Injury Prevention – Royston Frederick's Alternative Therapies

26 Sep

How massage aids muscle healing

When we are in pain or under a lot of stress we know that it’s time to start looking after our body in order to reduce our recovery time. People are continually being educated in the benefits of what massage can do and the biological affects it has on the body, mind and spirit.

Recently a Canadian scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton found evidence at the cellular level that massage blunts muscle pain in a similar way to anti-inflammatory pills. Below is a CBC news article I found providing research on how massage aids in muscle healing.

Learn how to meditate

I believe that meditation should be practiced everyday for our daily wellbeing. Meditation can help balance us on a mental, physical and spiritual level. I look at it from the perspective that the mind is the gate keeper at the gates of the spirit and in order to pass through we have to quiet it to reach our true selves. We move through our lives connecting and disconnecting to things within and around us and in some instances to our peril. Without understanding who we are we are unable to make simple decisions within our lives. Sometimes we find that the choices we are considering or have considered has left us feeling unbalanced inside. These feelings leave what I would call strings, stagnant energy, and energetic blockages throughout the body.

To help release these energetic or physical disturbances the parasympathetic nervous system needs to be activated. Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system helps promote digestion and slows or shuts off non-essential functions within the body giving your body time to rebalance itself. This can be done through quieting the nervous system using meditation, yoga, energy work (Reiki, Jin Shin Jyutsu, etc.) or listening to positive relaxing music.

Do you suffer from lower back pain?

Do you stand or sit for long periods of time throughout the day? A common symptom I see clients exhibit is lower back and hip pain. Without variations of movement your body can experience postural problems which can affect the lumbar spine, sacral, hips and feet. Other problems that may occur are freezing or seizing of the hip joints, tense hamstring and in some cases tight quads. Read More →

12 Jul

How massage helped me

At 34, I was a passenger in a new car that was side-swiped by a vehicle in the neighbouring lane, damaging the driver’s side door. The impact took us by surprise, but it wasn’t a significant impact — or so I thought. All I remember is my right elbow hitting the passenger door.

An hour later I was in the police station, giving a statement, when suddenly I started feeling severe shooting pain from the right side of my neck down into my hand. The doctor diagnosed me with whiplash and soft tissue damage throughout my back. I lived the next nine years in and out of pain. The pain was aggravated by poor posture, as I had a desk job and did little to no exercise. What I remember during the first two years after the accident, was that I would choose health over money any day. Read More →

29 Jun

How to treat upper back pain

full-body-muscles-back-neck Do you suffer from constant neck and upper back pain at work or in the comfort of your home? This blog targets people who do office work, but is beneficial for anyone who may have muscular issues in the areas as depicted in the pictures provided to the right. I have suffered with these symptoms, both after a car accident and when I had a sedentary job in an office. As a massage therapist, I see many clients with upper back pain ranging from, thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndrome, shooting pains, numbness and tingling in the arm, as well as pain in the upper chest. These symptoms may be caused by anything from tense shortened muscles, subtle changes in the joints, to impinged nerves. Read More →