What is the “dark side” of Silicon Valley?

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Kate Simmons

Workers’ health and physical limits are often disregarded in the tech industry. This results in repetitive strain and other physical injuries, as well as psychological damage and disability from excessive stress and destructive self-criticism. From the 90s until the present day, every tech boom has resulted in a large increase in RSI cases, Fibromyalgia and other myofascial and systemic syndromes, as well as hypertension and associated illnesses. Whether by their employers or themselves (in the case of entrepreneurial start-ups), people are placed in situations with inhuman stress levels and unsustainable, unrealistic expectations. While we all may want to be Superman, our bodies and our minds are only capable of so much. To exceed our capabilities often results in injuries that can take months, or even years, to heal. Some never heal at all. Careers are lost, along with self-worth. The stress of this and further depression take increased tolls, and suicide rates rise.

I worry about the future for current tech workers. When someone feels they have no recourse other than to “work until they drop,” they do just that. Serious injury is often the result, and the prognosis for recovery becomes darker and more complicated. We now live in an era of the ”disposable worker” – a Very Slippery Slope, indeed.

My colleagues and I feel there must be more stringent protections for tech workers. Management must be held accountable for the basic safety of their workforce. It’s just good business to retain talented, skilled people, and thus the investment the company has made in them. It also just happens to be, IMHO, the most moral decision.

Ultimately, however, it’s up to each and every one of us to take care of ourselves. What use are fame and fortune if your health and functionality are too “blown out” to enjoy them?

Is it healthy to get massages regularly?

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Kate Simmons

The short answer is: in most cases, yes. There are psychological benefits to getting a massage; mainly relaxation and peaceful frame of mind. Some of this can be attributed to the physical benefits outlined below. There is also the simple act of releasing tension and allowing the body and mind to “let go,” relax and breathe. For the bulk of this post, however, I will focus on the main physical effects.

Please also read to the end, where I outline reasons regular massage might NOT be healthy.

Muscular system

Since the muscles constitute one half of the bulk of the body, and receive one fourth of all the body’s blood supply, any procedure which acts directly on the muscles has a decided influence on the whole body. When done properly, massage (specifically flushing techniques such as friction and manual lymphatic drainage) refreshes the supply of oxygenated blood to the tissues it acts upon. Painful chemicals are also cleared (such as bradykinin, histamine and substance P, lactic acid, eicosanoids, nitric oxide, adenosine, cytokines, and others [1]). This reduces pain by removing its cause(s), and increases comfort and proper function (including strength and endurance) through relaxation of and better circulation within the muscular fibers.

Skeletal and ligamentous

Massage can also influence such harder structures as bones and ligaments (the connective tissue attaching bone to bone). Bones have essentially the same blood supply as their overlying muscles, and the flow of the blood vessels and lymphatics is largest in the vicinity of the joints. When muscles or joints are engaged, the movement of the fluids increases the nutrition to these areas which furthers their growth. [2]

Circulatory

General massage increases the rate and force of the heart beat differently than exercise. Massage does not raise arterial tension or stimulate the neuromuscular junction as does exercise, and while massage produces a full, strong pulse, it does not accelerate the heart to the same degree. Massage mainly affects peripheral circulation. Rubbing techniques (friction) act mainly on superficial veins while deep tissue and rolfing techniques, etc., act on deeper vessels also.

Lymphatic vessels are aided in the flushing of waste and toxins from the body by friction and kneading techniques, because they are most abundant in subcutaneous tissue and in the fascia which coat and lie in between muscles. [3]

Respiratory

As with exercise, massage increases the depth of respiratory movements. Partly, this is due to the parasympathetic reflexive influence of massage. But massage also helps in bringing certain circulatory waste products to their elimination point in the lungs. Massage increases oxidation, or CO2 production, by the heat and increased metabolism it creates in the muscles. This then improves oxygen absorption in the tissues, and CO2 elimination through the venous blood. [4]

Other Benefits

Many specific applications of massage therapy are used to achieve specific physiological goals. These include manual lymphatic drainage to reduce local swelling; deep tissue massage, Active Release, Thai massage or Rolfing to break up fascial / tendinous adhesions; trigger point therapy or myofascial release to address specific types of tension within specific muscles or myotatic groups. Each technique has its functional directives. Many different disciplines of medicine utilize massage / manual therapeutic techniques to achieve certain goals. These get more specific with advanced techniques.

