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Stretch Therapy

7711 E Greenway Rd #101 Scottsdale Az 85260


















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Age has nothing to do with how your body feels

Posted on 19 February, 2017 at 0:54 Comments comments ()




My body aches because I'm old!!!
Does it really though???



Ever since I got into the fitness industry back in 1999 I always hear those few famous words. 
" just wait until your my age"
" you can do that because your young"
" I hurt now because I'm old"
" If only I was 30 again"



Well I'm here to give you some good news! Your age is not the reason why your body is in the shape it is in or why you have aches & pains. 

The reason or answer to the above statements has more to do with; 

1) The neglect that has taken place.
2) Over training or abuse your body has gone through
3) Going to long without knowing that there was or is an underlying issue with your body.
4) I'm too busy to take care of myself.

Let's break this down further;

1) Neglect - this has a number of examples. 
A) Can you remember that time you fell down really hard and your body was sore for a few weeks or longer? After a while you forgot about it and never had it checked out because you where "young" or just didn't make time to go get it taken care of. Well that small trauma to your body that was left unchecked may have started to caused your body to either build scar tissue or to compensate in how you move. Which slowly starts to wear more & more a little bit at a time until "x" number of years down the road your body can no longer tolerate it. 

B) I see this one a lot with former athletes/fitness people. Which is from a lack of movement. They always say "well I use to be this or do that all the time until I got a desk job or life got to stressful and no time." Now they sit all day or never move their body anymore which results in a slowly state of decondition the body resulting in it's inability to adapt to stress as well as weaken the body. 

2) Abuse - I see this with the weekend warriors, Type A personalities, the New Years resolutions and endurance athletes. 
These examples cause more wear and tear to their body then most. They tend to have high pain tolerances and have the go get it done kind of mental attitude. Which is a great trait but they forget that part of the plan to attaining their goal also needs to include rest & recovery. Rome wasn't built in a day!
So after a few months or years of pushing 150% and forgetting about that small little ache it's now grown into a chronic situation but the "I'm not going to let this stop me" mind set is the root of their discomfort & pain. 

3) Ignorance - this is the type of situation that slaps you in the face and you never saw it coming but it could have been prevented it. All it takes is going and getting your body worked on and not forgetting that yes your head does sit on top of a body and it needs your attention just as much as you focus on work or your life. If you don't, your body will let you know that it's been forgotten about at some point down the road. 

4) Time - No I'm not taking about your age but not taking the time out of your busy day to focus on yourself. That's right, it's important to also spend time each day taking care of yourself. I'd say this is a HUGE factor for a lot of people. We are all busy and its easy to skip a meal, a workout, a doctor check up or to start that fitness program we've been taking about for 4 months now. Next thing you know 6 months have past and those extra pounds of fat are still there or the gym clothes still have the dust on them.
It's always that same answer isn't it, "I know...I know...I need to start that!" 
Now that I have a child I fully understand how difficult it is to find those extra few minutes to take care of me.
Remember, no one is going to give you that time you need....YOU have to find/make it yourself.

So there are my top 4 reasons why your age may not have anything to do with how you feel. So go make today count and change how you will feel tomorrow.

Should I stretch before working out?

Posted on 13 August, 2014 at 11:54 Comments comments ()



Should I Stretch Before
Working Out?





That’s a great question and there are so many opinions out there that say yes you should and more times than not they say no you shouldn’t because current research show that it doesn’t help improve range of motion or reduce your chance of injury.

 

Well here’s some up to date information for you

 

  • Current research that says you should not stretch before exercise is based on static stretching and they are correct.  Static Stretching is performed by holding a stretch or position for a period of time and may or may not be repeated. Research & Studies have shown that this type of stretching is Passive and cannot increase core peripheral temperatures thereby not aiding as a warm-up (Science of Flexibility 2004. p. 160).  In addition Static Stretching benefits have been shown to only last for 6 minutes after administration (Science of Flexibility 2004, p. 160).  Lastly, Static Stretching has been shown to cause reduced muscle power and performance which puts you at risk of injury (Science of Flexibility 2004, p. 259). Conclusion is Static Stretching will result in reduced performance and no improvement in flexibility or range of motion. 

  • Dynamic Stretching is performed without holding a stretch or position and moving a joint actively through its full range of motion. To make this even more effective is to do this by moving in & out of each stretch or movement at varying speeds from fast to slow. Imagine the ocean waves as they crash onto the beach. Each wave is slightly different then the last in its intensity, it’s height and how far up the beach it goes and never repeating the same path in or out. This is what we (Fascial Stretch Therapist) call a “Stretch Wave”. Coming in and out of a stretch and at different angles and this is why I use the term 3D Stretching. Just doesn’t make sense to stretch in 1 dimension when we move in 3 dimensions doesn’t it?  

  • By constantly moving in and out of a stretch or position rather than holding a stretch allows for better blood flow and circulation thereby increasing core body temperature which aids in improving flexibility and range of motion.  This is the best way to reduce your injury because your body is better warmed up through various ranges of movement allowing you to move better with less strain. The nervous system in addition is more prepared for what our about to do and less likely to be on guard. Lastly and most importantly is better muscle recruitment and activation which will increase the quality of movement and fluidity.

Treat the cause Not the symptom

Posted on 28 December, 2012 at 5:25 Comments comments ()
Stretch Therapy for backpainHave you ever experienced a pain, ache or discomfort in your body that just never seems to go away?
 
You may have gone to a therapist of some kind such as a chiropractor or massage therapist to work it out and it may have subsided for a few days, weeks or months but then it just seems to come back again.
 
This is what I consider treating the symptom and not the cause. For example. If you think back to high school and there is a bully and the victim, which one complains? The victim right? You never hear about the bully going to their parents or the teacher and telling them about how they abused the other student. Never....It's always the victim telling someone about being picked on by the bully.
 
I have found that the aches and pains we experience in our body more times then not are no different. For example, neck and shoulder tightness/aches are more times then not the result of stress and strain being placed on them from the front of the body. Mainly the chest muscles (Pec Minor) and/or the hip flexors (Psoas) pulling the upper body into flexion or forward causing the shoulders and arms to round forward and the head to move forward.
 
As a result the Neck muscles (Levator Scapula), Shoulder muscles (Traps) and Back muscles (Rhomboids) get taut as they are elongated like a rubber band increasing the muscle tension in them. As a result of the constent tension on them they can develop knots or trigger points which can cause referred pain and muscle disfunction, restrict blood flow to the head causing tension headaches, cause bursitis in the shoulder and numbness/tingling in the arms and hands.
 
To relieve these symptoms and prevent them from coming back I have found that it is best to treat the source of the issues by; Releasing the muscles and tissue that are pulling the body forward into flexion and strengthening the postural muscles to help keep the head and shoulders in a neutral allignment.