helps me in all of my movements. My body is more efficient as well as stronger. 

I recently found out that triathlete and blogger (you HAVE to check out her and her hubbie’s blog (http://maukamakai.wordpress.com/) if you love the bizarre side of nature) Kelsey Abbott (kelseyabbott@gmail.com) also leads Core Conditioning classes. I thought it was just for her swim girls. No no – she leads classes at The Sanctuary in Yarmouth on Mondays @ 7pm, as well as classes at the Freeport YMCA.

One last work on core strength. I have noticed that many of my clients with low back pain have a weak core.  So, if nothing else – core work can prevent one of the most common complaints – low back pain.

With all my talk about the difficulties of running in the snow, I finally tried Stabil-Icers (www.32north.com). I acknowledge that I am a little late coming to the whole “cleats on your running shoes” thing, but never realized that they could be worn on concrete as well as ice and snow.

Stabil-Icers are ice cleats that you slip onto your shoes. I had talked to several people about the best kind of cleats, and Stabil-Icers is what most of them recommended. I found some at Peak Performance (www.mypeakmultisport.com) and the next day was out running in a snowstorm.

Some thought I was crazy (Ralph) but I felt like a super hero!  Super Runner Girl can run anywhere! There is still a little slippage when the snow is too deep or loose, but in general I had great traction for my run. As I did the next day, when it was less deep snow but more ice and loose snow. 

So, if you are a die-hard winter runner like me, these are a must buy. Or at least check out other types of cleats – or drill screws into an old pair of running shoes (suggested by one trail runner guy).

I just wrote of all the fun that can be had, as well as the challenges, of running outside in the winter. To continue on that theme……. 

With all that slipping on loose and uneven snow and ice, your leg and glut muscles are subjected to increased stress.  The Piriformis muscle is one of those muscles that can be vulnerable to that constant instability with each step, as I relearned again this winter.

The Piriformis (located under the large Gluteus maximus muscle of your butt) helps rotate your thigh laterally (out) as well as helps stabilize the hip joint.  The Sciatic nerve passes under, over or through the Piriformis.  Therefore, if the Piriformis is tight, not only can you feel pain in your butt, but the possible entrapment of the sciatic nerve may also cause pain down the back of the leg, following the path of the sciatic nerve. ( http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.neurography.com/Images/Piriformis/PyrAnatA108.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.neurography.com/Images/Piriformis/Piriformis1.htm&usg=__qJqe3pBcHNBpzWS9HmDJ3h2r_wA=&h=460&w=344&sz=154&hl=en&start=1&sig2=KpI9GNzD7bZyeidRd1Lw_Q&um=1&tbnid=BBAHIo7C8EJ8sM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=96&ei=zU9uSd-AHNuImQeBpPmcCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpiriformis%2Bmuscle%2Bphoto%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLR_enUS240US242%26sa%3DX - this link provides a great photo of it’s location, as well as other info)

I have off and on Piriformis tightness, that I am usually able to keep in check with massage, acupuncture, self-massage with a tennis ball, and stretching. However, with running in the snow of these recent storms, it has become irritated again.

I was lucky enough to have an acupuncture appointment yesterday, just as my Piriformis was really feeling sore. I have been going to my Acupuncturist, Mary Lello (207-761-7228), for over 2 years. I love her treatments, which have helped me tremendously with several injuries.  She has a specific treatment for treating Sciatica (a tight Piriformis can cause Sciatica = pain (caused by the compression of the Sciatic nerve) that radiates from the low back or glut region down the back of the leg to the calf, and foot). So this morning on my run, my Piriformis was feeling much better. 

Massage, of course, is also excellent for reducing Piriformis tightness. But probably the best thing you can do for Piriformis pain, is regular self-care at home. Massaging your gluts with a tennis ball is easy.  Lay with your back on the floor, knees bent with feet on the floor. Lift your butt and place the tennis ball under the area of pain – lower/mid glut.  Release some of your body weight onto the tennis ball and roll it under your glut using your own weight, hitting all those tight painful areas. A few minutesof rolling (as well as holding the ball on the really tight areas) is all it takes. It is best if done daily – or at least regularly.

Daily Piriformis stretching also helps to loosen the muscle.  As I was reminded by my trainer Erica Napuli (207-329-7528 efitness08@yahoo.com) the Pigeon Pose , from yoga, is an excellent way to get a deep stretch. (Check out http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/pigeon.htm and http://www.fitsugar.com/121200  to see the pose). Make sure you do both sides, or at least the side where the Piriformis is tight.  I like to bend forward over the knee and relax into the pose.

Remember, that the longer you have had the pain, the longer it will take to go away.  So don’t expect all the pain to disappear with one massage, if you have had glut pain for years. However, the self-care options can be a great way to keep a tight Piriformis muscle from becoming an injury. Enjoy!!!

There is a lot of info out there about winter running. They mention things like: dress in layers, run into the wind first, hydrate even if you don’t feel thirsty, shorter steps……. However, no one ever talks about the actual running surfaces, other than the ”don’t run on ice” advice. I have been thinking about this a lot recently, as I run through snow, slush, freezing rain, and ice.

I have spent my entire running career in cold places: upstate NY, western MA, MN, and ME. Every winter, no matter how much I pray, it still snows and gets nasty out there. So, I have learned how to deal with it, because I am not much for the treadmill (or indoor track) unless I am really serious about getting some speed in.

