Post Massage Nutrition

Thanks steelbladeninja for asking the following: "Is the 30-60 minutes immediately following a deep tissue massage similar to the 30-60 minutes following exercise in nutrient absorption and, other than lots of water, what are your recommendations for feeding post-massage muscles?"

Depending on the type of massage, you can feel like you've just gone through a small workout when you're done. Some sessions involve the therapist working your muscles into deep stretches and breaking up adhesions inside the muscle fibers. Some people will even break into a sweat during a session. Massage helps flush the body of toxins and lymph by increasing circulation. Your body is working to get those toxins out. Water helps to flush your system, it also flushes nutrients. It's important to replenish what your body needs. So aside from some good old fashion H2O, I recommend potassium.

Yummy, Potassium in it's element form

The reason being is that potassium, aside from being fun to say, is a very important mineral for the proper function of all cells, tissues, and organs in the human body. Potassium also plays a key role in skeletal and smooth muscle contraction (got a cramp? eat a banana). It will help maintain the proper electrolyte and acid-base balance in your body. Electrolytes keep the amount of water in your body in balance, carry impulses along your nerves, help make your muscles contract and relax. You need electrolytes to carry glucose (blood sugar) and other nutrients into your cells and to carry waste products and extra water out again.

Foods with high sources of potassium include
Avocado - 1/2 medium - 550 mg
Banana - 1 medium - 451
Beef, ground - 3 ounces - 205
Black beans - 1 cup - 801
Broccoli, cooked - 1/2 cup - 228
Cantaloupe - 1 cup - 494
Carrot, raw - 1 medium - 233
Cauliflower, cooked - 1/2 cup - 200
Chicken - 3 ounces - 195
Flounder - 3 ounces - 292
Kidney beans - 1 cup - 713
Kiwi - 1 medium - 252
Lentils - 1 cup - 731
Milk - 8 ounces - 381
Okra - 1/2 cup - 257
Orange - 1 medium - 250
Prune Juice - 8 ounces - 706
Spinach, cooked - 1/2 cup - 419
Strawberries - 1 cup - 247
Sweet potatoes - 1 medium - 397 (personal fav)
Tomato - 1 medium - 397
Tomato juice - 6 ounces - 658
Watermelon - 1 cup - 186

But if you're looking for a two-for-one I suggest coconut water. It has roughly 500g-600g (15%-18%) of potassium per serving. Personally I don't care for the plain flavor so I grab the more fruity kind. It has a bit more sugar, but it's a quick grab and a good replenisher.  Hope that helps and thanks for asking :)


 Vita Coco Original flavor Nutrition facts:


Serving Size 8.5 FL OZ (250ml)
Servings Per Container: 2
Calories from Fat 0, Saturated fat 0g
Sodium 30mg, Potassium 515mg
Total Carb 15g, Protein 0g
Trans fat 0g, Dietary fiber 0g
Sugars 11g, Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 4%, Phosphorous 4%
Vitamin C 100%, Iron 0% 
Magnesium 10%

Just to state it, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on T.V.  

Consult you PCP before you go changing up your diet because you read something on the internet. 

Be healthy, be smart!

A garden for Mom...

Today we are taking a little detour from the physical well being and looking at the nutritional well being. Over the holidays my mother and I were talking about how they had filled in the pool and how great it was to have a big yard again. Both of us are going through some personal changes in regards to our eating habits and overall health. This lead us to talk about putting a garden in the back yard this spring. I plan on documenting this adventure here.

We're staring to plan...
I got an email for mom yesterday asking about the garden and what I thought we should put in it. Immediately visions of award winning vegetables sprang into my mind. And as I walked through my imaginary garden with blue ribbons hanging from every plant, I realized there were just carrots... I had no idea what I wanted to plant, let alone what would be a good starter plant. And then there was the issue of starter plant vs. seeds and how big was our garden going to be? and when do we plant? what could be planted with what? how much space did we need? Oh boy.... We will not be deterred! We will have a garden of awesome! That's why they made the internet right?

