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| Tips For Success |
Tips for Success
Hydration:
Hydration
is one of the most important aspects of maintaining healthy muscle
tissue. My guess is that if we were never dehydrated I don't know that
we would have the muscular dysfunctions we have today.
Once
you become dehydrated the muscles lose their elasticity. Elasticity is
defined as the muscle rebounding to its natural state. If the muscle
that was once pliable and supple becomes dehydrated, it can turn into
something that looks and feels a lot like beef jerky. It is not a
pretty picture, but it is realistic.
So
when you hydrate, think electrolytes versus just water. Electrolytes
are what push out the toxicity within the muscle and replenished it
with health.
In order to know if you are hydrated use an easy method; check the color of your urine. A light
shade of yellow means you need water. A darker shade of yellow means
you need electrolytes. Brown probably means you should make a visit to
your doctor.
High heels:
Let's
talk about high heel shoes for a minute. Any time the heel is above the
toes, the muscles in the back of the leg below the knee bind up or go
into spasm. As soon as you take off the high heels and put your foot
flat on the floor, the muscles in the back of the leg extend to their
original length which can potentially put you in a world of hurt.
This
can cause an enormous amount of pain in the bottom of the foot since
all of the insertion points for the muscles in the back of the leg
below the knee are located in the bottom of the foot. Once weight is applied to the muscles, the lengthening increases putting more strain on the insertion points.
Take
this same principle and apply it to running shoes. It's the exact same
story, different shoe. If you have trouble walking or running in shoes,
don't give up. I want to encourage you to treat the problem, the
muscles in the back of the leg below the knee, rather than compromising
your quality of life.
Orthotics:
All
I have to say is that if you have a flat foot, orthotics may not be a
bad idea. If you have a nice healthy arch, then why compromise it. And
really, why would all the shoe companies make expensive shoes to cater
to so many different types of feet if we weren't going to rely on the
shoe to do its job?
What is the arch to do if you build a bridge beneath it; you take all the compression of the arch out of the equation.
I
think the real problem is that people are putting a stability orthotic
into a stability shoe. It's like having a SUV wrapped around the foot,
but you want it to perform like a Formula One car.
There is a time and a place for everything, so think wisely before throwing an orthotic into your shoe.
One more thing, if you are wearing orthotics and the pain isn't gone, the orthotics aren't working. End of story.
Stretching:
If
you stretch without having elasticity within the muscle fibers,
adhesions and scar tissue can cause the muscle to act as a rope rather
than of a bungee cord. Elasticity is defined as the muscle rebounding
to its natural state. Trying to forcibly stretch a non-elastic (rope)
or damaged muscle will jeopardize the insertion and origin points of
the muscle. If
you stretch a cold muscle with no elasticity you are more prone to tear
something or jeopardize the insertion points. I am not a big fan of
stretching before exercise because the muscle is usually cold. If you
feel compelled to stretch just wait until you are into your run or walk
a few minutes. Establish some circulation through the area first.
Actually, by creating elasticity you are really doing what you're
trying to accomplish when stretching.
Sleeping:
Your
body repairs the damage that has been done throughout the day at night
while you are sleeping. It is very important that you go to bed
hydrated. This will allow the body to replenish the muscle tissue with
health. If you go to sleep dehydrated you will re-circulate the
toxicity within the muscles. If you wake up sore every morning, try
some electrolytes before going to bed. It might make a huge difference.
As
it pertains to the foot and sleeping, there are a few things that you
can do to help assist in lengthening the muscles without adding strain
to the muscles that control the foot. If you sleep on your back, make
sure to untuck the sheets at the end of the bed so that it doesn't add
pressure on top of your feet and cause your toes to point.
When
the toes point the muscles in the back of the leg bind up (similar to
the high heel position). Once you put your foot flat on the floor, the
muscles try to elongate and pull from their insertion points in the
bottom of the foot.
If you sleep on your stomach, push your feet
to the end of the bed and let them hang off the edge at a 90' angle.
This will allow the muscles to stay lengthened and relaxed throughout
the course of the night.  It's
also a great idea to sleep in a compression sock. This will force feed
blood and oxygen through the muscles while you sleep increasing
circulation therefore ridding the area of unwanted waste product.
Typically, the compression of the sock should be between 20-30 for best
results. This is the same principle that doctors use for post-surgery.
I often suggest that athletes run and walk in compression socks to aid
in recovery and for general circulation.
Posture:
Over 90% of muscular dysfunctions that we see in the U.S. are on the left side of the body, with the exception of New York City.
Why? Because of the way you sit in the car; the left leg goes out
toward the door panel and the left foot turns up towards the sky. This does two things.
First,
this posture causes the soleus muscle on the left leg to ball up or
retract forcing you to lose range of motion in the foot. Second, the
external rotation of the hip can cause blood to pool in the piriformis,
a muscle in your butt. This effects the stability in the leg and
eventually contributes to the pelvis tilting and sciatic issues.
Now,
the interesting thing is that you transfer this into the way that you
sit everywhere else. The knees rotate out and the feet curl upward
toward the sky. The other big problem is that your upper body tends to
slouch forward cutting of your diaphragm. This limits your ability to
breathe, therefore limiting your ability to recover.
The next time you sit think 90-90-90.
90'
ankle bend - 90' knee bend - 90' pelvis bend. You sit more than
anything else in life so it's imperative that you asses the way that
you sit and change it. You can use the block in the car between the car
door and your leg not to allow the external rotation of the hip, or you
can use the block between your knees when sitting in a regular chair so
that you can adhere to the 90-90-90 rule.
Icing:
You
really need to be careful not to over-ice. The more you ice the more
the circulation is reduced in the muscle. If icing is necessary, I
would suggest limiting it to 8-10 minutes versus 30 minutes. Think
about it, if you put a steak in the freezer it takes a considerable
amount of time for the steak to thaw out before you can eat it. In most
cases, you want to increase circulation within the muscle, not take it
out. Obviously, as with any injury, discuss icing with your doctor.  The
information contained within this website is not intended to be used as
or to replace professional medical advice, nor does it constitute
medical diagnosis or treatment. It is provided for educational purposes
only. You assume full responsibility for how this information is used.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare
provider before starting any new treatment or discontinuing an existing
treatment. Consult with your healthcare provider about any questions
you may have regarding a medical condition. Trigger Point Technologies,
LLC, does not assume responsibility of any kind for improper use of its
products. 2008 Trigger Point Technologies, LLC. |
