By: Guest blogger Jeff Merrill LMT, BS

“Oh my hamstrings are so tight. I just need to stretch them out more.” Have you ever said this? If so, why do you think you need to stretch them out? The two purposes of the hamstring muscle group are to extend your leg back behind you and to bend your knee. So if you say they are tight, then you must be doing box jumps and/or jump
squats all day.

Wait, you aren't doing those things? Hmmm. Well then, maybe your hamstrings aren't really the issue. Let’s take a step back and look at what actually might be causing those hamstrings to be pulled tight.

1. Belly/Core Weakness
Consider the rotation of the pelvis. If the belly pushes the front of the pelvis down, what happens to the back part? It is going to pull upward. Where are the hamstrings attached? At the back portion of the pelvis. So as the front of the hips go down, the back gets pulled up and a stretch is applied to the hamstrings.

2. Hip Flexor Tightness
This is very similar to the belly weakness. As your hip flexors get too tight, they pull the front of your hips down and the back of your hips up. They also sometimes can rotate the hips into different planes: Right Forward/Left Back or Left Forward/Right Back. What this does is make one hamstring feel tighter than the other.

3. Calves

As the front of the hips get pulled down, the back gets pulled up, making the hamstrings feel stretched. And a stretched muscle (which is weaker) doesn't activate as well as a muscle at normal length. So when a muscle is weak, other muscles that do similar actions start compensating and assisting those movements. Enter the calves. You
have two calf muscles: one that crosses the knee and one that does not. The one that crosses the knee helps to flex or bend the knee, just like the hamstrings. So if the hamstrings are weak, the calf muscle picks up the slack. What can happen is that the calf muscle can inhibit the hamstring movement.


4. Other Reasons
There are a myriad of other reasons, so it is often difficult to pin down exactly what is the cause, but here are a few others:

• Lower portion of the IT band
• Sacrotuberous ligament
• Hip capsule stiffness
• Tensor fascia latte and/or the upper portion of the IT band
• Medial Rotators of the hip
• Scar tissue in certain areas
• Baker's cysts
•  Quad tightness and adherence

As you can see, there are a great many reasons why your hamstrings may be tight. Most of them are not because of your hamstrings.

Come see us and we can help you figure out exactly where your problem areas are and then help you start getting the flexibility back into your legs.

by guest blogger
Michael Padden, LMT, PTA

You’ve heard us say this a million times: “Be sure to drink plenty of water.” Summer is a critical time for this simple advice. Too many weekend warriors and seasoned athletes alike fail to maintain proper hydration during the summer months, leading to heat -related complications like heat cramps and even heat stroke in extreme cases. Exercising in the heat is a double whammy for your body’s ability to maintain a safe temperature. Rigorous exercise generates a lot of heat, which must be dissipated somehow. The main method the body uses to remove this excess heat is through sweat, especially in hot weather. If the body is unable to regulate its temperature effectively or when the balance of hydration and electrolytes is disturbed, exercise performance is impaired and if unchecked, can result in serious health risks.

It can be difficult to sufficiently replace the water loss from an activity during the activity or immediately after and as such it is particularly important for athletes who perform prolonged endurance activities or multiple intense activities throughout the day to monitor their hydration. Deficits in hydration from one activity can carry over and be further compromised by subsequent activities if steps are not taken to replace the lost fluids and electrolytes. The more dehydrated you become the higher the strain on the body and the greater the impact on exercise performance.

Recommendations for ensuring proper hydration for exercise include prehydration, drinking during exercise, and rehydration. To safely and effectively prehydrate, it is recommended that you slowly drink 0.075 - 0.1 oz per pound of body weight approximately 4 hours before activity. (that's about a cup of water per 100lbs.) Then, if 2 hours before activity, either you have not urinated or your urine is dark in color, drink another 0.05-0.075 oz per pound of body weight. (That's about another 5-7.5 ounces per 100lbs)  This recommendation ensures that prehydration does not lead to over hydration, which can also have negative effect on exercise performance.
Drinking during activity can be the most vital for long duration exercise but exact recommendations are difficult due to the wide variability in water loss rates. It is recommended that you assess your own needs carefully, adjusting for your activity and the conditions. As a reference point though, typical marathon runners would likely need to consume approximately 16 - 32 oz per hour to replace their water losses on a warm day.

Remember to replace not only the water but also the electrolytes lost during activity, either by consuming a salty snack or by drinking a sports drink, which contains sufficient electrolytes, during your activity. If you were able to sufficiently maintain hydration throughout exercise, then normal meals and beverages may be enough to rehydrate following activity, but if you have built up a deficit, then rehydration will need to be proportionately more aggressive. It is important during this phase to ensure that sodium levels return to normal or the body will not be able to absorb the water it needs to replace the fluid losses. The best way to measure how much fluid needs to be replaced after activity is to weigh yourself before and again after the activity and then drink approximately 23 oz per pound lost, but do so gradually so as to maximize absorption.