First things first...
What are we going to plant? We want a vegetable garden. Check. Well searching the interwebs I found what's called a zone map. It looks like this...

Yeah, I might have to get back to you about that hot mess... Basically we live in zone 6 and or 7. So what dose that mean? Once you know where you live (I learned this once in kindergarten, never thought I would have to learn it for kindergarden) you can find out what plants and vegetables will do well in your zone. So back into the endless-ness of goggle and we find some one has already come up with the idea of sticking plants in the ground to yield food!! OMG! And they ever did a nice chart to show what they learned. Little puffy heart for them <3 www.veggieharvest.com

 

I love sweet potatoes!!!  But why does spinach get planted three times? At least I'm in a slightly better place now knowing what I can plant and roughly when. So there's the plan, figure out what we want and grow it, and here's the yard...

(photo by Jessy, who could not be bothered to go outside to take it ;P )

Daily Stretch

 

Bare with me, I'm still learning ;)

Maintenance Monday: Office setup

Well this seems as good a time as any to stop and think about your work area. For a place where you are spending 40+ hours a week at, have you ever taken the time to make sure it's set up for you? If you're like most people, you sat down one day at your new job and started working and kept working. We rarely stop to think about our environment and what we can do to improve it. I'm not talking about motivational posters,

I'm talking about setting your work area up for a healthier you.

Take a few moments and follow these simple rules for a better work station:

• Place the monitor a minimum distance of 20-28 inches away from you.
• Place the top of the screen at a 20 degree down angle from your eyes, slightly below eye level. 
• Have a chair that supports you lumbar curve.
• Sit with your ears, shoulders and hip aligned.
• Keep your knees at a 90 degree angle and your feet flat on the floor.
• Have your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle and minimal bend in your wrists.

Try to follow the 50-10 rule: For every 50 minutes you work sitting, take a 10-minute break. During your break, walk around, stretch out your muscles, get a drink of water, whatever you want, as long as you are not sitting.

So now that you have the tools, build a better work area for you and start the new year off right! Stop by next Monday for some basic office stretches :) till then be well :)

Cheap self care trick: Rice Sock Heating Thingy...

Baby it's cold outside! Warm up with this cheap and easy to make self care tool. Also really great for tired, stressed muscles and post injury recovery (just put it in the freezer instead).

Things needed:
* A clean cotton tube sock
* Uncooked rice (DO NOT use instant) or flax seed.
* A thread and a needle
* Some cloth cut to a little bigger then your sock

It's as easy as one, two, three...

1) Take your sock and fill it with rice (I use ground flax seed as it stays hotter longer). Fill it half way, cut off the tube part and sew the sock part closed. You can also add in scents if you at this part. (I added two cotton disks with eucalyptus and mint scented oil.)

2) Take your cloth (I use jersey knit, cause I like it) and sew a pouch slightly bigger then your sock. Put your sock in it and sew it shut. (This isn't necessary, but it makes it look prettier :) 

3) Heat that sucker up for about 60-90 sec in your microwave, or let it chill in the freezer for an hour. Set it on those sore muscles and relax!

The Facts:
I have level 0.5 for sewing skills. My mom taught me the basics when I was a kid. I goofed a few times when making the pouch but it came out ok. It looks a lot better then just a sock tied at it's end. I got 12 socks for $8 at Marshalls, I got the flax seed from my kitchen. I got it a while ago. I've found it online for $1 a pound, figure about a pound for each sock. In total you should be able to make this project 12 times for about $20 or once for about $10. Not bad.

The Test:
After making this project I had to test it against my store bought ceramic heating pad. This pad cost me about $30 from Target. To my surprise the flax seed stayed hotter longer and actually felt better as it had a moister to it. I ended up using it on my shoulders/neck and lower back before the heat was gone.

The Ratings:
Difficulty
Child's play


Cost

Pennies on the dollar


Enjoyment

Squee!

What is: Kinesiology tape

Welcome to "What is" Wednesdays! Every Wednesday I'll be posting about something that I've heard someone ask "What is...".

