Sports Massage: a Cliffnote

Sports Massage: a Cliffnote

            The book I chose, Sports & exercise massage: Comprehensive care in athletics, fitness & rehabilitation (2nd ed.) was an interesting read not only because I’m a nurse, but because I exercise frequently. It begins to explain a bit about the three effects on the body systems which are structural, physiologic, and psychological. The way a massage is performed determines the effect. The different types of sport massage are pre-event massage, also known as warm up, inter-competition massage which focuses on the muscles being used, and post event recovery massage which allows the muscles to regain blood flow for faster recovery. When injury occurs, remedial or rehabilitation massage can be performed to speed up the healing process. Pressure is important to consider during sports massage due to the possibility of injury. Usually one massage therapist follows the athlete around because they know the athlete’s body well.

The chemistry aspect of massage is crucial to the psychological portion of recovery. The book goes into detail about the excitatory drugs like serotonin which gives that wonderful feel good feeling. Oxytocin and Cortisol are also involved with massage, giving a sense of attachment or arousal. The all too common delayed onset muscle soreness that anyone that has gone to the gym has experienced is explained, and how massage can help. The culprit that causes pain after a workout is creatine kinase, a byproduct of damaged muscle. Massage helps the creatine kinase release from the muscles where it gets absorbed into the bloodstream and excreted from the kidneys. Otherwise, simply waiting it out could mean days of pain. One at home remedy to help progress the release of creatine kinase from the muscles is foam rolling which involves rolling the affected area against a stiff foam roll repeatedly. My attempt at foam rolling was more painful than I thought, but pain is a common complaint. I then decided to try massage, by scheduling a sports massage with a known massage therapist in my area. I was very fatigued from the gym, and found it difficult to walk without stabbing pains in my thighs. The massage was extremely painful, but I now see the reason for it, as I immediately was able to walk more freely and the soreness was reduced by tenfold the next morning.  I will continue to schedule bimonthly massages to help recover from my workouts, and continue foam rolling in between to help stimulate blood flow to the muscles.

References

 

Fritz, S. (2012). Sports & exercise massage: Comprehensive care in athletics, fitness & rehabilitation (2nd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

(below is an example of another students reply to the above report)

NATALIA S.

RE: Sports Massage

COLLAPSE

message_frame.jsp

Hi Tania,

Thank you for sharing your post. I found this book review very interesting because I like to work out as well and I was able to get an overview about the benefits and phases of sports massages after exercise. Sports massage also play a large role physiologically in our body. It helps to dilate blood vessels which promote circulation. The manual assistance helps encourage venous blood flow and the delivery of fresh oxygen and nutrients to the muscle tissue. Massages also help to removal waste products and toxins from the body. After a massage, your heart rate decreases, leaving your body in a relaxed state. On the Muscular system, massages help to relieve muscle tension and reduce soreness, leading to a quicker recovery. After reading your post, I will like try the log roll for myself!

References

Benefits Of Massage For Athletes – Health & Fitness Magazine – February 2013. (2016). Healthfitnessmag.com. Retrieved 4 July 2016, from http://www.healthfitnessmag.com/Health-Fitness-Magazine/February-2013/Benefits-Of-Massage-For-Athletes/

2nd report

Effect of Transcendental Meditation on Stress and Blood Pressure 

COLLAPSE

message_frame.jsp

Stress can have several physiological manifestations in the body that can have a negative impact on health. When a person in under a stress situation, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight response that promotes vasoconstriction and the production of neurotransmitters that have the end result of increasing blood pressure (BP). Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a self-empowering tool that can be used by patients with hypertension to help them achieve a state of relaxation to break the stress cycle, which has the beneficial effect of lowering BP and can be used as a complementary treatment for the long term management of hypertension. The purpose of this paper is to give a summary of the evidence presented in an article published on the Asian Journal of Nursing Education & Research that studied the effect of TM on stress and BP.

The Study

Demi and Samaga (2015), conducted a randomized control study with 30 patients with diagnosed hypertension. Both, the control and the experimental groups received conventional outpatient treatment for hypertension; while only the experimental group received additional training on TM and practice it for 15 to 20 minutes, twice a day, for a period of six consecutive weeks. Assessments were performed at weeks two, four, and six. The patient’s perception of stress was measured using the Sheldon Cohen Modified Perceived Stress Scale. Data about the participants’ BP, and heart rate (HR) was also collected during each assessment visit.

The Results

        After the corresponding statistical analysis was done, it was concluded that the consistent practice of TM for six weeks not only lowers the perceived stress level of patients with hypertension but can also decrease BP and HR, lowering the risk of developing complications associated with hypertension like cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and kidney disease.

