Get a Remedial Massage for Your Health

If you’ve just begun a new exercise programme or are considering losing weight then it is highly likely that you will be bombarded with advice and tips from friends or media sources such as the internet. However, a significant amount of the information you will receive may be inaccurate or may even increase the risk that you will be injured. This article looks at some of the common myths that surround exercise and weight loss.

No-pain, No-gain

No-pain, no gain is a mantra that we all have heard at some stage or another. However, it is extremely dangerous advice and should be ignored. Pain after exercise is normal, pain whilst exercising is an indication that you may have an injury or you are exercising incorrectly. If you become aware of pain or discomfort during exercise then you should listen to your body and back-off. Do not try to work through the pain (or mask any pain with medications).

If you have a pain that is stabbing, sharp or causes numbness then stop and consult your health care professional, be it doctor, physiotherapist, remedial massage therapist or chiropractor for example. Similarly if you have a pain that does not go away within a couple of days of the activity then again you should talk to a health care professional.

Ab machines will help get rid of that belly

Do you really believe those late-night informercials that using an ab-machine will get rid of your spare tyre?

In order to see those well-developed abdominal muscles then you must reduce overall levels of body fat (if you have a layer of fat over your stomach). An abdominal machine may help develop the abdominal muscles but the body stores fat in specific places. Abdominal exercises tone and tighten the underlying muscles but they don’t burn the fat around your stomach. It is not possible to pick and chose where the body will burn fat.

If you wish to reduce your waist size then you have to raise your metabolism by doing fat-burning exercises and combine with a sensible diet. A good balance of cardiovascular and strength training with low-fat diet will provide the life-style balance to get rid of that belly.

Your results will get better the longer you exercise

It seems logical that the longer you exercise for then the more weight you will lose. However this may not be the case. It is correct that the more you exercise then the more fat your body will burn (which is obviously good). However, there is a corresponding increase in the production of cortisol, a hormone that results in your body storing more fat to use as fuel for the next time you exercise.

It appears as though exercising for 3/4 of an hours is about the right amount and if you enjoy exercising more than this time during the day then to maximise weight loss you should only exercise for around 45 minutes at any one time.

Level of post exercise soreness is not an indication of an effective workout

A lot us of use muscle soreness as a measure of how effective a workout has been. Whilst a little soreness is to be expected if you are getting back into exercise (or are changing your exercise routine), if you are still sore a few days after a workout then it is likely that you have overdone it. In addition, if you are sore after every session then you are never giving your body time to recover.

An effective warm up and stretching post exercise are the best ways to avoid delayed onset muscle soreness. If you do feel sore then take it easy for a day or two, have a remedial massage and then return to doing your exercise, albeit with a reduced intensity.

Eating more protein will bulk up your muscles

If you want to bulk up, then many bodybuilders claim that you must have a high protein diet. However, adding muscle bulk depends upon two things, firstly using sufficient weight to stress the muscles beyond normal resistance levels and secondly, eating more calories than you burn.

Whilst it may seem clear that protein is the better source for building muscles, according to some Dietitians, muscles rely on calories so you need all of the food groups, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, in balance. If you diet is too high in protein then there are risks of strain on the kidneys and/or dehydration.

Yoga helps for all back pain

Yoga is a great exercise for the body and mind. However, it may not be suitable for all sufferers of back pain. If your back pain is purely related to muscle tightness then the yoga stretches will help. Core strength may also improved from performing good yoga postures.

However, if the back pain is related to the joints and discs then yoga (or any exercise for that matter) should only be attempted with the approval of your doctor or physiotherapist.

Our daily lives are filled with lots of stress and exposure to pollutants of all sorts. This makes us very prone to a variety of ailments. The average person also finds himself too busy to enjoy the fruits of his labors because he suffers from a lot of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. If you feel that your health and fitness levels are not what they should be and that you suffer from a lot of stress, then it is time for you to experience the benefits of massage therapy.

A massage is more than a way to relax yourself. It certainly is a great way to get relaxed because an experienced therapist can soothe a lot of your aches and pains away. This particular treatment works by stimulating your blood circulation while giving your muscles a great workout. The movement of the therapist’s hands over your body in a particular pattern aids your blood circulation considerably. This helps to bring nutrition and oxygen to your muscles and to remove toxins that have been accumulated there.

