This is a depiction of the coming new Ronald McDonald House here in Pensacola, Fl.
To raise support for the new house, the Ron McDonald House is putting on their running shoes again. This year the organizers teamed up with our friends at Running Wild and the Pensacola Runner’s Association to put on the the best Firecracker 5K run yet!
This run, through historic downtown Pensacola, is a super-fund-raiser for the much needed bigger Ronald McDonald House building.
The Massage Dream Team, i.e. FSMTA sports massage team, will be there to help raise support. These are all licensed professionals donating of their time and talents . At the finish there will be plenty of refreshments, a dunking booth and a “rejuvenation station” with massage therapy and cooling water-misters for a fabulous way to cool down.
Another question I often get is, “how often should I get a massage? ” The answer to that question is simple, “How hard are you on your body?” In other words, how do you cope with the stress in your life? Aside from working out a soft-tissue injury, a person can pretty much choose. Thou art empowered to set up thine own treatment plan.
Looking for a special gift for mom? It’s not too late to buy a gift certificate for her. Until May 10th–that’s right–you can even buy one of these certificates ON MOTHER’S DAY–I”m offering a special Mother’s Day discount. Buy a one hour gift certificate and receive 15% off the regular price! That’s a one hour massage for $50! Why the discount? Well, mom is worth it. If you think she would enjoy a one hour relaxation, stress relief, pain relief or orthopedic massage, you won’t get a better value than here!
This special offer is available if:
you are a mom.
you know a mom
you would like to be a mom
you have a mom
you fit none of the above categories but can’t bear to let this opportunity get away from you!
Gift certificates have NO EXPIRATION, are transferable and extra time can be bought! As well, I accept payment through paypal ($2 processing fee will apply), cash or check. Gift certificate can be picked up, mailed to your address or sent as a PDF file after payment is received.
I had a great time last month helping out at the 2009 Pink Ribbon Tennis Tournament and the AVP Beach Volleyball season opener at Panama City Beach. As always it is an honor to work with the sports medicine staff and other massage therapists at these events.
This month, I will be at the Gulf Breeze, FL Tour De Cure.The American Diabetes Association is teaming up with local cycling enthusiasts for this big fund raiser. There is still time to register for the 100k, 60k, or 7k fun ride. For more info on how you can take part, check out the link Tour de Cure.
Healthy Tip of the Week Living a Healthy Lifestyle: * To motivate yourself to continue living a healthy lifestyle, keep track of your progress daily. For example, write down what you eat every day; regularly record your weight; jot down daily exercise activities.
Get Healthy Pensacola, my wellness partner here in the community, is a great program put together by Baptist Health Care. Informative speakers, free health screenings, and much more.
Check out what they have to offer you. Click on the link.
Therapeutic massage is our wellness tool for reducing negative stress, improving circulation and flexibility and recovering from muscle aches and soreness. By far the biggest way massage helps do this is by relieving and balancing out stress. The pressures of stress force our body’s nervous system into “fight or flight mode” releasing hormones like epinephrine into the bloodstream This release affects oxygen, blood sugar and glycogen levels. Moreover, the immune system and digestion are temporarily suppressed to prepare the body for emergency action. This adrenal rush is appropriate for dire conditions, but everyday effects of this kind can lead to serious health risks. However, with just a half hour treatment time of relaxing massage, in normal cases the body is moved into the “rest and digest mode” and homeostatic balance is restored.
Another very important way massage is used is in caring for specific injuries and conditions. Massage can be used to speed healing of soft-injuries, limit and break up scar tissue, and increase circulation. After a common injury like a sprained or strained ankle, the tissues will have inflammation and possible scar tissue build up, massage can be applied by a skilled practitioner to draw away inflammation. When the area is well healed, cross-fiber friction and/or other massage techniques can be used to restore elasticity to tissues helping to restore normal range of motion. Of course, any injury or undiagnosed pain should always be checked and diagnosed by your physician to rule out serious health conditions that may be a factor.
Finally, muscle aches and pains from after strenuous work can be flushed out our muscles by massage. This kind of soreness is delayed onset muscle soreness, the stiffness from a hard workout or using muscles that haven’t been used in a while. Massage applied within a couple of hours can gives our body over a 50% faster recovery time.
As our tool, massage not only helps us relieve soreness, bounce back faster and more flexible; massages feel great!
While reading Get Healthy Pensacola’s tip for this week, I could not help but think of how, over the years, our perception of wellness has changed. For example, here in the 21st century, we are mostly concerned with factors that contribute to our general condition of life.
10 Factors for a Long, Healthy Life:
No smoking.
Wear your seat belt.
Dont drink and drive.
Have a smoke detector in your home.
Maintain your proper weight.
Get an annual blood pressure test.
Control stress.
Limit cholesterol in your diet.
Have an annual dental exam.
Get 8 hours of sleep a night.
10,000 years ago, it was a completely different story.
Paleolithic man’s 10 factors for a long and healthy life
run fast
dig good hole
eat biggest animal available
cover tracks
hit hard
hit fast
hit first
make lots of babies
find good cave
sharpen teeth on rock
Kind of puts our little worries into perspective, doesn’t it??
Well folks, the Pensacola Marathon is finally upon us. This weekend, runners from all over will converge on Pensacola to run, walk or crawl the 26 miles to the finish line. I’ll be there, with our FSMTA (Florida State Massage Therapy Association) Sports Massage Team, with massages for all the weary participants. Come on out and support your favorite home town runners. And, be on the lookout for the undeniably entertaining costumes!
In the meantime, take a look at this inspiring video of why one marathon runner does what he does.
How’s your health these days? Achy, tired, generally unhealthy? Or, are you taking the necessary steps to be in top form? It’s your choice (and mine): prevent the problem or spend hundreds more dollars playing catch up.
Take a walk.
Eat properly.
Stay away from stressful situations, or learn how to defuse and relax.
Take steps to see your wellness practitioner.
2009: ‘Year of Prevention’
For Donna Stone, a Pensacola licensed massage therapist, 2008 was the year of “getting real.”
“The economy has forced many, in my opinion, to assess their personal situations,” she said. “Are they where they want to be in terms of their job, relationships or family?”
With new priorities in place, Stone said that 2009 will be the year of prevention.
“With soaring health insurance premiums and decreasing healthcare coverage, 2009 will be an opportunity for people to focus on preventative health care,” she said.
People will need to look at how they are taking care of their body — the most valuable piece of machinery that they own, Stone said.
“Just like Momma always said, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’”
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