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length of partially cooked pasta or a slender worm under the skin Most professional masseuses |
describe muscles with multiple trigger points as having a crunchy or spongy quality |
Muscles with trigger points are also easy to identify because they are tender to the touch |
In contrast healthy muscles dont elicit a pain response under pressure Tenderness should be |
your operative diagnostic criterion Concentrate your efforts on any tender mass you find |
Apply pressure dig and release Use your knuckle fingertip the heel of your palm or elbow to |
get in as deep as possible to break down the scar tissue and fibrous adhesions The tip side or |
first knuckle of the thumb can be particularly useful You want to compress tender muscles all |
over your body |
You can use a tool to avoid straining your hands or to apply pressure more easily to hard |
toreach areas Pictured below are the implements that use to perform compression on |
myself You can find an eyebolt in any hardware store and the other tools can be found easily |
online if not at your local sporting goods store Aside from my own hands the Index Knobber |
shown at the far right of the picture below is my tool of choice |
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body |
Illustration Tools for compression A Thera Cane B Backknobber C Baseballs attached with drilled holes |
and metal screws D Spiked massage ball E Foam therapy ball F Softballs G Squash ball H Tennis ball Yoga |
Therapy Balls in sack J Three sizes of eyebolts x x x K Knobble L Jacknobber |
M Index Knobber You can also place tools on the floor such as a hard water bottle rolling pin racquetball |
barbell pipe or wooden dowel and push your body into them |
The benefits of compression have to do with muscles need for microbreaks which we have |
discussed previously The muscles that feel tender when subjected to deep compression have not |
had the breaks they need to remain healthy Compression gives them a muchneeded respite |
reestablishing blood flow and permitting full regeneration The muscle may feel warm afterward |
as fresh blood rushes to areas that are normally neglected To send fresh blood into an area you |
first need to squeeze existing blood out by performing something called ischemic compression |
It is helpful to visualize the effects As you massage imagine that you are pressing into |
pale pink tissue that has lost most of its blood supply Envision the muscle turning white as you |
compress it and the remaining blood is squeezed out Then as you release imagine fresh red |
blood flooding into the area Imagine that this redness dissipates in a few seconds but that the |
muscle stays more brightly colored than it was before Of course all of that is quite literally |
happening Compression creates the cellular events necessary to express the genes required to |
build new blood vessels This renewed blood supply brings the muscle back to life Below is an |
overview of the steps involved in the Program Peace compression routine |
Compression Protocol |
Breathe Use the tenets of diaphragmatic breathing throughout your massage practice |
This will help ensure that your muscles remain relaxed even during discomfort If |
compression becomes particularly painful take a deep breath in then breathe out |
slowly through pursed lips to extend your exhalation |
Pressure Find a muscle that is tender when compressed Press firmly on the muscle |
with the tip of a finger knuckle or tool for between five and seconds On most areas |
of the body you can apply between five and pounds of pressure To gauge this |
imagine a dumbbell of a given weight resting on top Use less pressure on more painful |
or delicate areas Release reposition centimeters or millimeters away and repeat |
Movement Some practitioners recommend sliding a finger thumb or tool down the |
length of the muscle They use deep firm strokes that move in the direction of the |
muscle fibers Others recommend stroking across the muscle repeatedly like strumming |
a guitar string Try to develop skill at both Either way you want to pin the skin down |
and slide it over the muscle rather than slide your fingers over the skin You can also |
simply press into an area of tenderness rather than stroke it If can find a taught |
Chapter Release Tense Muscle with Massage |
sore band of muscle will often nestle my knuckle in on one side of it and press |
rhythmically for minutes at a time |
Intensity On a scale of one to ten aim for a tolerable pain level of six or seven |
Light massage at a pain level of two or three can also be beneficial but will take much |
longer to have an effect At a six or a seven the pain you feel should be mixed with |
pleasure It should hurt good but should not be enough to make you squirm brace |
or breathe shallowly |
Attention Once you release the muscle pay attention to how its level of bracing has |
diminished You may feel insecure or exposed now that you are no longer bracing |
Note the automatic tendency to either resume bracing or breathe shallowly Resist both |
urges continuing to breathe deeply while keeping the area relaxed This will encourage |
the muscle to reset to a lower level of tone |
Follow up The next day if the muscle is bruised or hurts when contracted it is a sign |
that you pushed too hard However if it is slightly sore to the touch then you made |
substantial progress This soreness should disappear with just a few minutes of |
additional massage After the soreness subsides wait a few hours for it to come back |
and compress it again with the same degree of force Repeat this process until the |
muscle no longer hurts to compress Depending on the muscles size and the severity of |
the tension this could take days weeks or months |
Percuss Your Tender Tense Muscles |
The steady consistent pressure of compression therapy can be complemented by percussive |
massage Percussive here means hitting or striking Many professional masseuses |
routinely use slapping beating and pummeling which are all examples of percussive massage |
This approach is similar to the tapotement technique in Swedish massage and certain shiatsu |
regimens It was documented to have been used in ancient Japan when children massaged their |
elders after long days bending over in the rice fields Because the childrens fingers were not |
strong enough to perform a kneading motion they balled up their hands and struck the sore |
muscles with their fists The Japanese term mago no te was used to describe this type of |
massage which translates to grandchilds hands The protocol below details a related method |
that Ill refer to as percussion |
Percussion Protocol |
Use a knuckle fist palm heel baseball or softball to repeatedly strike dormant |
achy muscle For even deeper muscle work use a tool like the Index Knobber to strike |
Use force and speed similar to what would be appropriate for conventional |
clappingapplause Strike the muscle firmly and repetitively like a sewing machine or a |
woodpecker Strike at a rate of roughly three to five times per second rising one to |
three inches above the skin between strikes |
Concentrate this pummeling action on a tender area of muscle just an inch or two in |
diameter for to seconds |
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body |
percuss my neck shoulders back arms legs knees and ankles firmly all over with |
objects ranging from baseballs to knucklesized tools weekly recommend percussing your |
entire body with a hard implement If you dont have any of the tools below dont hesitate to |
start just using your knuckles or palm heel Using percussion is one of the fastest and least |
painful ways to erode trigger points and reanimate dormant muscle |
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