Expert Advice

Over that past decade,sports massages have skyrocketed in popularity among pro athletes and even celebs like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Dolf Lundgren who want to keep their bodies operating at optimal levels.  While the term ‘sports massage’ may sound like it is a privilege reserved for an elite group of athletic people, this is nothing but a misconception. Truth be told, everyone, from serious athletes to casual exercisers can benefit from sports massages. Here are just three of many superb benefits to mention when suggesting the service to colleagues and clients alike.

Diet and exercise are more effective than either method alone when it comes to losing weight and body fat – as found by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In the study, participants were divided into three groups. The first two groups either limited their calorie consumption and exercised for 45 minutes a day, respectively. The third followed a program that included both diet and exercise. Results showed that the majority of people in the third group achieved their goal of losing at least 10% of their starting weight, performing better than the other two groups. Still, weight loss involves a delicate balance between how you work out and what you eat and there are many pitfalls you should aim to avoid. The following are just a few obstacles that can prevent you from achieving your goals.

Allergies are considered American’s most common disease of the abnormal-response immune system. They cause an overreaction to substances that are ordinarily harmless, called allergens, which affect 2 out of 10 Americans through environmental issues.  Allergies are characterized by an overreaction to a foreign protein substance (“allergen”) that is eaten, breathed into the lungs, injected, or touched.  This can be a one-time occurrence or exposure to that allergen over a period of time. This immune overreaction can result in symptoms such as coughing, hives, or another skill reaction, sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, difficulty breathing, scratchy throat, and asthma. An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from all types of allergies. It is not just a kid illness anymore, with a high amount of people getting treated for allergies starting over the age of 30.

Headaches are unpleasant pains in your head that can cause pressure and aching. They can range from mild to severe pain and usually occur on both sides of your head. Some specific areas where headaches can occur include the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. A headache can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a week. Tension headaches aren’t the only type of headaches that occur. Other headache types include: Cluster headaches are severely painful headaches that occur on one side of the head and come in clusters. This means you experience cycles of headache attacks, followed by headache-free periods. Often confused with migraines, sinus headaches co-occur with sinus infection symptoms such as fever, stuffy nose, cough, congestion, and facial pressure. These headaches are intense or severe and often have accompanying symptoms in addition to head pain. Symptoms associated with a migraine headache include nausea, pain behind one eye or ear, pain in the temples, seeing spots or flashing lights, sensitivity to light and/or sound, temporary vision loss, and vomiting. A migraine headache will cause intense pain that may be throbbing and will make performing daily tasks very difficult.