Category Archives: The Human Body

Breaking up scar tissue in your body – why is it important, and how can you do it?

Posted on by
Reply

Andreo Spina has just come out with what I think is his best video yet. In it, he describes the way scar tissue adheres between layers of soft tissue in the body.

This information is critical to everyone who has a body. Soft tissue scarring is a fact of life. Everyone gets it. Knowing what to do about it and actually doing those things will improve your health, your movement, and your strength.

What are Soft Tissues?
The body has several layers of tissues.

There’s your skin, on the surface.

Under that, there’s the fascia, a contractile connective-tissue. Fascia is that white stuff you see on meat that you get in the supermarket.

Then there’s the muscle, which is attached to bone by tendons.

And the bones are attached to one another with ligaments.

Scar tissue, or “adhesions,” are areas where some part of the soft tissue gets damaged, and doesn’t actually heal. Instead it forms rigid connective-tissue bridges in order to stabilize the tissues and allow for movement.

Typically scar tissues remain when the body isn’t moved. But we’ll get to that in a second.

First, here’s Andreo’s video:

So you can see the importance of breaking up scar tissue. Imagine, as Andreo said, “stretching your leg up with a pair of skin-tight jeans on.”

You can’t do it.

That is, you can’t move well if your soft tissues are full of scar tissue that is preventing them from moving.

And if you can’t move well, your body can’t do several things:
1. It can’t pump blood back to your heart sufficiently. The contraction of muscle is what pumps blood back to your heart. If your muscles can’t (or aren’t made to…different issue) contract fully, your circulation sucks.
2. If that happens, metabolic waste builds up in your tissues…so, number two is You can’t clear metabolic waste produces efficiently. When those build up, disease happens.
3. You can’t feel the joy of movement. If you’re bound up by scar tissue, movement is probably painful. That’s no fun. And that doesn’t help you want to move.

So, what can you do about it? Here are a few things:

1. Get high-quality bodywork.
What do I mean by this? I mean bodywork from someone who understands the video above, and who isn’t just giving you a “relaxation massage.” People who label themselves as offering “sports massage” often have a good understanding of the above. Self-massage works as well. Investigate some techniques and apply them (on YouTube you can search for things like “myofascial release” or “skin sliding” or “break up adhesions” or “self-massage” or any combination of the above).

2. Take hot baths.
Yes, a nice hot bath is relaxing. Throw in some Epsom Salts if you want. The bath can also help to “liquify” the very soft tissues in your body, allowing them to slide again. But that will only happen on one other condition…that you:

3. Stay well hydrated.
This means drinking plenty of high-quality H2O. Not going to go into a lot of detail here. Simply try the pee-test. If your pee is not clear, you’re dehydrated (with exceptions). Also, try to get well-water from reliable local sources rather than drinking chlorinated/treated water from the tap.

4. Move Well, Move Often!!!
This may be the single most important factor. Moving itself, as long as your body gets heated up to a nice sweaty level, will help to resolve soft tissue adhesions. Of course, it won’t usually do everything, but it will sure help. And once those adhesions have been (manually) broken up, there’s nothing better than full-range, hot movement to keep things from sticking together again. That’s one of the reasons Tai Chi is so good for you. Getting down into the pose above (snake creeps down, I think) demands a high level of balance and strength, AND – to the point of this post – it puts the soft tissues of the body in the deepest possible level of stretching and contraction…

Foam rolling can help, but as Andreo points out, it doesn’t really or necessarily slide one layer of soft tissue over the other.

But don’t just sit there reading this! Go do one of those three things (or all of them)! And put them into your regular practice!!!!

The one secret to fitness motivation

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve read the psychology books. I’ve read the sports psychology books. I’ve worked with clients, friends, and family who want to start or continue an exercise program.

And I’m here to share my secrets with you.

So first, a question – what is motivation?

What does it mean to you?

When you think about something you’re motivated to do, what comes immediately to mind?

I guarantee you it most likely has something to do with one of the following four things:

  • Sex – need I explain?
  • Status – affiliation, being “in,” etc.
  • Safety – shelter, food, water, etc.
  • Risk – danger, fun, excitement

And that it’s one or more of the following:

  • Comfortable
  • Easy
  • Tasty (especially fatty, sweet, and/or salty)
  • Fast
  • Cheap
  • Orgasmic

What’s “motivating” is usuallly hitting your evolutionary-behavioral necessities (to have sex/reproduce, to be safe, and to have and understand some sort of status in your group); AND your dopamine receptors – fast, easy, cheap, fun, tasty, comfortable, orgasmic, etc.

