Try This At Home……………………………………..
Have your child think about what parts of her body she uses when she plays her sport. Next follow the links below to see the skeletal and muscular systems. Have her write down on flash cards some of the muscles she uses while she is playing. She can also write down some of the bones the muscles attach too. Have her practice them until she knows them well. This is a great opportunity for her to start learning some anatomy.
http://www.innerbody.com/image/skelfov.html
http://www.innerbody.com/image/musfov.html
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Last week I wrote about the importance and benefits of your child being in tune with her body. One important step to being aware, is knowing how her body works and what muscles are involved. The more your child knows about her body the more she’ll understand why she does what she does for training and recovery and how and why specific training, stretching and types of recovery help her.
Since I was fourteen years old I’ve been worked on by massage therapists and chiropractors, and while I am far from an expert on the human body I have learned a few things from them about muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the systems of the body. I have a pretty good idea about what muscles are involved in the sports I do, especially the names of those muscles that are always sore. I’ve also found a handful of things that help me keep my body in top physical shape; the most important of these is Active Release Technique (ART). The abbreviation is not pronounced art, as in painting and drawing, but is pronounced A.R.T.
The person who has taught me the most is my husband Chris. He was a Greco Roman wrestler training at the Olympic Training Center, and is now a chiropractor who specializes in Active Release Technique. He decided to go into that field because of how Active Release Technique helped both of us in our careers. If I ever came across anything that seemed like a miracle to my cycling career, it is ART.
Chris was first introduced to Active Release Technique after one of his shoulder surgeries. He had been rehabbing it for months and still had poor range of motion. He heard about Dr. Leahy, the inventor of Active Release Technique, who generously treated the athletes at the training center for free. Chris went to his office and after the first fifteen minute treatment saw drastic improvement in his range of motion; something all those months of rehab had been unable to accomplish. From that day on Chris was hooked, and he intern made me a believer. Both of us went to Champion Health and were treated by Dr. Leahy and Dr. Wood for years. I haven’t found anything more effective than ART.
At the 2004 Olympics I, as usual, was feeling pretty lousy after traveling. For some reason every time I pushed my body to its limit in training in order to peak for an important event and then sat on a plane for eight hours, my body locked up. It was torture because I could feel it happening as I sat there, but no matter what I tried it still happened. There was nothing I could do to stop it. So, for nearly three weeks before the Olympic Games I did everything in my power to unlock my body. I felt lousy, my power was off, and I was sore; I just wasn’t firing on all cylinders. I got massages daily and spent hours in the sports medicine clinic at the Olympic Village icing, heating, stimming, ultra sounding, stretching, etc. Unfortunately I didn’t have access to a doctor who did ART. Finally, my husband arrived three days before my competition, and although he wasn’t finished with Chiropractic school yet, he had already been certified in Active Release Technique. His primary motivation in doing so was to help me in this exact situation. He arrived and a buddy of ours who worked in Sports Medicine said to him, “I sure hope you can help her because we can’t.” I’m not knocking sports medicine, they do amazing things and the folks at the Olympic Training Center and the best; They always took very good care of me. I’m just simply telling my story and it really shows how effective ART is.
So, on the couch at the house Chris and my family were renting while they were in Greece, Chris assessed my issues and used Active Release Technique to release my adhesions. I was a bit sore from some of the work the next day, but I suddenly had my body back. I felt powerful. I went on to have a pretty darn good pursuit race and the best points race of my life.
Now that I’ve gone on and on about ART, I guess I should explain what it is. Below is some information from the Active Release website. www.activerelease.com. On the site you can find a provider near you. If you happen to live in Teller County, Colorado, give my husband a call at his office. (Dr. Chris Mirabella, Teller County Chiropractic, 719-687-1881 www.tellercountychiropractic.com )
Active Release can help with so many things, including some things that people often resort to drugs or invasive treatment to resolve. If you or your child have a nagging injury, you really should give active release a try. It is non-evasive, and will get results in a much shorter amount of time then other treatments from a physical therapists, or even a traditional chiropractor. Believe me; it is worth giving it a try.
What is Active Release Technique (ART)?
ART is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often
a result of overused muscles.
How do overuse conditions occur?
Overuse of a muscle can occur from sporting activities, work related activities, accidents and other kinds of trauma.
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
* acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc.)
* accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
* not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia)
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter
and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped, you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The doctor uses his hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.
For more information about me or my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com. Remember you can get an autographed, personalized book as a gift for the favorite kids in your life. Also, don’t forget to tell your friends about my blog. I appreciate your help spreading the word.