References:
Michael N. Sawka, FACSM (chair); Louise M. Burke, FACSM, E. Randy Eichner,
FACSM, Ronald J. Maughan, FACSM, Scott J. Montain, FACSM, Nina S. Stachenfeld,
FACSM.
Exercise and Fluid Replacement, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: February
2007 - Volume 39 - Issue 2 - p 377-390.
doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e31802ca597

By Guest Blogger: Sarah Therkildsen


As summer quickly approaches, many of us are looking forward to the bright sun, sweet breezes, and some time for fun and relaxation. If you are like me, however, you may be realizing how full your calendar is already looking, and it is taking some of the summer breeze out of your sails. Besides the ongoing stresses of daily life, the weather often draws us outdoors, quickly increasing our physical exertion. The heat also can take its toll, causing swelling in joints and limbs. These are all great reasons to remember massage is our friend and a great way to continue self care. Let’s take a closer look at these four ways:

Stress kills (maybe not directly, but indirectly.)  It's a fact that stress is incredibly damaging to the body.  The body naturally releases adrenaline and cortisol to combat stress by going into the flight or fight mode. This is for survival. However, when we consistently and daily carry stress in our body, we start to develop health problems such as anxiety, depression, digestive issues, headaches, heart disease, sleeplessness, weight gain, memory impairment and more.  It may eventually end in death! This is why self-care is so important.
 
If our body is always depleted and we are in constant stress mode, how can we expect to care for our loved ones at full capacity? Think of when you travel on an airplane and the flight attendants give the safety talk.  They always tell passengers to " please put on your own oxygen mask first before attempting to help others." How can we be expected to help others be well if we are not well ourselves?

Taking time to care for yourself shouldn't be viewed as selfish. You are simply taking the time to reboot, recharge, refresh and become an even better version of yourself. Ideally, this healthy version of you will trickle down the human chain to others and maybe with a little bit of grace, will brighten someone else's day.

There are many different variations of self care, including massage therapy (or any form of therapy for that matter), going for a walk, reading a good book, being in good company, disconnecting from electronics and the constant hustle and bustle of life are just a few. Maybe you just really need a nap! Whatever suits your fancy and helps you relax (and that isn't harmful to you or others). We all react differently to stress, so we are all going to have different ways of unwinding and relaxing.

It may be tempting to stay up late to cram in those last household chores or answer emails, but really, the world won’t end if the laundry is dirty for another day, or if the dishes are piled up in the sink. Sleep deprivation causes irritability, poor cognition, impaired reflexes and response time (think car accidents!) and can contribute to depression and anxiety.

By Guest Blogger Adam Brown, LMT, NHE, MCT

When most people think of sports massage, they typically imagine a lot of stretching and
deep tissue work. They might even imagine pain. Good therapists vary their pressure
greatly according to their client’s comfort level and desired depth of bodywork, but it is not
uncommon for greater amounts of pressure in localized areas to cause a pain response in
the massage recipient. This is typically characterized by muscle “guarding” or tensing and
either a sharp inhale of breath or holding the breath all together. Both of these responses
tend to be counterproductive as far as the overall goal of most massage sessions is
concerned, which is to provide therapeutic relaxation to muscles and soft tissue in order to
reduce pain and tension and decrease injuries.

Another often overlooked positive outcome of effective massage work is a relaxation of the
autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system has two branches, or two sides
of the coin, if you will: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. You may
have heard these two branches referred to colloquially as the “fight or flight” and the “rest
and digest” systems respectively. If you struggle with keeping the two straight, just think ‘S’
for stress and sympathetic and ‘P’ for peace and parasympathetic.
The primary functions of the parasympathetic nervous system are well illustrated by the
phrase “rest and digest” (and we could also add reproduce). These functions allow the body
to build, repair, heal, and carry on life, so to speak. Conversely, the sympathetic nervous
system kicks into gear in dangerous and/or stressful situations, elevating the heart rate,
increasing muscle tone, and essentially getting one ready for action. From the viewpoint of
evolutionary biology, we can understand how it would be beneficial to quickly go from a
state of rest to a state of flight if we think of our ancestors’ needs to evade predators at a
moment’s notice in order to survive.

Our bodies function best when they can actively switch between the parasympathetic and
sympathetic nervous systems as our environment dictates. However, our achievement
driven Western society has conditioned most of us to remain in a constant state of fight or
flight. While there is not necessarily a saber-toothed tiger chasing us on a regular basis, as
there may have been for our ancestors, we often experience similar physiological response
to the stressors of daily life -- running late for work, traffic on the daily commute, public
speaking, first dates, parenting, etc. And these metaphorical predators never quite seem to
go away as we hold on to them in our anxious thoughts and worries from day to day.
The reason it is important to understand the difference between the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous system and the effect massage has on them is that being stuck in a
constant state of fight or flight (or freeze) has been shown to have many health detriments,
such as weight gain and a depressed immune system. The pressure applied in a moderate to
deep tissue massage (done without eliciting a pain response) can help activate the
parasympathetic nervous system and slow down the sympathetic nervous system. So, yes,
it’s actually good for you to learn to relax!

