Self-Help Tips

We've seen it all. And, being former desk-jockeys ourselves, we've felt it all, too. We have hurt in all the places that you are hurting in now, with the same frequency and intensity.

Which is why we are now massage therapists who are dedicated to helping you make the most of your work and liesure life, pain-free, and with freedom of motion. It's fun living in a body. Its great fun living in a body that is moving freely and working well.

Here are some simple and very effective tips that we've developed and collected just for you, the desk- and computer-athlete:

Move as much as you can!

• Our bodies were designed to move freely and often. We frustrate our physical selves when we coop them up behind a desk, or in front of a computer for long periods of time. Our massage therapy textbooks told us that musculoskeletal motion accounts for at least half of our circulation! I couldn't believe it when I first read that, but now I know it to be true. The gentle pumping motion of our muscles assists blood and lymph flow dramatically, and makes us feel alive and less stagnant.
• start by walking - the simple act of walking moves every single joint in our bodies, gently and thoroughly, and keeps them well lubricated and ready for action
• move your whole body - when you reach for the telephone, or work the mouse, use your entire arm, including the shoulder. This will gently move your back muscles which tend to get tired and painful after a long session at the computer or simply sitting still. Think of your "arm" as beginning at the tip of your little finger and extending all the way to the bottom point of your shoulder blade. It all works together!
• set a timer - if you are stuck at a desk (like we both were) for most of your working day, set an inexpensive kitchen timer to gently remind you to "come up for air" every hour or so. Get up, roll your shoulders, walk to the water fountain, or give yourself a change of scenery for a moment.
• try to remember what it felt like to move as a child - when we were kids, we moved without thinking. Now that we're adults, we think too much about the way we move, about what we might look like. Let your body be free! Let it move the way it wants to!

Breathe!

• This is one we can't stress enough. Breath is the energy of life. It animates us and keeps our blood oxygenated. Deep, slow breathing triggers relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and makes us more alert. The action of the ribs and diaphragm during breathing massages our internal organs, and is the prime mover of lymph, the substance that caries cell waste away and keeps our tissues clean and healthy. The pressure differentials in our upper and lower chest cavities during breathing also assists in pumping our blood. When sitting at a desk, or behind a steering wheel, we don't get enough deep breathing to keep our systems functioning in top-notch order; its one reason we feel stale, tired, and toxic at the end of a long day at the office.
• for relaxation and to melt off stress, do ten cycles of deep, slow inhalations and exhalations - inhaling to a count of 6 or 8, bring air deeply into your lungs. Feel your ribs moving and expanding. Let your stomach pooch out! (Nobody's watching, really!). At the top of your inhalation, let your air escape through your mouth with a "whooshing" sound, and slowly but gently squeeze out all the air. One inhale/exhale is a cycle. Do 10.
• for renewed vigor, try "bellows breathing" - this is a yogic breathing exercise that is recommended by yoga practitioners, and also by Andrew Weil, M.D., the modern health guru. This exercise is good for getting you going again quickly when you feel sluggish and sleepy. To do it, breathe through your nose rapidly in and out, about two cycles per second for about 10 seconds to start, working your way up to 1 full minute after you have been doing this exercise for a while. Its harder than you might imagine, but it also provides you with an amazing amount of renewed energy and clarity. Stop immediately if you feel lightheaded.
• "When you gasp through your mouth, you're triggering your body's fight-or-flight response," John Douillard explains. "But when you breathe deeply through the nose, you're activating the underused lower portion of the lungs and accessing more oxygen. Now your breathing is telling your mind that this is not an emergency; this is an experience you can do calmly in a state of heightened awareness.
• In 1991, Douillard took two groups of training athletes and outfitted them with heartrate monitors and attached electrodes to their scalps. Those in the first group did most of their breathing through their mouths while exercising; the others breathed through their noses. The mouth-breathers produced standard brain waves, and had the rapid lock-step heartbeat of someone experiencing an adrenaline rush. The nose breathers, on the other hand, produced the alpha waves and the more variable heartbeat normally seen during meditation or light sleep.
• Douilllard is the author of the current fitness best-seller: Body, Mind, and Sport.

Stretch!

