Who is Ida Rolf?

I was recently asked by a client, "Who is this Rolf lady?" So I thought I would share this interesting video with you.

Sign Language Interpreters

Yesterday I hosted a CEU class for local sign language interpreters at my clinic. What an experience. It was an information exchange bridging the gap between "work and wellness".

Teresa Sedano from Healthy CEU's was the sponsor of the event. Teresa did a wonderful presentation on aromatherapy for stress reduction, awareness, and self recognition. It was fun, informative, and much needed for a stress out massage therapist as well as sign language interpreters to pay themselves back a little.

My part of the presentation was focused on body mechanics, breath awareness and preventative maintenance. I had missed the component of what it takes to convey emotion in sign, separating ones self from the emotion portrayed. What a job, and what strength of character it takes to not get sucked into the emotion. Transference and counter-transference issues come to mind.

It seems as though these topics of conversation are missing in a large part of the community of interpreters. The idea of what to do with this information one it is identified. Holding patterns in the physical as well as the emotional body. It seems as if isolation with in the community may be a factor as well. Yesterday was a great meeting of the minds, a chance to for interpreters to share feelings about life and work.

We then focused back on taking care. We ended our time together with a group breathing exercise and some movement identification and re-education.

Thank you all who attended.

Flagstaff on Olympians' radar screen

It is an exciting date (08/08/'08) for spectators across the United States and the world. For the athletes it is the benchmark of years of hard work and determination. Some of the finest athletes in the world are training in Flagstaff for the chance to be in Beijing on that date. They are using the facilities at the Center for High Altitude Training at NAU.

Assistant director Sean Anthony said the excitement to work with these world-class athletes should extend beyond the center to Flagstaff itself. "I think it's exciting for the community too, because once we get closer to the Beijing Games we're going to publish a list of all the athletes that trained through the training center in preparation for the Olympic games," he said. "So that way members of the community can look at the names and say, 'Wow that guy trained in Flagstaff,' or, 'I remember seeing that guy at the pool,' or, whatever the case may be."

"I helped that athlete recover in their training to get to Beijing!"

Some of the athletes training at the center now or in the next few weeks include Fasil Bizuneh, Peter Gilmore and Chris Lundy in the marathon, Aaron Aguayo in the 3,000 meters and steeplechase, Renee Metivier Baillie in the 5,000, Abdi Abdirahman in the 10,000, Anthony Famiglietti in the 5k, 10k and steeplechase, and ex-NAU standout Lopez Lomong in the 800 and 1,500.

"So right now we have a 32-person delegation from the German Athletic Federation, a 10-person delegation from Triathlon Canada, five Japanese swim clubs and roughly 20 U.S. distance runners trying to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic team," he said. "So that's a lot of activity to have at once."


Triathlon Canada Simon Whitfield- Former Olympic champion (Gold Metal in 2000 Games), Whitfield continues his streak of at least 1 Gold medal in every race season dating back to his Gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He has dual Canadian and Australian citizenship Kyle Jones- Jones had 3 top-15 World Cup results in 2006 with some of the strongest fields on the World Cup Circuit (14th in Mazatlan, 13th in Edmonton & 7th in Corner Brook). Jones finished the year ranked #49 - the second best among the Canadian men in 2007.

Read the entire story.....

High Altitude Sports Massage

RappStar

The fine line. The interesting thing for a sport therapist working with elite training camps is just that. The fine line, the dance between "pre and post" event type work. We are taught in schools of bodywork that pre event is fast paced muscle spindle work, get them ready to preform. Post event is to be of a recovery and slower regenerative work speed and focus. So, what do we do when an athlete is recovering from a big run Sunday, and getting ready for a big push on Tuesday? Walk the line. Individualize treatment for the athlete, and within that athlete, individualize the treatment for the muscle belly at hand, or the kinetic chain of a specific movement. With enough thought it can seem tricky to know what to do, where and how to work.

With the Canadian National Triathlon Team my focus has been two fold. Keep the bodies of the athletes as close to alignment as possible, hip rotation, head on neck, neck on shoulders, clean running spinal engine, springing knees, ankle, and feet. Then to keeping the bigger long lever muscles, prime movers and synergistic stabilizers as fresh as can be expected. With the efforts put in by these guys/gal, staying ahead of those niggles is the name of the game. I really feel like they are all doing well.

This is a sample of the early training I stole from Colin Jenkin's blog......
The last couple days have been rough up here at altitude. I have been getting some altitude headaches on and off and trying to drink as much as I can as it is very easy to get dehydrated up here.

Joel's idea when we got here was to go easy the first couple days, just to flush out the system from the race and get used to the altitude. Then we will gradually increase the intensity from there so we do not overload the body. Well the first day was flush, the second was rough, and the last two have been pretty damned hard. I guess that is Coach Joel's idea of building into it.

Yesterday we started the day out with a set of 3x100 fast, then 3x300 sub threshold all on 1:30 per hundred pace. We had to do that 3 times. The first two rounds were pull paddle on the 300's and the last round was swim. Thats where the altitude hits you like a ton of bricks. I had to pull the 2nd 300 to rest my legs or my heart would have probably exploded.

From there we had a quick lunch and went for a 2.5 bike with the last 60min steady. The group of us did that working pretty good together in a pace line, we were smoking! Then we hopped off the bikes, did a quick change and ran 40min (10 steady, 10 easy X 2) on our Mooloolaba course. Lets just say I hope I run quicker in the actual race. Day done.