Personal Experience with TM

        After watching some instructional videos and researching about the technique itself, this author has been practicing TM for three days with the results of decreased perception of stress, better mood, and better quality of sleep. No significant changes were noticed regarding BP since this author’s BP is always on the low side. Slight HR decrease has been noticed only just after practicing TM for 20 minutes. This author plans to practice TM consistently for a longer period of time with the purpose of gaining personal experience on the positive effects of TM.

References

Devi, S., & Samaga, L. N. (2015). Effect of transcendental meditation on stress and blood pressure among patients with systemic hypertension. Asian Journal Of Nursing Education & Research, 5(1), 151­156 6p.

doi:10.5958/2349­2996.2015.00032.4

3rd report

This journal article focuses on the effect of the two traditional forms of eastern therapy, known as Acupressure and Reiki. As per by Bhati and Kumar, a 3-month study was conducted to truly understand how much or how little these two techniques, reduced the frequency and/or intensity of migraine headaches (2013). This study focused on 30-40-year-old women, since headaches are more common in women, than men (Bhati & Kumar, 2013). Furthermore, over the past year, I have suffered from intense headaches and migraines. Pills not being an option, I sought out a neurologist and even underwent a MRI, with no findings.

Unresolved migraine pain, can easily lead to even more stress as well as anxiety. Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, has opened my eyes to a new perspective of treatment. Reiki and Acupressure are two therapy techniques that suit migraine headaches well, because they both promote natural healing processes and are adept at restoring emotional well-being (Bhati & Kumar, 2013). Reiki is the transfer of positive energy, via, by means of touch, to stimulate natural healing of both the body and the mind (Bhati & Kumar, 2013). Negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions, are thought of as an “energy field” in which the positive energy being transferred, helps rid of the negative energy (Rand, 2016). Thus, helping to improve one’s overall moral and outlook, especially if feeling depressed or stressed out.

Acupressure is similar to acupuncture, in that, points along the body are stimulated to relieve pain; allowing better blood circulation to areas that are necessary (Gach, 2014). The increase in blood flow and nutrients helps the body in repairing itself. The most effective use of pressure point in relieving my headaches, over a two-week period was, the Third Eye pressure point.  This pressure point is exactly between the eyebrows (Hiren, 2014). The results from the study showed that the amount of headaches experienced within the group, reduced by 28%, stress levels reduced by 39%, and anxiety levels reduced by 40%. This led to relief in restlessness and insomnia, while improving overall positive behavior (Bhati & Kumar, 2013)                                                                                                                                               Reference

Bhati, V. & Kumar, S. (2013). Potency of Reiki and acupressure on migraine headache, anxiety

and stress: A study of adult women. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(1), 159-162. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.access.library.miami.edu

/docview/1614313033?accountid=14585&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Gach, M.R. (2014). What is acupressure? Retrieved from http://www.acupressure.com

Hiren. (2014). Acupressure points guide. Retrieved from http://acupressurepointsguide.com/author/hiren/ 

Rand, W.L. (2016). Reiki, the healing touch. Retrieved from http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/whatislg.html

4th report

Laughter Yoga

Complementary and alternative medicine comprises of different techniques with the aim of improving health and wellbeing. Laughter yoga is another form of complementary and alternative therapy that is utilized to address an individual’s mental health. According to Yazdani, Esmaeilzadeh, Pahlavanzadeh, and Khaledi (2014), “Laughter Yoga is a method in which there is a combination of unconditional laughter with Yoga breathing exercise” (p. 37). This is helpful in meeting the psychological health of individuals, especially those that faces many stressors such as students. This was evident in the following article entitled, “The effect of laughter Yoga on general health among nursing students”, which revealed the following summary:

With regard to the importance of nursing students’ general health and considering the various existing strategies to promote general health components, use of complementary treatments is more considered because of their better public acceptance, low costs, and fewer complications. One of the new strategies in this regard is laughter Yoga. The present study was conducted with an aim to define the effect of laughter Yoga on general health among nursing students. This is a quasi-experimental two-group three-step study conducted on 38 male nursing students in the nursing and midwifery school of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. In the study group, eight 1 h sessions of laughter Yoga were held (two sessions a week), and in the control group, no intervention was conducted. The data of the present study were collected by Goldberg and Hiller’s General Health Questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS version 12. The findings showed a significant difference in the mean scores of general health before and after laughter Yoga intervention in the two groups of study and control. The findings showed that laughter Yoga had a positive effect on students’ general health and improved the signs of physical and sleep disorders, lowered anxiety and depression, and promoted their social function. Therefore, laughter Yoga can be used as one of the effective strategies on students’ general health. (Yazdani, Esmaeilzadeh, Pahlavanzadeh, & Khaledi, 2014, p. 36)