For most people “fitness” or working out doesn’t satisfy any of those needs.

Let’s face it, you are perfectly fit enough to “live” and/or “survive” in today’s world.

If you get too fat or broken-down, there’s always the Rascal!

If you get diabetes, there’s insulin shots for the rest of your life. And even those have been automated into a monitor/pump that automatically injects you with insulin.

Cardiovascular system burnt out from too little exercise and/or too much smoking? Get an oxygen tank and mask.

 

What I’m saying here is that motivation has nothing at all to do with necessity.

In today’s world, you don’t need the things you’re motivated to do, and you aren’t motivated to do the things you “need” to do.

I know a lot of people who like to read and/or talk about fitness and health stuff, but who never seem to do anything. For them, thinking, talking, and any “mental” activity is used as a replacement for actually doing something.

Another aspect of motivation that makes it really difficult for people to harness is that it’s almost entirely individual. It’s one of those rare places in life where we can’t just go along with the rest of the pack. If you’re motivated to work out (i.e., exert effort, which is not cheap, easy, fast, etc.) – it’s your motivation.

It’s not like buying the new pair of jeans that you saw in your favorite fashion magazine. There’s a reason they’re in the magazine. There’s a reason 100 or 1000 stores across the country are carrying those jeans in every size imaginable.

Because it’s not about you as an individual. That’s about you conforming (i.e., wanting to fit in  – status/safety), and about you caving in to the addictive dopamine rush you get when you buy something new.

So what’s the secret to being motivated to work out?

The secret is this – To find the one reason that turns fitness into a necessity for you.

Whatever the “reason” is doesn’t really matter. Create one.

For instance, some people want a “deeper connection” to their body. Some people want to hang out with friends. Some want to look like a certain celebrity. Others want to be able to move a certain way (dance, sports, martial arts).

It doesn’t matter. That reason is up to you. It’s all yours.

If you can’t find a reason, that’s okay. You don’t have to. Medicine is advancing at a rate that you should be fine in your Rascal with your oxygen tank and mask…as long as the power doesn’t go out.

When you do find that reason, ride it for all its worth.

After that, “hard” doesn’t matter anymore. You want it to be hard, or it isn’t a good workout. The meaning of the word “hard” changes. “Hard” becomes pleasurable, enjoyable. And yes, you can get your dopamine fix from it instead of those $300 jeans.

If someone else’s reason works for you, for now, that’s okay too, but realize that that will wear off soon enough. Recovering addicts of yo-yo diets and DVD fitness workouts pay attention – You need your own reason.

I’ll tell you this – if you have your reason, everything else falls into place and nothing else matters.

If you don’t, nothing falls into place, and everything else matters.

Simple as that.

NOTE – This post is NOT an attack against people who enjoy participating in culture, who have diabetes and are consciously engaged with it, who are incapacitated, or who have to use oxygen masks. It IS a demand for accountability and self-responsibility.

Breathing, Health, and Strength – Tap into the power within

Posted on by
Reply

I’m fascinated by breathing.

It’s one of a few activities that allow us to directly and immediately alter our physical, mental, and emotional states.

For instance, breathe faster or slower and feel how that changes your physical state.

Most people don’t really notice the effect breathing can have until after some sort of relaxing or traumatic event, or until it is pointed out to them.

When you get tense your breathing speeds up and gets more shallow. This leads to other physiological responses – tension in the body in general – which tends to have a snowball effect.

When you relax, breathing tends to slow down and deepen. General muscle-tone throughout the body follows suit.

In his book: Multidisciplinary approaches to breathing pattern disorders, Leon Chaitow and co-authors cover some of the physiological mechanisms that underlie breathing (or vice versa, depending on how you look at it).

Check it:

With metabolism relatively constant (i.e. insignificant variance from moment to moment), an increase in ventilation (the volume of air breathed from respiratory cycle to respiratory cycle) will increase the rate of flow of CO2 from tissue cells to the point of diffusion of CO2 from the pulmonary artery to the alveoli of the lungs. If this rate of flow is too fast, the concentration of CO2 in blood will be too lean, acid level of blood will drop, the crucial ratio of base to acid will increase, and the unbalanced pH will be alkal­otic. If the rate of flow of CO2 is too slow, its con­centration in blood will be too rich, acid level will rise, the crucial ratio of base to acid will decrease, and the unbalanced pH will be acidic. In healthy individuals under non-stressful conditions, the self-regulatory mechanisms of breathing will automatically calculate the amount of O2 needed for metabolism and increase or decrease the vol­ume of air breathed per unit of time so that the rate of flow of CO2 from cells to lungs will be just right, neither too fast nor too slow, and a stable level of balanced pH will be maintained. And what a delicate balance it is. From Ronald Ley’s introduction to the book

Chaitow stresses the structure/function relationship in the body, and particularly in the lungs – and that long-term functional use leads to change in structure, and therefore, long-term change in functional ability.

