How To Stay Injury Free

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1 HINTS and TIPS on How To Stay Injury Free I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! Happy Reading... Jackie Stean Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist

2 2016 JS Sports Massage Therapy Feel free to pass this book to friends, family and colleagues or anyone who you think may benefit. I look forward to hearing from you whenever you need advice or a session of massage therapy. I am mobile and can visit you so, please call and we can book an appointment at your earliest convenience Sports Massage Is Not Just For Sports Men And Women But For Anyone At Any Time! About Jackie Stean I qualified in January 2014 in Sports and Remedial massage. I have also trained in Myofascial Release. Fascia is a soft tissue surrounding muscles, bones, and organs and plays a crucial role in supporting the body and so through specific techniques I have been able to improve posture and greatly reduce ongoing aches and pains. As a keen mountain biker and sports person myself I am acutely aware of the benefits that sports and remedial massage plays in reducing the risk of injury.

3 4 Critical Foam Rolling Mistakes Foam rolling can be the saviour for injury prone runners and those training extra hard - if used the right way. If not, you risk irritating, and possibly injuring, your body further. To help you get it right, here s a breakdown of the four most common mistakes... Mistake #1: You foam roll directly on an injured area It would seem to make sense that if your IT band is hurting then rolling directly on the IT band would help alleviate that trouble spot. However, the body doesn t work this way for a number of reasons. First, when it comes to foam rolling and myofascial release, constantly working the area of pain could create more inflammation and tension in the area, further tensing the muscles and fascia. Second: Where you feel the pain is not always the source of the injury. IT band trouble, for example, isn t typically a result of the IT band itself being tight. Rather, IT band issues are typically a result of tightness in the muscle groups that attach to the IT band, like the gluteus maximus (your butt). What to instead: Rather than constantly working directly on the area that causes pain, slowly foam roll your way away from the pain centre to the connecting muscles. Once you hit the attachment areas, work those thoroughly. Then proceed back to the area of pain and work gently at first. Visualize yourself melting away the tightness. Not only will you avoid inciting excess inflammation this way, but you ll target the real source of your injury.

4 Mistake #2: You foam roll too quickly Foam rolling can hurt Period. Athletes that know they should foam roll sometimes speed over areas because it hurts less than using slow, deliberate movements. Or, people short on time will breeze through a session to check it off their list. Unfortunately, foam rolling quickly doesn t accomplish the objective releasing fascia and relaxing muscles. What to do instead: While it feels better to go fast, and you do circulate blood flow, releasing fascia takes time. Fascia is a thick, fibrous web of tissue. As such, it can t be released with a quick pass of the foam roller. You need to be slow and deliberate in your movements. Once you find a sensitive area, slowly work back and forth over the spot. Again, be thoughtful and think of foam rolling like melting through the muscle and fascia. Mistake #3 You stay on one spot too long Ok, so this seems like a contradictory statement to mistake #2. But it s not. With foam rolling, you re instructed to work over and sometimes pause on very tight spots in your legs. Staying on one spot for too long might irritate a nerve or damage the tissue, which can cause bruising and further inflammation. What to do instead: Be gentle at first. Start with half your body weight, using your hands or other leg to adjust pressure, and slowly work into full body weight. The maximum amount of time you should spend on any one area is 20 seconds or so. After this, you only risk irritating the spot more than you re helping it. If you have a really troublesome area you can always come back for another session in the evening when the muscles has had time to relax. Mistake # 4: You use bad posture and form Foam rolling is hard work. I almost guarantee you ll break a sweat. The IT band position places almost all your body weight on your one supporting arm. Rolling the quads is basically the plank position. It s easy to let your form deteriorate, especially if you are tired after training. Your pelvis might drop from not having tight abs when doing quad work or your hips my sag while working the IT band. This can exacerbate existing injuries...

It s quick and provides immediate feedback after your session to see if you need to improve any of your positions. Below is a link to show you how to foam roller the different muscles. http://goo.

