Massage Tips
Injured? Reach for Ice to Minimize Injury and Speed Healing
Rest Immediatly after an injury. Take the weight off the injury.
Ice the injury for 10 to 20 minutes 3-5 times a day. Zip-lock bags filled with crushed ice work as well as an ice pack. For heatstoke, apply the ice pack to the back of the neck.
Compress the injured area using an elastic bandage. Wrap snugly, not tightly.
Elevate the injured limb on two or three pillows to minimize the swelling.
Lie in a supine position on back. The spine should be straight. The left hand should be placed at the top of the chest between the breast and the throat. The right should be placed between the breast and the waistline atop the diaphragm. By pointing the pinkie finger at the navel, one is more apt to cover the diaphragm.
Breathe in deeply making sure the right hand goes up with the inhalation and down for the exhalation. The left hand should NOT MOVE at all. By breathing in this manner for 15 minutes, twice a day, one learns to breathe the correct and natural way, using the diaphragm.
Correct breathing is beneficial to everyone and particularly helpful to those with breathing difficulties.
Breathing deeply, using the diaphragm, is the natural and most correct way to breathe. Breathing in this manner allows for greater intake of air and leads to fuller exhalation.
When in an upright position, because of gravity, the majority of the blood is in the lower part of the lungs. By breathing deeply, this blood in the lower lungs is exposed to greater oxygenation and allows for a greater amount of the carbon dioxide to be expelled in the exhalation.
One can readily understand (especially those with physical challenges that limit the breath intake such as heart patients, asthmatics and those with emphysema) the benefit of a greater exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide by breathing with the diaphragm.
