Walking for health
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Anxiety
Walking for health
Walkjng for health
DEADLIFT
Injuries are tough mentally
Injuries are not just physical but also mentally challenging especially if they are going to take over a month to heal or they become chronic in nature. Our thoughts can become more negative, it is frustrating when you cannot do what you could easily do maybe 1 year ago or even just 1 week ago. We have to let go of our ego’s and look towards the small achievements. Here at Pro-Am we aim to try and get clients to see injuries as a time of positivity. A time to reflect on training, work and life. A time for recovery. A time to work on areas you have neglected due to time constraints and perhaps look at changes that need to be made. Many top athletes come back from injury time in better health than before the injury and perform better.
Here is link I found on instagram which I think is a great way to show you how you can change your thought process to be more positive.
Exercise and Massage
Professional athletes training programmes have cycles of increasing volume and intensity and then decreasing back down to aid repair and recovery. Our bodies can not be pushed continually, this is when it starts to break, combine this with massage to flush the system and they feel fresh for there next block of training. Massage is part of every professional athletes training program but we also work just as hard in our jobs/exercise/hobbies and life so why don’t more people take advantage of what massage has to offer. You get your hair cut which helps keep it in good condition, why not a massage for your muscles which help you get around?
We are all told that exercise is important for the body to stay mobile and strong and it is but sometimes our daily stresses make us feel less inclined to exercise as we feel tired and achy. During these times exercise can actually add to that stress and tip our nervous system into survival mode which can then affect our sleep, hormones and our systems can become sluggish which can lead to an increase in toxins in the body. How do you remedy this, one, you can decrease the volume and intensity of your exercise (yin yoga or yoga with twists for detox) or you can have a massage.
The effects of massage have that feel good factor exercise gives you without you having g to get a sweat on or put any effort in. I am not saying to ditch exercise but once a month having a massage to help re-charge the bodies systems, can stop the build up of toxins by helping our circulation and lymphatic system.
Just like a machine our response times can slow, things may miscommunicate and get cluttered. What do we do with a printer not wanting to print, we power down and reset it. Massage can do this for the body.
However just like exercise those first few sessions may make you feel a little heavy and sluggish as your systems needs time to adjust. Massage is more beneficial if you have one regularly. Maintainance is far easier if kept on top of than it is to ignore and then only attend to it when damaged.
Many of my clients say that there first few sessions were a little uncomfortable but then they soon quickly became really relaxing and really notice the difference when they have to delay an appointment (we have seen alot of this due to covid).
So if you find your self out of balance, not sleeping well finding exercise harder than usual maybe its time for a re-set.
A monthly massage that can re-charge your body is the best approach. Here at Pro-Am we have some great health scheme offers to help keep you committed to your health and well being. Get signed up before 20th December for a fresh start in 2022 and before our prices go up.
Special Offers for November/December. Why not give someone the gift of health.
Anxiety, stress and depression. How can massage help?
We can all suffer from anxiety, stress and or depression from time to time. Stress can be good for you but repeatedly pressing the stress response button can start to negatively effect the body. Finding the cause of your anxiety, stress and or depression is very important. Everybody has different triggers and will require different approaches to manage the effects these conditions have on the body. Our advice is to always be open and willing to try different strategies whether it is meditation, yoga, bootcamp, cold water swimming, running, crafting or under guidance of your doctor cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling or medication. Sometimes we are our worst enemy in that we have an excuse for not trying things like I don’t have time, its just part of my job, I don’t want to let anybody down, its our willpower or lack of. This is not the article to go into this but if you want a really great read about willpower and why we make the choices we do and how to change your approach, Kelly Mcgonigal ‘how to master the new science of self control – maximum willpower’ is a great start.
Below is a table showing just some of the symptoms related to anxiety, stress and depression.
| Anxiety | Stress | Depression Physical symptoms |
| Feeling irritable | Grinding teeth, clenched jaw | Lack of energy |
| Problems with sleep | Headaches | Unexplained aches and pains |
| Feeling of dread, panic or impending doom | Indigestion or acid reflux symptoms | Changes in appetite |
| Racing thoughts | Dizziness or general feeling of ‘being out of it’ | Moving or speaking more slowly than usual |
| Difficulty concentrating | Muscle tension in neck, face or shoulders. | Disturbed sleep |
The above table is just a very simple example and you can have anxiety, stress and depression seperately but you can have all 3. Sypmtoms can be very similar for all 3 which is why it is always best to speak to a medical professional to work out your cause and triggers and how to manage it the best way for you.
Massage can be effective to treat some symptoms of mild, short term cases by helping with muscle tension, decreasing pain, helping sleep etc. It can also be very useful for severe chronic cases but must be part of a treatment strategy as it will not work on its own.
Massage helps to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) and muscle tension by eliciting feelings of calm and deep relaxation. Massage increases localised blood flow which helps the travel of positive hormones like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine to areas of high stress and give a sense of well being. Massage can also reduce feelings of stiffness by increasing tissue elasticity by rising muscle temperature. Very similar effects to exercise.
When booking a massage to help with your stress and anxiety management notify the therapist of why you want the treatment. This way they can create the right environment for you to be able to relax. Asking the therapist to not talk during your treatment is absolutely fine. We are here to help.