The most immediate response you feel is indeed relaxation, but there are plenty of health benefits as well. For instance, your anxiety levels will reduce by a considerable extent as a result of this treatment. This can help regulate your blood pressure and bring it to a normal level. Your heart rate will also be at the normal level immediately after the session is over. Your body releases fewer stress hormones as a result of this treatment.

If you suffer from musculoskeletal problems that cause you a lot of pain, you will benefit greatly from taking a massage. An experienced therapist can give you excellent pain relief after each session. The pain relief will not be permanent but it certainly is welcome when you are in agony.

Your metabolic rate increases after each session. This helps you to burn more calories than you otherwise would. People who get massages often tend to be very fit and slim due to this reason. Apart from making them look better, this also gives them freedom from diabetes and obesity. Your body also releases serotonin and endorphins which help to elevate your mood. In fact, you can easily fight depression if you are massaged regularly. This positive outlook on life gives you the ability to fight diseases better. You therefore tend to be disease free if you are massaged often.

Being massaged regularly help you to sleep better. The very fact that your body gets plenty of much needed rest helps it to have better immunity. You will be very pleased to see that your chronic health problems reduce just because you get massaged often.

Although I am about to describe what type of ethical principles your remedial massage therapist should abide by, it really applies to any type of health practitioner you may visit. It applies to your doctor, your chiropractor and your physiotherapist. So the questions that I am going to present you with, I want you to keep in mind when you visit any type of health practitioner future.

Health Practitioners Have Ethical Responsibilities

Your health practitioner has an ethical responsibility to keep your care as the top priority. For example, if you go to see your therapist for a pain in your hip and they have you come back every week for three months but your problem really isn’t getting any better.

Do you consider this ethical? I don’t.

I have ethical parameters that I have set for my practice. That is, if my clients are not seeing a reduction in symptoms and an improvement in their condition within three treatments, I will either think about what I am not doing and try something else. Or I will send them to another practitioner in my network for a second opinion and some alternative treatment.

This is my ethical responsibility to you to keep your care as the top priority, and it should be a responsibility for all health practitioners as far as I’m concerned.

The reason I want you to keep these things in mind is that, I have seen many people going to a health practitioner trying to overcome a problem, only to be going there for six months or more and not getting any results. This is not right. As I’ve pointed out above, your therapist or practitioner has an ethical responsibility to you.

Ask Questions When You Are Not Seeing The Results You Should

If you are not getting the results that you want within a reasonable time frame, then you should be questioning your health practitioner’s motives. Are they just trying to wean more money out of you? Are they scared to lose you as a customer if they refer you on to someone else? Do they simply not know what to do or how to treat your condition properly?

The thing is, no practitioner knows everything. We all have our limitations and that’s okay. As long as we know when and where it is time to send our clients elsewhere, or seek another opinion. Don’t get locked into having treatment that you feel isn’t working. And don’t feel guilty or bad about saying something to your practitioner if you want an explanation, a better result, or more feedback.

You pay good money to have a good service delivered to you, so make sure your health practitioner is operating with ethical principles and can provide you with a reasonable estimate in the time frame it is going to take for you to get better. What the chance of recovery are for you. If there are other things you can do to help progress your recovery quicker. Just be sure that your remedial therapist or health practitioner has your care as a top priority.

How much do you know about remedial massage? It is actually a type of massage that can remedy you. But you might ask, what kind of remedies does the massage provide? The answers lie beneath.

Health touch

In this specific treatment, your masseuse doesn’t touch you at all! How does it work? This is because the treatment helps balance the inner healing energy in your body.

‘Cranio-sacral’

This massage is intended to fix your spine and cranium so that both of these components function well.

‘Shiatsu’

If you have not heard of the previous two, chances are you have heard about ‘shiatsu’. ‘Shiatsu’ massage focuses on pressure point therapy. This way, you can balance your entire body and rejuvenate your health altogether. These points are located along your body on invisible lines that are called the meridians.

Lymphatic drainage

If you need detoxification, you should go for this massage. It helps you to get rid of toxins in your body. What are the toxins found in your body? They can be chemicals or pesticide. The masseuse stimulates the lymph flow so that your lymph system is more efficient.

Neuromuscular therapy

This treatment works on tight muscles that are so tense, they cause you pain.

Deep tissue therapy

Be prepared to feel some discomfort. Actually, discomfort is a rather subjective term. Some people might think deep tissue therapy is painful because your masseuse will apply deep pressure when massaging your body. This treatment is beneficial for your connective tissues.