Comments on: Soft Tissue Work: Release Your Pain

By: bigwhat62

bigwhat62 — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:27:41 +0000

i am very lucky, i just did a quick search and found an ART certified physician that is 4 miles away from my apartment. i might be able to have my insurance cover my visits so its all good. check out her credentials, she has a sweet resume

http://www.taylormadehealthcare.com/thea.html

By: SurvivalTopics.com

SurvivalTopics.com — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:08:15 +0000

I agree, excellent post. I always thought I would need a massage therapist but actually a workout buddy is possibly good enough. Injury prevention alone makes this worth its weight in gold.

By: Strong One

Strong One — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:33:46 +0000

Mehdi,
With your reference to the IT band, you may want to mention the origination of the IT band and the participation of the Tensor Fascia Latae and the Gluteus Maximus in the IT band’s movement and flexibility. While the IT band is not a tendon, it definitely is tendon-like by being more fibrous than other fascia in the body.
And while it is difficult to stretch the IT band, I think a combination of your suggestions and static/dynamic hip abductor stretches would be ideal. (In my humble opinion)

By: Andrew is getting fit

Andrew is getting fit — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:24:37 +0000

Oh I so needed this article! I’ll incorporate these into my workouts at once!

By: Strong One

Strong One — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:24:09 +0000

Great article. Taking some tips from massage therapy as well as physical therapy and the athletic training world.
A good personal compass for someone who may not be familiar with the importance of soft tissue.
Your subject matter also touches indirectly on myofascial release as well.
Thanks

By: Mehdi

Mehdi — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:17:23 +0000

@Mase
All my workouts start with foam rolling and dynamic stretching. Currently 4x workouts per week.

@Jorick
Héhé. It’s “length” not lenth. [/morewiseguy]

By: Jorick

Jorick — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:12:55 +0000

Nice article, but actually stretching doesnt increase the lenth of the muscles, but the flexibility
Increasing the length would mean the attachments changed place! [/wiseguy]

By: Mase

Mase — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:01:35 +0000

When (and how often per week) do you usually do soft-tissue work? You mention as warmup before dynamic stretching.

I’m doing the ‘old’ 5×5 adding a post-workout run of 3-5 miles (5-8 kilometers) done at an 8:00 pace/mile (~5:00 pace/kilometer). When I add my afterworkout stretching, I’m over an hour for my 3x/week workouts. Think doing soft-tissue work on my ‘off’ days may work best for me (time-wise).

By: cakeman

cakeman — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:01:02 +0000

This is good stuff. The integration of soft tissue work into my program has been a life saver for injury prevention, and it just makes me feel better. For the lower legs and calves I’d like to throw a shout out to The Stick. It’s the best tool I’ve found for the lower leg down to the ankle. I also use the other tools listed above, taken together I’m covered head to toe. You can basically give yourself a light massage every day, it’s great.