Pausing the Breath (pg. 199)
1. Pausing after the inhale, holding the lungs filled, creates tension and strain in the muscles of inhalation
2. Pausing after the inhale creates temporary hyperinflation, which works against relaxation and proper emptying of the lungs
3. Pausing after the exhale is more natural. The breathing system reduces volume by slowing the frequency, reducing the depth, and lengthening the post-exhalation pause. A post-inhale pause does not seem to occur naturally except when accompanying a state of suspense.

Yoga Breathing (pp. 238-239)
In a study by Nagarathna & Nagendra (1985), 106 individuals with asthma were divided into a treatment and control group, matched for age, sex, and severity of the condition. There were signifi­cantly greater improvements in the yoga group in weekly number of asthmatic attacks and in scores for drug usage as well as peak flow rates, which were still evident at 4-year follow-up.
• Cappo & Holmes (1984) used a pranayama breathing pattern (inhale quickly / exhale slowly) in their study, which compared the effects on arousal of that pattern with patterns of slow inhalation/rapid exhalation, as well as inhalation and exhalation at the same rate, and also with control groups (distraction control, and no treat­ment control). All three breathing pattern groups reduced their overall rate to six cycles per minute for a period of 5 minutes during the evaluations. The results showed that ‘inhaling quickly and exhaling slowly [the pranayama pattern] was consistently effective for reducing physiological (skin resistance) and psychological (subjective cognitive arousal) during anticipation and con­ frontation periods.’
• This result is consistent with yoga teaching about the value of slow exhalation. Van Lysebeth (1971) points out: ‘Every other point in the breath­ ing cycle involves muscle tension; so absolute relaxation can occur only when the exhale is com­plete: The point of equilibrium, the rest point between exhale and inhale, is a moment when the yoga therapy or traditional yoga methods is scanty; however, some verification exists: breathing apparatus is motionless. Cutting short the end of the exhale means that the exhale is incomplete and that the breathing muscles never quite relax between breaths. This may result in retention of more ‘used’ air than normal, and also can promote chronic hyperinflation and hyper­ tonic neck and shoulder muscles.
• A study of patients with congestive heart failure attempted to produce improvements by teaching the yoga ‘complete breath: This is a 3-stage breath that fills, in sequence, the abdomen, lower chest and upper chest, then reverses the order with the exhale. Breathing this way pro­duces a natural breathing rate of about six breaths per minute. The chronic heart conditions led to subnormal O2 saturation, limited exercise tolerance, and dyspnea; these all improved sig­nificantly with continued practice of the yoga breathing, and sensations of dyspnea dimin­ished. By improving the ventilation-perfusion ratios as well as alveolar ventilation, this style of breathing optimized breathing and made the most of available function. Respiratory efficiency improved and irregularity was reduced (instabil­ity in O2 saturation was associated with instabil­ity in breathing frequency and amplitude). The ‘spontaneous’ breathing rate (the rate at which subjects breathed when they thought they were unobserved) dropped from 13 to less than 8 (Bernardi et aI 1993). The heart and lungs operate in many ways as a cardiorespiratory unit. Breathing and heart action are closely related, and their synchronization sta­bilizes the autonomic nervous system (see Ch. 8).

Yoga breathing emphasizes full use of the diaphragm in breathing (Fig. 9.4). The diaphragm is attached by fascia to the heart’s pericardium in such a way that diaphragmatic movement pro­vides a massaging action to the heart. Also, the vena cava, which carries freshly oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart, passes through the diaphragm and is alternately squeezed and released during breathing. This action promotes a periodic acceleration of blood flow toward the heart. As Andrew Thomas (1993) states: ‘The fully and correctly operating diaphragm is thus a second heart.’

Yogic alternate nostril breathing (pg. 239)
(Box 9.4; Fig. 9.5)
In health one nostril is more dominant than the other at any given time in terms of the volume of air flow. There is an alternation every 1 t to 3 hours throughout the 24-hour cycle, with one nostril being more open than the other (Gilbert 1999). Evidence suggests that whichever nostril is more open, the opposite hemisphere of the brain is slightly more active, and in yoga this is utilized to enhance different activities related to particular hemispheric functions. These tradi­tional yogic intuitions and observations have been confirmed by modern research in which EEG readings from the brain have been found to correlate with increased hemispheric activity with the currently dominant nostril (Rossi 1991, Shannahoff-Khalsa 1991, Block et al 1989). Some yoga breathing exercises alternate between the two nostrils, breath by breath, with the intent of regulating the balance between the two hemispheres. This is thought to promote proper alternation between sympathetic and para­sympathetic nervous system functions.

