Health & Wellbeing
That’s why they’re patient physios for their patients
Care – Compassion- Concentration
Toward the end of a long run your calf is in a knot the size of a grapefruit. Is this an over-excited neuron taking out its anxiety on a muscle? Or is your qi depleted? You may need a new recovery technique.
Western hemisphere physios of yore saw the body as an organization of bones, muscles, fascia, and nerves, so bodywork that originated there, like Swedish massage, attempts to heal and realign those parts.
Eastern folk saw the body as a vessel of energy and breath. Bodywork that grew out of that philosophy, like acupressure, sought to open blocked energy pathways and restore balance.
Here’s a quick look at three types of bodywork from around the world—three philosophies—that can be used as prevention during training, or for recovery from an injury or race.
Shiatsu is based on theories of acupuncture and Chinese medicine that were imported to Japan around 5 AD. According to Cari Johnson Pelava, director of Centerpoint Massage & Shiatsu Therapy School & Clinic, in Minneapolis, a system of energy, “qi,” runs through the body on pathways, and along those pathways lie points where one can access that energy to make a difference in the body. Symptoms like pain or fatigue are said to be caused by an imbalance of energy. By applying pressure, kneading, and stretching, a shiatsu therapist can restore the body’s energy balance.
“We’ve worked with triathletes pre-event and post,” Johnson Pelava says. “Pre-event we’ll focus on tonifying energy so that it’s most accessible to the athlete on event day. We’ll do stretching, hip rotations, and other range of motion work to open energetic pathways. Post-event, we’ll work deeper to pull that energy that’s been depleted back.”
Thai yoga bodywork has an eastern flavor informed by yoga, Ayurveda, and Buddhism. It combines rhythmic massage, assisted yoga poses, acupressure along energy meridians, healing energy work, and meditation.
Tanya Boigenzahn, director of Devanadi School of Yoga and Wellness in Minneapolis, says Thai yoga bodywork can help athletes with flexibility, alignment, and breath control, as well as their mental game—mood, concentration, confidence.
Thai yoga is accomplished in a one-on-one session with clothes on. The therapist moves a passive client through positions, stretching tight areas, and encouraging range of motion and mindful breathwork.
Boigenzahn says Thai yoga helps optimize training pre-event, and eases recovery afterward. “Athletes can expect to have a quicker bounce back time, as well as less discomfort after a tough event.”
Ida Rolf thought that pain, inefficient movement, and imbalance was were the result of the body being improperly organized around its axis. In New York during the 1940s, Rolf began reorganizing clients’ bodies by manipulating fascia—the connective tissue separating muscles and other organs— which developed into the therapeutic approach called Rolfing Structural Integration. “It’s a combination of participatory bodywork and active experimentation with body movement education,” says Kevin McCarthy, an advanced rolfer with In|Form Rolfing in Minneapolis. “We teach clients how to be aware of and work with their body for better function.”
Rolfing is a holistic approach that seeks to find the source of the dysfunction rather than merely treat the symptom. “Participatory” is a key word, McCarthy says.
“Unlike most forms of massage where you’re lying passively on a table, we’re asking, ‘Can you stand up using the outside of your leg? Do you notice the difference in how that feels?’” he says. “We’re using the body to repattern the brain.”
Because it involves education, rolfing is not a one-and-done—a rolfing treatment is actually usually a series of 10 sessions.
What Athletes Need To Know About Sports Nutrition
Having a well-rounded, healthy nutrition plan is just as important as staying consistent with your exercise routine
When you’re an athlete racking up miles and muscle, your body needs extra fuel to keep up with the amount of exercise you’re doing and help speed up recovery. That’s what makes sports nutrition so important — it offers you a path to making sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need, even as you sweat.
For the most part, athletes will eat higher quantities of food more often than non-athletes because food is equivalent to energy. But that isn’t always the case, and some meal plans may work better for you than for someone else.
“Everyone’s body is very different, so it’s really important that we specialize individualized nutrition plans,” says registered dietitian Carly Sedlacek, RD, LD.
Bringing your physical fitness goals to a dietitian can help provide you with a holistic, balanced and personalized approach to eating healthy beyond simply counting calories. If you’re trying to build muscle, for example, your goals for nutrition will likely be different from someone who’s trying to lose weight.
Overall, when sports nutrition is combined with consistent exercise, it can boost your performance and help you feel great, even on rest days. Regardless of your goals, the following areas of sports nutrition can help.
When you exercise, you lose a lot of water and electrolytes through sweating. Drinking enough water before a training session and throughout a workout can help replenish what’s lost.
At minimum, you should drink about 16 ounces of water two to three hours before exercise, and about 4 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes while exercising. It’s also important to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water throughout the entire day.
Sometimes, athletes prefer to use sports drinks after exercising because they’re packed with electrolytes to replace what was lost in sweat. “Electrolyte beverages should be used during activities lasting longer than 60 minutes,” says Sedlacek. “If you have a history of chronic disease or conditions, check with your doctor before including higher sodium beverages.”
Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. While carbs are not the only food you should focus on, they should be something you consider as part of every meal, especially in the hours leading up to a workout or training session.
“Before exercising, you want to stick with foods that tend to digest easily, including some carbohydrate sources like fruits (bananas, apples or oranges), oatmeal or rice,” advises Sedlacek. “If you’re doing a longer workout routine that’s more than an hour long, you’ll want carbohydrates during that time to get that boost of quick-acting energy.”
Protein is the building block for your muscles. Without it, muscle recovery slows, along with your ability to build muscle mass. In general, you should try and get most of your protein from whole food sources like:
But when you’re short on time, you can turn to protein powders or protein shakes between meals, in addition to having some protein at every meal.
“Protein helps with muscle recovery,” shares Sedlacek. “Getting at least 25 to 35 grams of protein right after exercise is helpful because that’s when your body prefers to use it.”
In general, having a healthy, well-rounded diet that incorporates an abundance of fruits, vegetables and plant- or animal-based sources of protein is key. That means healthy fats (like olive oil, avocado and fatty fish) also play a role as a secondary source of energy. Not only do they fill you up faster, but they also help your body better process other micronutrients, like fat-soluble vitamins.
When it comes to supplements (like protein powders or pre-workout beverages), you want to use them sparingly. As you’re consuming more than the general population to keep up with your level of athleticism, supplements should be used to fill in a gap and not as a meal replacement.
“We want to try and stick to a food-first approach the best we can because the body is able to utilize those sources a little bit better than supplements,” explains Sedlacek.
When it comes to meals and snacks, timing is everything. You should try to aim for three spaced-out meals a day with snacks in between each meal. When it comes to exercise, you’ll want to have something small to eat (usually carbs or protein) at least an hour or two before exercising and immediately after a workout.
“It’s important to be consistent,” states Sedlacek. “If we’re going into an exercise and we don’t have enough energy to pull from, our body can end up pulling energy from our muscles. So, it’s important to have something small to eat before working out.”
Sports nutrition can require a lot of fine-tuning, especially when you’re just getting started. Working with a dietitian and a physical fitness trainer can help get you the support you need for your specific situation.
And if at any point you feel lightheaded, dizzy or even experience hunger pangs, it might be a result of not eating enough or having enough water to keep up with the physical demands of exercise. In those cases, trying to level out your blood sugars and electrolytes is important, as well as seeing a healthcare provider if issues continue.
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