Reasons Why Regular Massage Might NOT Be Healthy

There are several contraindications (reasons why a technique is inadvisable and possibly harmful) to massage:

Significant fever: The body is already under siege from infection or inflammation; massage will only increase the problem, not help.
Uncontrolled infection: The body is already overloaded trying to attack the invading / inflaming organism. Massage will only add an additional overload and complication, most likely making symptoms worse. Wait until the infection is identified and eradicated before having a massage.
Recent severe injury or surgery: There are advanced techniques such as manual lymphatic drainage and craniosacral therapy that can help control initial swelling and inflammation, but general massage would overload the body’s capacity to respond favorably in such a compromised state.

Resources

[1] “Essentials of Pain Medicine, 3d Edition;” Elsevier, 2011; Benzon, Raja, Liu, Fishman, Cohen; 2:2, pgs.8,9

[2-4] “Art of Massage;” Health Research, 1975; Kellogg, MD; pgs. 23-31

There are also many fields of specialization within manual massage therapy. Some good recent research (although more is needed) includes:

https://www.researchgate.net/publ… Physiological and clinical changes after therapeutic massage of the neck and shoulders.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/… Preterm Infants Show Reduced Stress Behaviors and Activity after 5 days of Massage Therapy
https://www.seminarsoncologynursi… Massage in Supportive Cancer Care
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubm… Effects of patterns of pressure application on resting electromyography during massage.

What is the best self-treatment for a myofascial trigger point?

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Kate Simmons

First, be certain that you actually have a trigger point. There are other, more serious problems that can mimic the referral zones of myofascial trigger points. (A referral zone is an area of pain that is caused by the trigger point, but is not necessarily in the same area as the trigger point.) See a competent doctor who can rule these factors out.

Once you have a firm diagnosis, the texts mentioned here are useful in finding the trigger points and understanding what factors cause them. Included in the books is useful, everyday advice on what actions or positions to avoid so you don’t re-activate the trigger point and thus the pain cycle. Clair Davies’ books are particularly good. For example:

I also recommend Sharon Sauer and Mary Biancalana’s book on self-treatment for lower back pain:

In addition, the website of the NAMTPT (National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists) has a great *free* feature called the “symptom checker.” This allows you to see common areas of pain and the trigger points (and their locations) which are most likely the cause.

To release a trigger point yourself, you will need to use your fingers or some sort of compression tool. Such tools include a Backnobber or Theracane:

You can also use a simple tennis ball or racquetball. No expensive tool is needed; some just reach “difficult” spots better. You can also put a tennis ball in a sock to use as a compression tool against a wall.

The trigger point is suffused with muscle-fatigue chemicals and pain chemicals, which lock the affected fibers into a state where they can’t contract or expand properly. With tools such as your hands or the Backnobber, you are trying to direct blood to the trigger point. What you are not trying to do is “break it up” by rubbing across it. This can, in fact, bruise and/or irritate it. A myofascial trigger point is not the same thing as an adhesion or scar tissue, although sometimes they coincide.

Presuming the trigger point does not include much inflammation, swelling or an entrapped nerve, here is what I’ve found works best:

Heat the tissue. The connective tissue softens and the muscle relaxes more. Blood is redirected to the area through vasodilation. Sometimes, this alone is effective enough to reduce the pain.
Perform compression to the trigger point. Use only enough pressure to “just feel it,” not as much pain as you can stand. If you press too hard and you tense against it, you will not gain a release. A muscle cannot tense and relax at the same time. By holding the compression steady for a minute or two, you are “showing the blood where to go.” Wait until you feel a softening or dissolving feeling in the knot (trigger point), and hold it until it feels “done.”
Stretch the muscle slowly though its comfortable range. If you force the end of the stretch, you could reactivate the trigger point.
Apply a non-heating, anti-inflammatory cream. I use Myoflex cream.
Avoid whatever actions seem to make it worse. For help with that, see the books above.