5 How to prevent: Don t approach foam rolling haphazardly. Stay focused on your form throughout your entire session. If you find yourself too tired after a hard workout, come back to foam rolling after you ve rested or maybe in the evening. You can also videotape yourself using your phone. It s quick and provides immediate feedback after your session to see if you need to improve any of your positions. Below is a link to show you how to foam roller the different muscles. CONFUSED WITH WHICH ROLLER TO BUY... Choose a white foam roller if you are just starting off with a foam roller or if you plan to use it for exercises. White foam rollers are the least dense, so they will allow some movement between the muscles, bones and the roller. Foam rolling can be painful at the beginning because tight muscles are pushed upon with your body weight. A white foam roller will produce less pressure and less pain

6 Choose a medium, lightly coloured foam roller for a medium amount of massage pressure. Commonly used in Pilates classes. For heavy use, it is recommended that you use a denser, black foam roller

7 Self Massage is a great tool to use in between massage therapy treatments. Don t have a foam roller here are some tips on how to use a tennis ball Trigger Point Self Massage If you do it right, self-massage can serve as a form of maintenance between massages. Self-massage can "take care of the tightness that comes up with day-today training," It can "break up adhesions before they cause problems." DIY Muscle pain and joint problems can be nipped in the bud with trigger point therapy this is exactly what I m going to show you in this guide; how to use a run of the mill tennis ball to release pressure from your trigger points. By locating your trigger points (which are essentially knots in your muscle) and applying pressure to these aggravated muscle fibres for 20 seconds at a time you can feel an instant relief. The tennis ball assists with myofascial self relief, similar to a foam roller. Regardless of whether you are a sports person or a relatively sedentary office worker you can and will benefit immensely from incorporating a bit of self massage into your daily routine. If you have torn or suspect you have torn a muscle DO NOT apply pressure to it with a tennis or any other tools for self massage this will make matters worse Your trigger points may not be in the exact same spot as my diagrams and images below there is no precise GPS location for where your muscular knots will be, it s different for everyone

8 Trigger Point Massage Trigger point therapy is by no means limited to the tennis ball and foam roller There s a plethora of purposely designed trigger point tools out there. The Seven Upper Body Spots I will Be Targeting The areas of your body most likely to require self myo-fascial release include: Upper Body Shoulders Aka. Deltoids

9 Tightness and pain in the deltoid results in weakness and limited range of motion. Depending on the degree of your shoulder pain/tightness I recommend trying the 2 different methods for hitting the deltoids: Start off standing side on against a wall place the tennis ball on your deltoid (upper arm) and roll slightly from side to side to hone in on any trigger points. Provided the above method was not already too sore it s time to move on to the floor, Lay on your side with the tennis ball between your shoulder and the floor roll around like you did on the wall to hone in and apply pressure to any apparent trigger points (you ll be applying a lot more pressure utilizing this method). Latisimuss Dorsi Your lats attach to your shoulder blades (scapula) as seen in the diagram above excessive tightness in your lats can lead to impingement and various imbalances in the shoulder. If you want to avoid any potential shoulder issues I recommend taking care of your lats.

There s 2 ways to hit this trigger point successfully, they include: Laying on your side with the tennis ball underneath your arm pit while your arm is rotated outwards.

10 There s 2 ways to hit this trigger point successfully, they include: Laying on your side with the tennis ball underneath your arm pit while your arm is rotated outwards. With your tennis ball between your back and a wall, with the ball located below your shoulder blades. Rotator Cuff Aka. Teres Minor & Infraspitanus Trigger points, soreness and injury to these 2 rotator cuff muscles is often caused by excessive overhead movements There s 2 ways to hit this trigger point successfully, they include: Laying on your side with your elbow at a 90 degree angle. With your tennis ball between your back and a wall, with the ball located just outside of your shoulder blade.

Neck/Shoulders Aka. Trapezius Tightness in the traps results in an increase in the risk of shoulder and neck pain make sure you re releasing pressure from your trapezius muscles regularly.