One of the best ways I have found to provide my clients the deep, relaxing pressure they
desire while eliciting as little pain response as possible, is a specialized massage technique
known as Ashiatsu. This modality utilizes the therapist’s feet instead of their hands to
provide broad, deep pressure. Ashiatsu is ideal for achieving deeper pressure with little to
no pain because the surface area of the ‘tool’ applying the pressure is increased and long,
smooth, stokes are used to maintain consistent pressure throughout. One of my clients said
after their “ashi” session that it reminded them of the comfort of a weighted blanket.
In addition to the benefits to your muscles and nervous system, Ashiatsu can also help
improve posture and circulation, decrease chronic pain, and improve joint mobility.

Ashiatsu is available at our sports massage center for sessions of 60 or 90 minutes. Schedule
your Ashi massage today and let me help chase your saber- tooth tigers away!
Sources:
Moderate pressure of massage can cause a parasympathetic nervous system response:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283590
Increased sympathetic nervous system activity demonstrate in obese patients:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5606212/

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Has it really been five years? In early 2013, the dream and future vision for KAW was
firmly in my head, but I was happily working for SolSpring and assumed that
the reality of opening my own business would be at least 5 years down the road. Then
their main location unexpectedly closed and I realized that the time was NOW to
make my move. My dream was to offer the highest quality massage therapy and
personal training in the Kalamazoo area, with a special emphasis on athletes. I also
envisioned partnering with a chiropractor, health coach and sports psychologist – in
short, to provide a “one stop” health and wellness facility to support athletes and the
general public.
The first 2 years was rough – I won’t lie! I think I gained about 20 pounds! Start up
money was minimal and the challenges/stresses of starting up a new business and raising a new family were
very real.  I was feeling confident in what we were doing, but was also frustrated at the snail pace of growth. However, I persevered with the help and support of my family and friends – and here we are, celebrating five years!

And the best is yet to come!
In February 2019, we are planning to move to a new,
expanded location on S. Westnedge Ave, in partnership with Antoniotti Chiropractic.
Our new facility will have more therapy rooms, giving us the opportunity to also
add a sports psychologist – another piece of my initial dream of providing
comprehensive, all-inclusive, personalized, holistic health and wellness services
under one roof.
This move will involve changes – which are often hard and uncomfortable, while
they are happening. But the end result will be worth it all!
I am very proud and humbled by the great team of people who have come together
to make Kalamazoo Athletic Wellness so successful. I want to give a shout out to
everyone here past and present– I could not have done it without you!
And a big “THANK YOU” to all our clients (both individual and corporate) who have taken a chance on KAW and
allowed us the opportunity to work with you – especially the Western Michigan
University football team.  Without you, we would have surely perished in those first few years!
One lesson I have learned over the last five years is to say “Yes” more often. It hasn’t
always been easy, but it has been fun. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I
can’t wait to see what the next five years bring!

Stay Healthy!!

Today I wanted to share the story of one of our Massage Therapists, Jillian Strobel, and her journey to Africa.  She left last year to pursue what she felt was her calling and now she is back in Kalamazoo. Here is a taste of her amazing journey.

"For the past 9 months I've had the privilege to do Missionary work in Uganda, Africa. I went by myself to Uganda and worked with two different organizations. One of them is called Amahoro Children's Home. This organization is focused on housing orphan children, educating them and helping them with any of their needs. I got to spend 5 months teaching the kids, playing with them and having one on one counseling with some of them. This group was amazing! I also got to work with another organization called Kyampisi Childcare Ministry (KCM) which focused on helping Children that have been victims of Child Sacrifice. I was exposed to a whole different world at KCM, not knowing much about Child Sacrifice, I learned a lot and got to be around the kids that have gone through these horrible experiences. I got to befriend them, help them, encourage them, etc. It was an honor being there, working so closely with them and I now get to help expose to the world, through progressively writing a book about what is actually happening in Uganda, the struggles and the hardships. Also to show the world that Ugandans are a people with more love, joy, strength and peace than you can ever imagine. There is something so special about them...there is something so special about Uganda. It was a very rewarding experience that I will never forget. I even got to use my massage knowledge/skills to help a little boy (a victim of Child Sacrifice) recovering from surgery, using techniques I knew for water physical therapy! It was so cool!
Moving forward, I am continuing writing, and also still working on projects with some of my Ugandan friends. My encouragement to you is if something has been placed in your heart to do, don't just sit and think about it. Do it. Your whole world can change just by taking a small step."
-Jillian Strobel