WTF?!

The point here is that you can directly alter BRAIN/MENTAL and PHYSIOLOGILCAL/PHYSICAL (and their intermediary…EMOTIONAL) states simply through the use of breath.

How do you practice this?

1. PAY ATTENTION.
When you’re going through your day, occasionally check in – are you holding your breath?

Especially when you’re going into a situation you know to be stressful for you – regulate your breathing to remain relaxed.

Track the relative amount of tension in your muscles and the tension in your breathing. If you’re holding your breath or breathing shallowly, you’re most likely gripping in your body someplace (check the hands (fists), and glutes).

2. PRACTICE
Practice some sort of relaxation technique that exploits and explores the connection between breathing and body-states.

Two great places to start:
LET EVERY BREATH: Secrets of the Russian Breath Masters

This book is GREAT. It does not go into the ridiculous level of scientific depth covered in Chaitow’s book (or this post). It simply presents practices to help you connect breathing to your body state.

Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

I like Andrew Weil’s approach, especially a lot of his earlier works.

This is a listen-along program that leads you through some breathing exercises.

THE POINT
The point of all of this is for you to be able to access the power that resides deep inside your body.

It is, to borrow the words of Frank Forencich – “primal, practical, and playful.”

The only way to tap into it and harness this power is to USE IT.

So get to work.

Trigger Points – Getting Rid of Pain

Posted on by
Reply

Want to get rid of that pain in your neck or shoulder that has been there for years, or that just pops up now and then?

Or the pain in your lower back or hip?

The first thing to do is to figure out what’s actually causing the pain. This might involve a trip to a doctor (MD or DO), physical therapist, or other medical professional.

But a lot of times we can figure out and “treat” our own pain. That’s what I intend to help you with here.

Surrounding your muscles is a layer of tissue called fascia. It’s both a connective tissue and a contractile tissue. Fascia is the thin white layer of material that you might find on a chicken breast or piece of beef. It separates muscle bundles. It provides structure and support to the body.

When fascia gets bound up or “knotted” (basically getting into a state where it’s contracting non-stop), it causes pain. The nerves around that area get compressed and irritated. That point where the fascia is knotted is called a “trigger point.”

Since fascia is a sheet-like covering, and it spans such a huge area in your body, a knotted-up portion of fascia can also lead to pain in other places (“referred” pain).

The way to tell if something is a trigger point is through experience!

There are two approaches to trigger points. One is to feel where you have a general area of pain or irritation, and then to look at the charts below and find the trigger point for that area. Use your finger or thumb to push around where the trigger point should be and feel for a spot that’s especially sensitive and resistant to pressure. Voila! You’ve found the trigger point.

The other way is just to search around for trigger points themselves.

Once you’ve found a trigger point press into (or squeeze) it deeply enough that you feel the referred area “light up” and hold that pressure for one minute. If that’s too intense, use 5-second heavy/light alternations for one minute.

After that minute, put some ice on the area and “sweep” the ice from the trigger point to the area of referred discomfort while stretching that muscle group as far as possible.

You just want to use the ice to cool the area, not to deep-freeze it. Keep ice “sweeps” intermittent enough that the area gets cool, but not COLD.

Same goes for stretching – don’t try to beat your personal-best stretch in this area (if you have one), just gently stretch the muscle.

Here are some great Trigger Point charts I found online:

NOTE: Trigger points in the neck/shoulder area should be squeezed (pinched between the thumb and fingers), not pressed into.

You can get to your back and neck using something like the Backnobber:

ALSO: Only treat trigger points this way once per day. If the pain (of the point or the referred area) isn’t diminished when you’re done, there might be some other cause of the pain, and you should check in with your physician again.

Resources
There are a ton of good books out there that go through this type of treatment in-depth. Janet Travell and David Simons wrote the “classic” in-depth/technical manuals on this type of therapy:

But Leon Chaitow’s book “Instant Pain Control” is a great self-help guide:

Somewhere in the middle of the two is Bonnie Pruden’s “Complete Guide to Pain-Free Living”:

Just realize that you can do it yourself, with just a little self-experimentation and discovery!

What’s Happening In There?
I saved this part for last, since some people might not really be that interested in what makes this type of therapy work, but here it is!

