Soccer is a rough sport, causing many bruises and sore muscles.  Bruises can be worked out with massage, either from a massage therapist, or by yourself.  Check out the article "Self Care of Bruises" in another article.

Soccer players use many specific muscles for shooting or different types of kicks that can leave the body sore and tired.

You, as a soccer player, use your lower back to extend (lift) your leg behind you in order to kick or shoot.  The higher your leg, the more your muscle is working.  On the flip side, the front of your body needs to balance you and stabilize your leg.

Massage for Soccer Players is great for this reason: it pinpoints those areas that sometimes won't relax after practice or a game/tournament. Our goal is to ease the pain of the bruises and relax the areas of powerful  spurts, ie. your legs, back, glutes and neck.  Deep massage on these areas can really give you relief.  And, not only does massage help the body heal 50% faster than rest alone, it can get you back to playing your hardest faster as well.

Stretching and massaging the front of the body are usually the key for allowing the back and legs to relax.  The front stomach and hip flexor muscles are usually over worked on most soccer players, and the front muscles being tight will keep the low back and glutes tight.

If you are pressed for time, or you just can't get a massage therapist, then stretching is the next best thing...besides a week of rest.

Stretching forward to relieve your back pain is one way, but we suggest also stretching your abs, your psoas major and all your hip flexors along with your rectus abdominus and obliques.

Check out the "Rainbow Stretch" in the stretching section of our website or "My Favorite Stretch" in the blog articles.  This is one of the best stretches for soccer players.

Runner's Edge: Helping Chronic Foot & Leg Pain

As a runner with chronic foot/leg pain, or as a massage therapist working on a client with this issue, you may need to be creative to find relief.

I'm going to address this article to the massage therapist, so if you are trying this on your own leg or foot, just keep that in mind.

First, try myofascial release (MFR) from the bottom of the foot all the way past the knee, deep stripping, petrassage and cross fiber friction.  Next, Stretch the effected area and do MFR and deep stripping again.  Go past each joint with your work, being mindful of the area behind the knee and the possible tender areas around the ankle.

If these techniques are not getting the job done, and the pain or tightness is still there, make sure you are stretching the effected area in different angles.  We were taught that the gastroc flexes the foot, but you must flex and move the foot in many angels to pinpoint the specific strand of the muscle that is feeling pain.

Usually, you must try several different angles of stretching to find the angle you need.

First, find the specific area that is bothersome.

Hold your finger in the middle of the most painful or most tense area.  Have them flex their foot.  Have them push against your hand, with pressure on the big toe, little toe, side of their foot, etc, one at a time until you get the effected muscle to contract.

Once you find the problem spot, stretch it in the opposite direction, do MFR, compressions and deep stripping. You can also do ice massage and heat, which I discuss in another article, "Self-Care for Bruises," and "Ice Massage".

If you ever have any questions, email me and we can try to find a solution for you.

My Favorite Stretch, "The Rainbow Stretch"

If you don't have a ball, you can lay on the ground.  Or, you can do a side bend...but the ball works best.

Try this stretch for aching in your neck, shoulder, hip, arm or low back. The key is to point and push your big toe into the ground.  This will help stretch your hip away from your shoulder which gives a great stretch.

Start by sitting on the ball, turning on your side with your hip pointing toward the ceiling.  Push your upper toe into the ground, and try to place it as far behind you as possible.

Next, reach your arm over your head.

Try to get the most distance between your hip bone and your shoulder.  Twist your chest toward the ceiling, then away--looking down--to get the best range of stretching from this position.

Open your hips to the ceiling to stretch your "hip flexors" and stomach muscles.

This is by far my favorite stretch and the most requested by my clients.

Does it work for you?  If not, what is aching on you?  Maybe we can come up with a better stretch for you.  Email me.

Self-Care for Bruises

Have a recent bruise? Ouch! We have been through the pain of bruises, too!  We are not doctors, just athletes giving advice on what has worked for us in the past.  Here are some of our suggestions:

First, if you can, put ice in a zip-lock plastic bag, seal it, place a towel over the bruise, then lay the ice on the bruise with the ice touching as much of the effected area as possible.  Elevate the area above your heart (if you can) and leave the ice on for about 10 minutes.  Don't put the ice bag directly on the skin. Let the area warm up again, then more ice for 10 minutes.  If you are at a tournament, away from home, and what is available is the instant ice packs from a first-aide kit, these work great, and sometimes don't need anything between them and the skin.

Next, take some Homeopathic Arnica, which is for bruising or over exertion. 4 tablets under your tongue.  Take 4 tablets every 20 minutes for 2 hours, then back off to 4 tablets every hour, then 4 tablets every 4 hours.

Also, apply Homeopathic Arnica salve.  There are many brands, we tend to use Hylaands brand, then Traumeel.

If you believe your bone was also bruised, we would also suggest using Homeopathic Symphytum which is for bone healing.

After 24 hours you can also heat it, then ice it.  Start and end with ice. You could ice the area, take a shower or bath, then ice again, for example.

After 48 hours you can start doing ice massage.  For ice massage, place a towel under your leg/arm, rub a big piece of ice directly on the skin of the effected area with a 3 inch radius around the area. Use a 2nd towel to blot up the drips of water melting off the ice.

Once the skin is red, put the ice aside, pat the area dry, and use a bit of arnica salve, oil or lotion to massage towards the heart.  Use slow, medium pressure strokes.  Try to massage the most tender area first. Use enough pressure to break edema up, yet not enough to cause any more pain or bruising. This takes some practice.  Best to use caution, so if you think you may be causing more pain, use less pressure!

Once the skin is warm again, stop your massage.

Rest is crucial.  Depending on how deep and severe your bruise is, without rest, it can cause permanent damage.

A broken bone does not hurt as much as a sprain or some deep bruises, so if you don't get better soon, go see your doctor!

Thanks & Good Luck to our Intern, Jordan Farrell

Jordan,
Thank you so much for choosing Athletic Touch to do your senior internship.  I really appreciated having you around!  The clients who let you help during their massage all commented on how natural you were in Massage Therapy; they felt instant trust for you.

Thanks for your time, help, openness and errands!!  You were very helpful and I am sorry to see you go.

Good luck at UNM!  We'll be keeping an eye out for your efforts with the UNM track team.  Try many different classes before you decide on your path...suggests John.  And my kids want you to come play and go skating with them. :))

Sincerely,

Ruth