11 Neck/Shoulders Aka. Trapezius Tightness in the traps results in an increase in the risk of shoulder and neck pain make sure you re releasing pressure from your trapezius muscles regularly. Once again, you can hit the trapezius via 2 methods, wall or floor I recommend using the floor. Lay on the floor with your tennis ball perched in one of the two bulges on the side of your neck have your knees bent while you do so in order to move around slightly to apply more pressure/hone in from a slightly different angle. Repeat for other side of trapezius muscle

12 Chest Aka. Pecs Minor & Major Rounding your shoulders constantly from tasks like sitting at an office desk can result in tight pectoral muscles this tightness can quite often end up resulting in internal shoulder rotation, causing shoulder pain and issues. There s only 1 real way I ve found to work in order to release pressure from the pecs: Lay on the floor with your tennis ball propped under your chest, roll around on the tennis ball to locate your trigger points and tight spots I suspect you ll find these around the pectoral insertion (near your shoulder).

13 Back Aka. Levator Scapula Poor posture = sore levator scapula. The levator scapula attaches from your cervical spine to your shoulder blade. In order to hit the levator scapula properly you re going to need to utilize a wall for this one: Place your tennis ball in the top corner of your shoulder blade using small movements roll around the tennis ball until you hone in on the spot trust me you ll know when you find it! Want to hit it even harder? Raise your arm to take advantage of a full range of motion while rolling out the levator scapula.

14 Hands We can also utilize our tennis ball to reduce the risk/onset of carpal tunnel syndrome! Carpal tunnel syndrome is a result of the inflammation of the median nerve in your wrist (see labelled diagram above) to become inflamed those that have encountered with it find it extremely painful and generally got carpal tunnel via daily repetitive movements. Here are a few methods utilizing a tennis ball to overcome carpal tunnel syndrome: Squeeze: Grasping the tennis ball in the middle of your hand, squeeze and hold for a count of 5. Release and repeat. Roll: Utilizing a table top place the ball on the table and roll your palm repeatedly over the ball. Focus on both circular motions as well as up and down. Massage: Holding your tennis ball in one hand massage your other wrist by moving the tennis ball in a circulation motion along the tendon of your wrist.

15 Finger Stretch: Stand up while placing your hand flat on a bench top. Place your tennis ball under one finger at a time, stretch each finger for 5 10 seconds, by doing so you ll be stretching out the tendons which run from your fingers and through your wrists. Lower Body The Six Lower Body Body Spots I Will Be Targeting TFL If you spend a large amount of time sitting down each day (which shortens the TFL) you will find it to be quite tight. Once again. lay side on with the tennis ball on the floor. You ll find your TFL between your hip bone and your ITB. Roll around until you find your trigger point, then hold for 30 seconds.

16 Calves Your calves, comprised of the gastrocnemius and soleus are more than likely to have several trigger points. In order to release the pressure from these trigger points: Raise yourself up on your side with the tennis ball on the side of your calves, just underneath your knee. Roll from your knee down to your Achilles tendon, stopping and holding on any trigger points you locate along the way. Due to the width of your calves you may need to roll up and down in several different tracks to cover all areas.

17 Glutes Once again lay side on with the tennis ball on the floor. You ll find the main trigger point for your glutes to be slightly further back (posterior) in relation to your TFL. Hip rotators Aka. Piriformis The piriformis is a small hip rotator muscle that seems to cause people a lot of big problems. The easiest way to hit the piriformis trigger points is to essentially sit on the tennis ball until you locate the trigger point, it won t take you long to find it..

Peroneals Tight peroneals can lead to knee pain, so I highly recommend loosening them up with your tennis ball too. If you do a lot of off road running this can also cause them to be tight.

Stop and hold for 30 seconds once you ve located a pressure point before moving on.

18 Peroneals Tight peroneals can lead to knee pain, so I highly recommend loosening them up with your tennis ball too. If you do a lot of off road running this can also cause them to be tight. In order to target your peroneals lay down on your side with the tennis ball on the outer side of your leg, just below the knee. Stop and hold for 30 seconds once you ve located a pressure point before moving on. Foot Although the foot doesn t actually have any specific trigger points, applying pressure with your tennis ball is a great way to loosen up the fascia and increase mobility. Place your foot on top of your tennis ball and roll the tennis ball around all areas of your foot while applying as much pressure to the targeted leg as possible. Roll each foot for 30 seconds, as I mentioned since there s no specific trigger points just continue to move the tennis ball for the duration.