This week I was asked "what is Kinesiology tape?" by one of my clients.
I recently got my level one certification in SpiderTech (YAY) and I've been taping everyone I can get my hands on. I figured I would go right to the source and ask one of the amazing instructors from my seminar about Kinesiology tape and what it can do.

Enter Christopher J. Nentarz PT, CSTS, NASM-PES, CSTI from Spider Tech

Please tell us a bit about yourself and what it is you do:
By trade, I am a Physical Therapist, Performance Specialist and Educator with over 10 years experience working with elite and professional athletes. My passion lies in enhancing the lives of others through physical performance, education and mindset. While I specialize in the optimization of neuromuscular function, including assessing and correcting movement based dysfunctions, I feel the most important aspect of my life is my 3 children, Arianna Rae, Kyla Jae and Myleigh Mae. At this moment I am fortunate, as my current schedule allows me to be a 'stay at home' dad for at least a few days a week. That being said, I seem to work harder on those days!

How would you define Kinesiology tape?:
I have been utilizing kinesiology taping for the past 5 or 6 years, but Kinesiology taping has been around for almost 30 years. Kinesiology taping primarily works on a neurosensory level to help normalize the alterations in neuromuscular control after an injury through sensory and neuroplastic mechanisms. In essence, the enhanced afferent stimulation of A-Beta fibers provided by the tape on the skin disrupts and diminishes the ascending signals of pain through sensory gating mechanisms. This disrupts the inhibitory effect pain has on muscle function, leading to restored muscle activation. When Kinesiology tape is applied in a neurosensory manor, the net result is a decrease in the sensation of pain along with normalizing the neural drive in the involved muscles. This helps improve the recruitment patterns of the muscles controlling joint function, providing functional joint stability to the structures in question. Due to the dynamic stretch capabilities of the tape, it does not impede any ranges of motion while it supports enhanced muscle activation.

Prior to applying Kinesiology tape, it is best to assess patients or clients through a systematic movement sequence and movement challenges. Movement sequences give us a perspective on the big picture of movement quality and overall kinetic chain linking, while movement challenges refines gross motions into smaller patterns and identifies local tissues that can be flagged for intervention. Our treatment is only as good as our assessment.

What are some of the unconventional ways you have been able to use taping?:
I have utilized kinesiology tape on a large spectrum of patients, from Superbowl MVP's to patients with severe degenerative conditions. Most of the time, I treat body parts or patterns that are far from the pain source. A clinical example of this can be seen in the utilization of a calf/arch spider and pre-cut "y strip" used to improve the loading of the mid-foot to treat hip pain associated with a labral tear. In this instance, improving the loading pattern of the foot will help the proximal muscles of the hip do the right thing at the right time, improving the joint centration of the femur on pelvis.

Anything else you would like to add?:
The bottom line is kinesiology taping is kinesiology taping is a vital tool to correct and optimize movement mechanics. When utilized with proper assessment and integrated treatment methods, such as soft tissue therapy and corrective exercises, Kinesiology tape can be a game changer in a multitude of environments.

I'd like to thank Chris for taking the time to help us understand Kinesiology tape a bit more. If you're interested in getting even more info on Kinesiology tape check the online course SpiderTech offers here (heads up video starts with sound on!)

Ground Control to Major Tom...

I love that song. That and "Heroes". Well any Bowie song really...
Hello and welcome to my newest adventure.

Mindful Distraction: the blog!

I am hoping this will become a place were people like yourself can come for a quick 10-15 minute break from their world (feel free to stay longer if your boss isn't around ;) ) to think about something besides the emails, deadlines, bills and underlying stress in our lives. You might even find a tip or trick that will help you deal with them :)

Who am I (as in me not you, let's not start off with the heavy stuff just yet)? I'm a massage therapist, graphic designer, wife, sister, daughter, friend, music loving, geeky, anime watching, crafter... to put it simply... I'm me :)

I hope you will stop by from time to time and see, read and listen and learn with me

My hope is to help. My goal is to grow. Me belief is to be

Be well
Ari