The purpose of laughter yoga is to provide adequate oxygenation to the brain cells and other body tissues through laughter and breathing exercises so as to produce overall mental wellbeing. This form of therapy allows an individual to initiate an unnatural laugh which then would convert to a natural laugh, this would be alternated with breathing exercises. This I did for thirty minutes and afterwards I felt tension free. The feeling you get generally from having a good laugh is incredibly satisfying, so laughter in itself was welcomed by me. However, initiating this therapy at first made me feel a little silly, but after completing the therapy, there was a sense of relief and calm. I honestly believe that laughter is the best medicine and as nursing students our stress level can seem extreme and this is a simple and cost effective way to relieve tension and I highly recommend it.

The article introduces laughter yoga as a means to improve depression, anxiety, insomnia and social function. These factors have a direct link to stress management and as a result there are other ailments that are implicated such as high blood pressure. The use of this therapy to lower blood pressure should be considered a great incentive to this form of therapy and should be used by individuals that are impacted or have the potential to be affected by hypertension, as “laughter also decreases the heart beat rate and blood pressure” (Ghodsbin, Sharif Ahmadi, Jahanbin, & Sharif, 2015, p. 32).

References

Yazdani, M., Esmaeilzadeh, M., Pahlavanzadeh, S., & Khaledi, F. (2014). The effect of laughter yoga on general health among nursing students. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(1), 36-40. Retrieved from http://db16.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=96222016&site=ehost-live

Ghodsbin, F., Sharif Ahmadi, Z., Jahanbin, I., & Sharif, F. (2015). The Effects of Laughter Therapy on General Health of Elderly People Referring to Jahandidegan Community Center in Shiraz, Iran, 2014: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 3(1), 31–38.

(below is another example of a reply, to the one above obviously)

Hi Tricia,

Thank you for sharing your article summary about laughter yoga. I was very interested to read your post because I had never heard of this practice. I can definately agree that laughter helps to decrease depression, anxiety and stress. It is so nice to able to get a good laugh in every once in a while! When I was in Nursing School, I had a great group of friends who always made me laugh. I truly believe, laughing helped us unwind a bit and release some tension. In return we were able to focus more in class and while studying. Laughter has been shown to have many physical, mental and social benefits. In the body, laughter helps to boost immunity, lower stress hormones, decrease pain, relax the muscles and prevent heart disease. Laughter also boosts immunity, eases anxiety, improves stress and mood and enhances resilience. Best part of it all, laughter is fun, free and easy to use!

 

References

Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter. (2016). Helpguide.org. Retrieved 4 July 2016, from http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm

5th report

Yoga and Pilates

COLLAPSE

message_frame.jsp

The article I chose describes how the practices of yoga and pilates work well together. The author, Jackson (2011), calls them “mindful movement practices” because they both place great emphasis on breathing and practicing with intention. Both pilates and yoga focus on stretching, strengthening, and toning, and can release stress and tension, as well as boost endorphins, if done appropriately.

Yoga is an ancient practice meaning “union of body, mind, and spirit” (Jackson, 2011). It works by mildly stressing the body, then allowing a recovery period, resulting in physiologic flexibility, lymphatic flow, better immune function, and relaxing the nervous system (Jackson, 2011).

Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1900s. He had musculoskeletal problems, so he rehabilitated himself through precise and controlled movements originating from the core of his body (Jackson, 2011). Pilates movements are done with great concentration and mindfulness. It leads to the development of “functional strength” as Jackson (2011) describes this as “deep strength that allows people to do everyday work”.

When performing these practices, it is important to listen to your body and not over do it as this could lead to injury. It is important to have an instructor with proper teacher training.

I have been practicing yoga for many years. I attest to the information in this article as true. Yoga is great at releasing stress and tension when done with intention. It is imperative to pay attention to what you are doing and focus on your breathing. I can tell the difference from times when I have done yoga and I am fully present, from times when I am not being mindful. I think yoga and pilates are great for nurses to do as our job can be quite stressful. Practicing yoga after a long, stressful shift can lead to relaxation. After doing yoga for a couple of years, my height increased by about an inch. Yoga has elongated my spine and helped my posture.

References

Jackson, C. (2011, September/October). Pilates and Yoga: Holistic Practices that are Perfect Together. Holistic Nursing Practice 25(5), 225-230. doi: 10.1097/HNP.0b013e31822a8e50