• Stretching gently resets the muscles' resting length back to what it should be. It also reminds your proprioceptors (specialized nerve endings that tell your body about its position) that your muscles can get back to a normal resting length. Stretching reduces neurological activity, as well, and contributes to lowered stress levels and increases your feelings of well-being. And it just feels good, too.
• try Yoga or T'ai Chi Chuan, or a stretching class! - Our clients who do these simple things improve their resting and working lives many times over. Their tissues are more supple, their stress levels are lower, they are more alert, and they can move and sleep easier at night. You really won't believe what it can do for you until you try it. Trust us!
• simply stretch what feels good - trust your body; it knows what it needs.

Exercise!

• Do what you can on this one. Every little bit counts.
• try a Pilates class - Pilates (Pih-LAH-tees) is a form of rehabilitative exercise created by Joseph Pilates, a German physical therapist.

Try "Constructive Rest"!

• There is a very simple thing that Alexander Technique teachers have their students do: constructive rest. It is very simple, and wonderfully effective: lie flat on your back on the floor for about 20 minutes each evening with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. (maybe put a small hand towell underneath your neck for support). This feels wonderful, and very, very gently allows your back muscles to unwind, and for your spine to lengthen and re-hydrate after being compressed by gravity all day. This is the perfect remedy for "computer shoulders" pain, and over time, this simple exercise has tremendous benefits.

Sleep!

• Sleep is integrally important to many of the body's functions, and it is our recharge time. From the beginning of the 20th century to today, our average sleep time has reduced from about 10 hours a night to approximately 6.5 hours a night today! We're seriously sleep-deprived as a culture.
  
• If you are having trouble falling asleep or you cannot sleep without waking during the night, changing your sleep habits can be as effective as taking sleeping pills.
• The benefits of behavior therapy are not as immediate as those of sleeping pills, but the benefits will last as long as you continue your new sleep practices. In contrast, sleep-inducing medication eventually will have to be discontinued to avoid possible long-term side effects. And once medication is stopped, its benefits decrease.
• Physicians recommendations for changing your sleep behavior include the following:
• Get up at the same time no matter when you go to sleep. Stick to your regular wake-up time even on the weekends
• Go to bed only when you are sleepy. If you do not fall asleep in 20 to 30 minutes, you should get out of bed and go back only when you become sleepy
• Develop a bedtime routine, such as reading, taking a warm bath or eating a light snack
• Avoid naps
• Cut down on alcohol, tobacco and caffeine consumption
• Use your bedroom and your bed only for sleep, not for work or for watching television

Relieve Stress
When you're away from us and not able to enjoy yourself in our serene therapy rooms here at Orthopedic Massage Associates, here are some fun and interesting methods of relieving stress at home and at the office:

• Tear up a piece of paper. According to Mary Sotile, M.A., author of Beat Stress Together, the rhythmic motions of tearing the paper may release pent-up physical stress, the smooth sounds of the tearing paper are soothing and may help you focus and tune out distractions, and it is a concrete task that gives you a definite feeling of accomplishment.
• Recruit your partner to give you a ten-minute head or foot massage every day. What luxury! And how attainable!
• Dab peppermint oil on your temples and forehead. Participants in a German study reported significant pain cessation from headaches 15 minutes after peppermint oil had been dabbed on their foreheads and temples.
• Try this eye trick: when you feel stressed or overwhelmed, take 5 deep, slow breaths through your nose. Then, rapidly move your eyes from side to side, about 25 times to each side. When you are finished, you will feel a sense of calm, and an amazing new ability to conquer those things which seemed impossible.
• Try one of the breathing methods described above. We're certain that you'll find one you like, and one of them is bound to do the trick in any setting you may find yourself in.
  
• Meditate. We can't say enough about this one. "Pray and meditate day and night" is a good saying to live by. Meditation simply means being quiet, and observing, not doing.

Live!

Think thoughts of love and harmony. If you're stressed, you may as well be stressed and think good, pleasing thoughts instead of disharmonious ones. Try it! You'll be amazed.

Check out FreeWill Astrology ... it's really NOT about astrology at all. Also check the November 2005 issue of The Sun Magazine for a fantastic article entitled "Pronoia: Why the World is Conspiring to SHower you with Blessings"

Life is Good. Live it Well!