Sep
5
2023
Massage after exercise, despite conventional wisdom, doesn’t improve circulation to the muscles or removal of lactic acid, researchers in Canada said.
“This dispels a common belief in the general public about the way in which massage is beneficial,” Michael Tschakovsky, a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, said in a statement.
The belief that massage aids in the removal of lactic acid from muscle tissue is so pervasive it is even listed on the Canadian Sports Massage Therapists website as one of the benefits of massage, despite there being absolutely no scientific research to back this up.
“It also dispels that belief among people in the physical therapy profession. All the physical therapy professionals that I have talked to, when asked what massage does, answer that it improves muscle blood flow and helps get rid of lactic acid. Ours is the first study to challenge this and rigorously test its validity.”
Kinesiology master’s degree candidate Vicky Wiltshire and Tschakovsky show that massage actually impairs blood flow to the muscle after exercise and that it therefore also impairs the removal of lactic acid from muscle after exercise.
The study is to be presented at the annual American College of Sports Medicine conference May 27-30 in Seattle.
So massage isn’t helpful?
“What we’re saying with this research …it’s not that massage isn’t good,” Tschakovsky told me. “It’s just that the common perception that it increases blood flow and helps in the removal of lactic acid isn’t correct.”
A lot of runners I know – including me – were convinced the theory was correct. My routine was to book a massage a few days before a marathon – made me feel like a racehorse raring to go – and a few days after, which I thought helped those still sore muscles feel better so I could get back out there and start getting ready for my next race sooner.
Tschakovsky says he’s done the same thing – gone for a massage after soccer tournaments.
“Certainly it makes me feel better and it makes me feel as if my muscles are going to work better. It’s just that it’s not because of these claimed reasons.”
Tschakovsky says if massage does improve performance and help you recover more quickly, science has yet to prove how it works. On the other hand, science has not proven that massage hinders performance and recovery.
The bottom line?
“It feels good, that’s the truth of it. A lot of performance is psychological-based so if you feel better, if you feel you’re in a better situation to do something, it probably has the ability to affect performance.”
Sep
5
2023
Attention office workers, couch potatoes, and other sedentary people: reduce your time spent sitting by getting up and using your muscles more regularly throughout the day, says Dr. Genevieve N. Healy.
Breaks from sedentary activity appear to complement the health benefits gleaned from other types of physical activity. Moreover, Healy told Reuters Health, “a break could be as simple and light in intensity as standing and stretching.”
Healy, from the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues measured the non-sleeping sedentary and active time of 168 Australian adults to determine whether taking breaks might impact their weight and metabolism. The subjects were participants in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study, but did not have diabetes.
This healthy group, who ranged in age from 30 to 87 years, kept an activity diary and wore an accelerometer during all waking hours for 7 days, the researchers report in Diabetes Care. The accelerometer, worn firmly around the trunk, measured the duration, type, and intensity of physical activity in counts per minute.
The researchers considered accelerometer counts of less than 100 per minute as sedentary periods, and counts of 100 or greater as active time. Light-intensity activity was from 100 to 1951 per minute and counts more than 1951 were periods of moderate-to-vigorous activity.
Overall, participants spent 57, 39, and 4 percent of their waking hours in sedentary, light-intensity, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, respectively. On average, their breaks lasted less than 5 minutes, with accelerometer counts of 514 per minute.
They found that the number of breaks from sedentary activity positively correlated with lower waist circumference, lower triglycerides, and lower 2-plasma glucose scores.
Further studies should examine the physiological and metabolic responses in larger groups of people during prolonged periods of sitting and regular interruptions with short bouts of activity, Healy added.
http://prelive.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23516594-36398,00.html
Sep
5
2023
A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in the February 2007 evaluated the perceptions of research, frequency in use of research findings in practice, and the level of research skills of chiropractors and massage therapists in Canada. The study was conducted by the Health Systems and Workforce Research Unit of the Calgary Health Region in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The study, titled “How important is research-based practice to chiropractors and massage therapists?” stated chiropractors and massage therapists reported a generally positive perception toward research and acknowledged the importance of research to validate their practice.
A survey was mailed to members of the College of Chiropractors of Alberta (833 practitioners) and the
Massage Therapist Association of Alberta (650 practitioners). Only 483 questionnaires were returned (response rate, 33%). Chiropractors had a higher response rate (39%) compared to massage therapists (160 respondent; 24%). Chiropractors and massage therapists reported an overall positive perception toward research, acknowledging the importance of research to validate their practice.
However, a positive perception does not necessarily translate into practice, which was confirmed in the study: although almost 80% of the respondents strongly agreed with the statement that research adds credibility to their practice, only about 25% reported that they apply research in their practice in a consistent manner.
Chiropractors and massage therapists in this study indicated minimal use of evidence-based information sources, such as peer-reviewed journals and electronic databases, and instead indicated a preference for handbooks and consulting with colleagues.
While both groups felt comfortable using the library, they had little confidence in their research skills and overall application of research in practice was limited. Significant differences were found between the 2 professional groups, with chiropractors reporting more research skills and evidence-based practice.
It appears that in Canada neither chiropractors nor massage therapists consistently apply research
in practice, which may result from a lack of research education and research skills. The differences between the 2 professional groups may be attributed to the chiropractic profession’s relatively more research-focused professional training. Strategies to encourage greater research uptake and evidence-based behavior by practitioners include professional association incentives, such as education credits or practitioner cooperatives that would provide time and support for research.
Sep
5
2023
The Father of Applied Kinesiology, George J. Goodheart, DC 1918 – 2008 died on March 5, 2008 at his home at the age of 90.
He was the Founder and Developer of Applied Kinesiology. Through his remarkable observation skills and analytical mind, Dr Goodheart found that normal and abnormal body function could be evaluated using muscle tests.
A 1939 graduate of National College of Chiropractic, Dr. Goodheart was in active practice for over 60 years in Detroit and Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He has authored numerous articles and books on Chiropractic Technique for greater than four decades. His distinguished career includes such highlights as Director of the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company, Research Director for the ICAK-USA., and being the first doctor of chiropractic appointed to the U.S. Olympic Sports Medicine Committee for the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
A second generation Doctor of Chiropractic, nearly 40 years ago, he began to focus not just on skeletal structure but also on the hundreds of muscles that support the bones. He thinks of them as the body’s ambassadors — engaged in a constant, lively communication with the rest of the body. He developed a system, known as applied kinesiology, in which the muscles and surrounding nerves are manipulated not only to alleviate ordinary aches and pains but also to diagnose and treat organic diseases.
Linking muscle dysfunction to diseased organs is not entirely out of the mainstream. For years doctors measured thyroid function by testing how fast the tibial muscle jerks when the Achilles tendon is tapped. But for Goodheart, muscle testing is the diagnostic gold standard. He prods and palpates patients head to toe, searching for tiny tears where muscles attach to bone. These tears feel, he says, like “a bb under a strip of raw bacon.” When “directional pressure” is applied, the bb’s flatten, and slack muscles snap back, their strength restored.
And that, says Goodheart, may help strengthen a weakened organ. Goodheart believes that muscles and organs are linked by the same invisible neuropathways and meridian lines tweaked by acupuncturists. It took
Dr. Goodheart is listed as Innovators in Alternative Medicine by the Time magazine.