Tips on the correct posture when sitting for long periods at your desk Sit up tall. Push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair.

Make sure that your upper and lower back is supported. If necessary, use inflatable cushions or small pillows. When your chair has an active back mechanism use it to make frequent position changes.

Taking small breaks during your workday to release some of that muscle tension.

Take short 1-2 minute stretch breaks every 20-30 minutes. After each hour of work, take a break or change tasks for at least 5-10 minutes.

19 Tips on the correct posture when sitting for long periods at your desk Sit up tall. Push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair. Adjust the seat height so that your feet are flat on the floor and your knees equal to or slightly lower than, your hips. Adjust the back of the chair to a reclined angle. Make sure that your upper and lower back is supported. If necessary, use inflatable cushions or small pillows. When your chair has an active back mechanism use it to make frequent position changes. Adjust the armrests so that your shoulders are relaxed, and remove them completely if you find that they are in your way. Taking small breaks during your workday to release some of that muscle tension. Try walking around for a couple minutes, standing and doing stretches - anything to break up a full day of sitting on your bottom is good for you! Take short 1-2 minute stretch breaks every minutes. After each hour of work, take a break or change tasks for at least 5-10 minutes. Always try to get away from your computer during lunch breaks. Avoid eye fatigue by resting and refocusing your eyes periodically. Look away from the monitor and focus on something in the distance. Rest your eyes by covering them with your palms for seconds. Keep moving as much as possible Position your monitor properly. Adjust the monitor and any source or reference documents so that your neck is in a neutral, relaxed position. Centre the monitor directly in front of you, above your keyboard. Position the top of the monitor approximately 2-3 above your seated eye level. If you wear bifocals, lower the monitor to a comfortable reading level. Sit at least an arm's length away from the screen and adjust the distance for your vision. Reduce any glare by carefully positioning the screen, which you should be looking almost straight at, but partially looking down. Adjust any curtains or blinds as needed. Adjust the vertical screen angle and screen controls to minimize glare from overhead lights

Specific stretches for neck and shoulders when sitting at your desk Look

Slowly move your ear towards your shoulder keeping your arms behind your

Slowly rotate chin towards your shoulder Stand upright and let your chin

20 Specific stretches for neck and shoulders when sitting at your desk Look forward whilst keeping your head up. Slowly move your ear towards your shoulder keeping your arms behind your back Stand Upright whilst keeping your shoulders still and head up. Slowly rotate chin towards your shoulder Stand upright and let your chin fall towards your chest. Then gently lean your head to one side. Relax your shoulders and keep your arms by your side.

Whilst sitting on a chair, cross your arms over and hang on to a

Cross your arms over and grab the back of your knees.

21 Whilst sitting on a chair, cross your arms over and hang on to a chair between your legs. Let your head fall forwards and then lean backwards. Stand with your knees bent. Cross your arms over and grab the back of your knees. Then start to rise upwards until you feel the tension in your upper back and shoulders. Place one hand behind your back and then reach up between your shoulder blades

Stand upright and wrap your arms around your shoulders as if

Stand upright and place one arm across your body.

22 Stand upright and wrap your arms around your shoulders as if hugging yourself. Pull your shoulders back. Stand upright and place one arm across your body. Bend your arm at 90 degrees and pull your elbow towards your opposite shoulder. Stand with your arm extended to the rear and parallel to the ground. Hold on to an immovable object and then turn your shoulders and body away from the outstretched arm.

Kneel on the floor in front of a chair or table and interlock your forearms

23 Stand upright with your back towards a table or bench and place your hands on the edge of the table or bench. Slowly lower your entire body. Kneel on the floor in front of a chair or table and interlock your forearms above your head. Place your arms on the object and lower your upper body towards the ground.

24 Disclaimer Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this ebook was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. This ebook is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. The information in this ebook is meant to supplement, not replace, proper exercise and training. Like any sport involving speed, equipment, balance and environmental factors, exercising has some inherent risk. The authors and publisher advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the skills described in this book, be sure that your equipment is well maintained, and do not take risks beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training, and comfort level.

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