You have the light fluffy snow – not bad if it is not deep, but a total pain if more than a few inches. You have to shorten your stride and slow down.  The compacted snow (like where cars have driven) is great, until it starts to warm up (or too many cars have driven over it) – then it slowly becomes loose snow (and your feet will slip a little with each step) – and eventually becomes a slushy substance.  Slush is actually not too bad if there is not much of it - like after the car tires have pushes it off to the side of the road. Then you have that clear path following the tire tracks with NO slippage. Unfortunately when cars come by you are forced back to the shoulder of the road, where all of that slush (and/or loose snow) has accumulated, which means more slow slippery steps, as the cars splash you with even more slush.  Oh yeah, and then there is that deep slush puddle that you just stepped in that is freezing cold, and so now your toes are going numb.

The different places I have run each had/have their own unique winter running challenges.  Upstate NY was not bad because they have HUGE shoulders there – and I was probably too worried about getting shot by hunters to think much about what I was running on.

Western MA had lots of ice.  It seems like there was always another ice storm, which really puts a damper on running outside. Some days the 200yd banked wooden balcony track over the gym (where the smelly wrestlers were working out) would have to suffice.

Minnesota is where I REALLY learned about winter. I learned that although not recommended, it is possible to run in -20 temps – and that is without windchill.  Certainly there were 2 days a week on the indoor track (one of those – again – on an indoor 200yd wooden banked balcony track). But every other single mile I ran was outside – never ran on a treadmill in MN. I fell a lot on my butt in that menacing “loose snow”….one esp. had to watch out at intersections where you could fall on that loose snow right in front of or under that car getting ready to take off.   It did take me 15 yrs to finally get over all that painful “frost-nip” in my toes that I inherited from MN, but it was worth every single step.

In ME you don’t have to deal with the wind and cold as much.  But the running conditions can make it frustrating enough, that I would trade warmer temps for colder temps and the accompanying firmer snow. My first winter in ME these guys would take me out for long runs on the trails behind UMO.  The trails were not plowed – so it was continuous punching your feet though the snow, deep snow.  Now that is tiring.  Portland is warmer than Orono, which means more ice, slush, loose snow. Yuck!

As all runners do, we seek out the roads/paths with the best conditions. Sometimes it is the less used neighborhood roads with the firmer snow that are the best (enough traffic to compact the snow but not enough to tear it up into loose snow).  Sometime the major roads are best - they at least are plowed.  But then there is the battle with traffic.  Here in Portland I now love hospitals because they clear their sidewalks of all snow/slush and always use salt.  I could do 100m pick-ups on them! The brick sidewalks that are everywhere can be really nasty  though.  If a little wet, they can really be slippery – and shoveling usually just leaves a thin layer of loose snow that melts and eventually becomes ice. Slippery all around unless they are dry or salted. I could go on and on.

If you have run in the winter too, I am sure you have your own stories of running surfaces and the art of how to negotiate them.  When those non-running people ask: “What do you think about when you run?” Well, this is what I think about as I brave another winter run.

These last few months I have been thinking a lot about what we do (or “should do”) before we start working out. I haven’t been much for stretching before exercise, although I definitely include a lot of stretching in my post-workout regimen (along with regular self-massage).  There are numerous articles about whether stretching actually helps you or not. I won’t go there right now, but I will address what we probably should be doing before we go out for that walk/ride/run/swim.

My first inspiration, in my rethinking the pre-excersice warm-up, was a New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=stretching&st=cse  that one of you out there brought it to my attention.  It talks about why dynamic stretching, as opposed to static stretching, should be what we are doing before we workout.  According to the article, static stretching (holding a stretch) does nothing to warm up our muscles/tendons and improve their ability to preform. But dynamic stretching does. The article gives 3 examples of dymanic stretches, and in the last month I have been trying them out before I go out for my daily run. Actually 2 of the exercises I was already familiar with (scorpion and handwalks) having been introduced to them by my trainer Erica Napuli (efitness08@yahoo.com) of Evolution Fitness.

My feedback: they are fun to do, and they really do seem to help warm up my muscles. However, I also use the stick before I run. So that nice loose feeling in my legs at the beginning of my run, might be due to the stick, the dynamic stretches or both. But regarless, I probably will continue with these dymanic stretches.

The second experience that is helping shape my pre-exercise thinking, is my exposure to Resistance Stretching. Gary Gurney (Certified Rolfer at Rolfing Structural Integration www.mainerolfing.com ) was generous enough to introduce this form of pre-exercise stretching to me.  Resistance Stretching is basically contracting a muscle as it is being stretched. Dana Torres used this method of stretching in her Olympic training. After the Olympics Gary became interested in this type of stretching, has been trained in preforming and teaching of Resistance Stretching, and he is now using it to help athletes here in Portland. He recently has introduced Resistance Stretching to the Bowdoin Swim team with great success, and continues to spread the word. 

Being curious to see if this really works, I have been stretching my persistent tight left hamstring using this method.  I’ll use Resistance Stretching before or during a run if/when my hamstring feels tight.  And amazingly, it has really helped.  Check out http://www.innovativebodysolutions.com/olympic-athletes/dara-torres-stretching/stretch-like-dara.html if you are interested. 

This is just the beginning of my quest to discover the best way to warm-up for events/workouts.  So, more later on Resistance Stretching, as well as other pre-workout warm-up info. All just to keep you as healthy as possible, and preforming your best.