Today was a bit more manageable. I started the day out with a 60min spin on the trainer (pic above) and then off to the pool for a recovery swim. Later on in the afternoon we did a 70min run on a muddy, red dirt road. Oh, and it was filled with potholes everywhere. Perfect place for a 30min tempo run. So we did 30min WU, 30min tempo, 10min cooldown. Running tempo at altitude is tough but it went by quick and the day is finally done.

You can see what I mean about the fine line between recovery and preparation.

Upper Cervical Complex Pain?

Strengthen the cervical and capital flexors. Slide head back, tuck chin, keep eyes flat on horizon. 10 reps.
Tuck chin and roll through seven cervical segments. At the end of movement assist with your hands gently. 10 times, hold 2 seconds. Or what ever feels good.
Rotate head 45 degrees, nose over chest, take nose to chest, then assist with your hand, gentle. 10 times 2 sec hold.

Rotate head away 45 degrees. Then bring ear to same side chest. 2 sec hold, 10 times.

Be sure to use good breathing, never hold breath. Breath out on execution of movement, breath in during the relax phase. Following these simple movements a few times a day can really open things up and be refreshing for the muscles and the brain! This helps the little muscles at the back of the head top of the neck release. This is a great practice for people on the computer, driving a lot, or ride a bike 200 miles a week! Do this at home, in the car (at stop lights, not while driving) or in the shower. Simple maintenance can go a long way.

Idaho

Great trip! The Snow Gods were happy and the stars were in line. There was nearly 15 feet of snow at the top of Brundage, where we spend the most of our time. Fresh powder lines each morning, and most of the day on Superbowl Sunday. That's all I got to say.

Muscle Preparation

As I prepare for a long weekend snowboarding in Idaho, I feel like it is important to give my muscles a bit more attention. I have put together a short routine for the muscles where I feel the ripping and shredding the most. These are a few of the rolling techniques I have been using. You may find them useful as well. You carving, you carve, you carve, you carve, no slide.....even if it's icy.



(fig. 1.) Gluteal muscles. These guys get fatigued a bit in the squatting position used frequently in snowboarding. While in the squat, we are using our back foot to maneuver the tail of the board for steering. This position on the foam roller puts glute max on a bit of a stretch , as we roll the tissue all around the sacrum we also touch on the long dorsal sacroiliac ligament. This is crucial in having freedom of movement in the SI joint. In my opinion, it is a wise idea to do some type of straight leg extensions after "opening up" and "turning on" this tissue. This can be done by lying face down and doing straight leg raises.

(fig.2.) Heinemann, or DH danceman, says he's been getting it in his quadriceps muscles. I agree. Here we roll from above the knee to the hip and back. Easy enough. If you have not used a foam roller in the past, you may be surprised at the depth of pressure you can achieve. Tilt your body left and right a bit to get the lateral and medial tissues of the thigh. An attempt should be made to push the lateral tissues back up to the middle of the bone. Separate the bellies of the 4 quads.




(fig. 3) Knee pain may be resolved to some degree by paying special attention to the connective tissue around the knee. Just below the knee, on the outside, is the attachment of bicep femoris. This hamstring muscle has been known to cram the tib fib joint closed, reducing the available slide, shock absorbing element of this part of the "knee" joint.

Use your upper body to provide movement from the knee to the hip. At the top of this movement do get into the tissue of the TFL, tilt slightly forward, All around that IT band tissue.

(fig. 4) Lats. Latissimus dorsi that is. Very interesting muscle. This dude is attatched to the arm, the low back, and the hip. So it helps in feeding, walking, rotation of the spine, side bending, so we see how this is important in snowboarding. have to eat ya know!

With the arm over head and externally rotated, we roll from around the arm pit, down to the ribs. Watch those floaters at the bottom of the rib basket. The intent is to pull the tissue back to the back to the beat. Get on the back of the "rotator cuff" high at the arm pit. I like to add an enhancer here, internal and external rotation of the humerus.

I hope you find these foam roller techniques useful. If you do not have a roller, you may find one at your local PT department, many massage therapist, running stores, and yoga studios may have them as well. This is a great device to have between massage appointments for at home care. They are cheap, fun, feel good and help create bodily awareness. Have fun with this stuff. Try some balance work. Squats while standing, arms out front. Stand erect doing overhead extensions. Lay on your back, foam roller length wise under spine. try to lift one foot then the other. What do you find. Core.

Team Avocado

Team Avocado was founded in around 1992, give or take six or eight months. (maybe someone can let me know)...... I do not feel as though I was one of the "Original Gangsters" or "OG" as they now call it in the central mid-west. The two who started the posse are long gone from the old turf and I will not give out their names.

I joined up with Team Avocado about two weeks after the historic joining of forces. It was a trip for sure!! MH. and his posters. TB with the macaroni with ketchup. Other DH. with mattress lined rooms for battles of kick. DD best bite mark and flop. GB. the rock and roll bedroom equipped with new drums!! MH.with DRAGNET! TH with the best Mom.* JR best phone number. Fire! Fire! GB best getting his ass kicked around DH's porch by his girlfriend. And the list goes on. We all had our place then and we all have places now. But the houses are not as close.

Here's the plan, have a good trip. Mellow. Get ready for the projects called life. Or just forget about it for a few days.

*all Moms are the best..

Next entry......stretch it first.