Self-Massage and Fitness:

Getting high quality massage therapy is a great tool for prevention. I've had the privilege of working with "athletes" of all types, most of whom you have never heard of. I consider everyone an "athlete" because we were all designed for movement and our bodies work best when moved properly.

Massage helps you recover from exercise and can help prevent injury. Many professional athletes in all sports use massage therapy on a regular basis. It's an investment in their own health, as they are their own business.

So why would I be recommending people do self-massage? Simple, most people who are active need quality work done more often than they have time or money for. And self-massage offers a good way to help keep your muscles healthy and functioning properly.

For those of you currently active, a device called The Stick works quite nicely. Whether you play softball, bike ride or jog, it will help in your warmup or as part of recovery. I usually use it as part of my warmup or before a stretching session.

It can help get rid of knots in the muscles called triggerpoints, as well as increasing blood flow to your muscles. When you try to stretch with these "knots" in your muscles, the results won't be what they should. These triggerpoints will usually keep your muscles from stretching properly.

For more info, you can read my article on self-massage.