To the best of my understanding, a “knot” is an area of constant contraction (what’s called “tetany” – where the term for the disease “tetanus” comes from). When you press into an area like this, you’re doing two things – 1. You’re shortening the fibers of that area even further, which sends a signal to the spinal cord telling those fibers to relax (since they’re exceeding their “normal” resting length), and 2. You’re sending a signal to the brain that the area in question needs attention. Over time, when a muscle goes into “spasm” (or tetany) the body attempts to “normalize” that situation. That is, it ignores it and attempts to keep going about its business. Bringing attention to the area is often as big a help as any sort of “manual” therapy.

Hope you enjoyed the post! Please leave questions or comments below!

Maximum aerobic work – the measure of optimal development

Posted on by
Reply

In other news…this paper by Apanasenko is GREAT!

He’s talking about a way to categorize fitness testing for children, but some of the statements he makes are fantastic, and can help our understanding of the way our bodies work. Check it:

“PD [Physical Development] is regarded as the key criterion of ontogeny optimality, reflecting the “physical strength resources…”

“Manifestations of life, however diverse, are always inseparably linked to energy transformation. The entire evolution of life on Earth is a process of the improvement of intracellular respiration (energy production) and the transition from predominantly anaerobic to aerobic energy-production mechanisms [8]. This means that evolution resulted in the successive appearance of animals with increasingly higher levels of respiration intensity (Fig. 1).”

“The biological meaning of this process consists in an increase in active metabolism, providing the completeness of adaptive reactions. The physical meaning of progressive evolution is to move farther and farther away from the state of equilibrium, from the state of the primary environment where the first living systems appeared. The conclusion is obvious: progressive evolution of life is associated with an increase in the intensity of the energy production of organisms.”

“The higher the available reserves of bioenergetics, the more viable the organism. The ability to mobilize the resources of organs, systems, and the body as a whole is the first condition of its immediate adaptation to extreme factors. All basic complexes of stress reaction, i.e., the increase in active metabolism, providing the completeness of adaptive reactions. The physical meaning of progressive evolution is to move farther and farther away from the state of equilibrium, from the state of the primary environment where the first living systems appeared. The conclusion is obvious: progressive evolution of life is associated with an increase in the intensity of the energy production of organisms. Thus, the increase in active metabolism, or energy intensification of the secretion of the adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosteroids, hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex, and even ulceration of thegastrointestinaltract(mobilization of proteins for gluconeogenesis), are links of the immediate adaptive response aimed at mobilizing the energy potential. The more energy per body mass unit is produced, the more effective the biological function. Scientific literature shows a lot of evidence that the resistance of the body to various factors, from hypoxia and hemorrhage to penetrating radiation, is determined by the maximum energy production capacity [9, 10].”

Why is aerobic oxidation “more important” to consider than anaerobic? Well, as Jamieson points out in his fantastic book – the aerobic system is the one that is working all the time. Apanasenko adds “aerobic oxidation is several times more effective (economic) than anaerobic oxidation. Besides, it is necessary to take into account that aerobic oxidation, in addition to glucose, utilizes fats with twice higher energy values.”

Below is a picture of the testing model Apanasenko is proposing. Interesting for the “lay-viewer” because it shows what are currently considered to be key mortality/morbidity measures in physical health.

Feel Like Crying…

Posted on by
Reply

Among the emotions to play with is Sadness.

Specifically, we can play with the overt expression of sadness – crying.

When I worked at Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare in Boston, MA, my boss and I came up with a crying competition. We would come in to work every morning armed with a new “cry.”

We did the “man” cry. We did the “baby” cry, the “little kid who cries so hard they don’t make any sound” cry, the “silent tear” cry so common in movies.

By the end of the year, I think we had accumulated about 15 unique cries.

We thought it was hilarious, and there it ended. I didn’t think of it again till recently, when posting about playing with smack-talk and/or competitiveness in order to explore affective states and performance.

At my friend Steven Stanfield‘s birthday party this past weekend, we resurrected this old game. We must have had over 20 cries by the end of the weekend.

But why, you may ask? What’s the point?

Well, part of the point is to explore your capacity for make-believe.

Part of it is to feel deep within your body the effect that different types of facial expression, breathing, and emoting have on you.

Part of it may be to experience the somatic-psychic connection…that is, how bodily behavior can trigger psychological states or memories. Trying your different cries, do memories pop up unexpectedly? They likely will, since there’s no separation between your body and mind.

So, there it is…the suggestion. Play with crying. You’ll notice when you do that different types of crying (with their accompanying breathing patterns) elicit different feelings in the body.