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It could very well be the most important article you will ever read,
if you now have, or ever have had:
• Muscle Pain
• Joint Pain
• Back Pain
• Leg or Foot Pain
• Headaches
OR what is most commonly diagnosed as "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome."
You are only a few short steps away from becoming "Pain-Free."
It has been my experience that people know more about their cars than
they do about their bodies! We bring our car in for the 3000-mile oil
change. Rotate the tires, check all the fluids, and get it "detailed".
We don't argue with our mechanic when he tells us that we need to spend
$300 for a few little adjustments that could turn into major problem
if left undone.
When we buy our car we pour over the Owner's Manual. But, most people
have never even glanced at the "Owner's Manual" for our bodies
- an anatomy book. Most people don't have any idea how a joint moves,
what is the mechanism that brings our hand to our shoulder, or turns
our heads. We expect it to work flawlessly without ever doing anything
to flush away built-up toxins. In fact, most people aren't even aware
that toxins build up, never mind needing to be flushed out.
It amazes me when someone is in pain, barely able to stand up straight
or turn his or her head without pain. Yet, when it is suggested that
they see a deep muscle therapist to release the strains placed on the
bones, their first comment is "does insurance pay for this?"
And, when the answer is "no" they just walk away!
When was the last time your auto mechanic accepted insurance to do a
tune-up? When did your hairstylist take insurance for your haircut?
Yet, many individuals would rather keep the pain than pay out of pocket
to have it relieved.
You body is a miracle of perfectly blended chemicals - the right amount
of oxygen in your blood, a gland puts out chemicals that causes you
to send the right amount of insulin into your bloodstream, enzymes that
tell your stomach it is time to digest food. Too many people ignore
their bodies until something goes wrong. They take for granted that
everything will run smoothly. Yet these same people would never buy
a new car and not bring it in for regular service - even if insurance
doesn't pay the bill.
Have you ever given any thought to how your body moves? The simple explanation
is that a muscle pulls on a bone, and the bone moves. I use an analogy
that demonstrates this clearly. Look at a garage door that has an electric
motor to open and close it. The motor is on the ceiling, with a strong
cable running over a track and connecting to the door. The cable doesn't
go around a corner - perhaps it makes a curve, but not a sharp angle.
When the motor is turned on it pulls on the cable. The cable then pulls
on the door, and the door goes up.
Muscles work in a similar manner. To demonstrate on the forearm and
hand, the muscles of the forearm are the motors. The muscles merge into
tendons (the strong cable) and insert into the hand (the garage door).
When the muscle pulls on the tendon your hand moves. All muscles cross
over a joint, with the insertion of the muscle always moving toward
the origination. Using our garage door example, it is to say that the
door always moves toward the motor - the motor doesn't come down to
the door.
Now, being a little creative with our garage door opener, let's say
that in order for the door to close again, there is another motor on
the ground, with a cable running to the bottom of the door. When that
motor runs it pulls on the cable, and the door shuts. In order for the
garage door to shut the closing motor must pull and the opening motor
must release and allow its cable to lengthen.
You have opposing muscles that move your limbs (in this demonstration,
your hand). Muscles on the top of your forearm (called extensors) pull,
and your hand opens and then it bends backward. To close your hand,
muscles on the underside of your forearm (called flexors) contract.
As they do your fingers curl into a fist and your hand bends down at
the wrist. If the muscles on the top of the arm don't release and stretch,
you cannot close your hand. Likewise, if the flexor muscles won't stretch
you cannot open your hand from the clenched position.
This is the case in every bone in your body - one muscle pulls, another
must stretch. When you have pain it is because the stretching muscle
won't let go! Think again of our garage door. If the closing motor is
running pulling the door down, and the opening motor is running trying
to open the door up, something is going to have to break in order for
the door to move. While the two motors are pulling against each other
there is a great deal of pressure placed on the door - and eventually
the strain will cause the cable to snap, or the door to crack. It is
the same in your body. Something has got to give - or there is no movement.
Another analogy I use is pulling hair. If you pull your hair hard on
the end, you don't feel it there, but you do feel it in your scalp,
where the hair inserts. If you continue pulling for a long time, you
will get a headache, and you could end up with inflammation at the scalp.
Rubbing your scalp won't help, drugs won't help, and surgery on your
head won't help. The only thing that will help is to let go of your
hair!
In your body, when a muscle is pulling and the bone is unable to follow,
perhaps because the opposing muscle is also pulling in the other direction,
you will feel the strain where the muscle inserts - at the joint! If
you just release the tight muscle it will stop pulling on the insertion
point and the pain will stop. Then if you follow-up with stretches you
will lengthen the pulling (contracted) muscle and it will heal properly.
Knowledge of your body, of the muscles and where they originate and
insert, will explain why you are having a pain at any given joint. If
you ask "which muscle inserts here" and "which muscle
needs to be stretching in order to make this move" you will quickly
figure out what is causing you pain. Now you just need to know how to
find and treat the spasm (much easier than you can imagine), and finish
with some stretches.
It is vital that you learn about the body you live in. Your car can
be traded in for a new model, but you will live in this temple for years
to come. You should know it better than you know your car, and care
for it properly. You don't get a replacement model!
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