Don't Lose Your Marbles

[GatorGrip]

I also have been performing the contrast bath treatment but with a little twist.

I use a concoction of Epsom salt and white vinegar in the hot water soak.

Then I walk out on the deck and with one might swoop of the basin I fill it with snow, then I dash inside because my little piggies (toes) are starting to get cold.

I alternate the hot as I can stand it mixture with the cold as I can before frostbite sets in.

Working the medical field and at a hospital allowed me to talk with my co-workers in the Physical Therapy clinic which gave me useful feedback plus in my other research I have read in several medical oriented articles about the benefits of massage, even John Brookfield has touted the benefit of massage as another hand and lower arm health tool.

This technique is called Deep Tissue Massage Therapy (DTMT) which has been used professionally for many, many years in sports medicine to assist everyone from Olympic Gold medalist and NFL players to the more common high school athlete and occasional weekend warrior that over did it when out for a game of football in the park. DTMT has primarily been used for treatment of larger muscle groups strained and sore from intense stress placed on them for whatever reason. It has been found especially useful in the treatment of DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is the pain you get usually 2 or 3 days after the initial training session due to a build up of lactic acid in the muscle tissue itself. The DTMT procedure helps stimulate blood flow and assists the tissue in more rapidly releasing the lactic acid and other waste by products produced by the body as a result of our intense training sessions

But I have found that DTMT transfers to your sore hands as well as it would for any sore muscle group.

Okay so you don’t have a Swedish Bikini Team slash Swedish massage therapist for a wife or girlfriend. Nor do you feel comfortable going down to the local massage parlor because you wife would kill you and you don’t have the cash it costs for such a luxury every time your Biscut Snatchers hurt from training.

NO PROBLEM! Now you can easily perform this on hand just by using your other hand to massage that raw paw. This is a good method and can be down in any dry environment.

But hold on to your grippers, now you make think that I HAVE LOST MY MARBLES and that is probably true, but I like to think ahead and thus I bought spares along time ago for emergency situations.

MARBLES? These little spheres of healing can add another weapon to your hand health care arsenal.

HOW TO USE ALL YOUR MARBLES

I have chosen to put glass marbles in the hot and cold water basins used for the contrast bathes. Now they simulate the well known treatment DTMT used in relieving soreness caused by all types of intense sports and training.

1) I place enough marbles in each water basin so that I can fill both hands with the marbles and while the hands are submerged I squeeze and rotate the healing spheres until they end up falling out of the hands, I grab up another handful and repeat this process several times as I am soaking.

2) I also take as many as I can hold and rub them between both palms and sets fingers like one would use a bar of soap. The harder you press them between the hands the deeper the massage, which as we said stimulates blood flow and waste product flushing.

3) I also take a 2-3 marbles and alternate rolling them on the back of the hand in the area between the thumb and index finger on that small mound of muscle there.

4) Then I move to the next basin to soak and perform the same actions.

I believe the incorporation of the marbles and the specific action they provide simulates the deep tissue massage for the hand. The best part is you can easily do it for yourself while performing the contrast bath action which incorporates two highly beneficial treatments in one setting, which translates into a less time spent on recovery procedures while gaining maximum results for your extra efforts.

The marbles can be purchased at toy stores, their also a very popular item at craft stores for their use in unique floral arrangements or for the popular Betta bowl setups. Even your local stores like Wal-Mart, K-mart, Target and many more seem to carry these decorative marbles in the craft section or toy department. You may even have some you or your parents kept from your childhood.

I have found it to be very beneficial for my own recovery program and I hope that you will try this technique for yourself before discounting it.

If you do try the marble technique then let us know how it felt and if you believe you gained any benefit from the procedure – it may take a few sessions to make a sound assessment.

Staff Sergeant Walter K. Crews – aka: GatorGrip

[Zakath]

Just tried the "twist" with the marbles, worked good. I think, but I'm still sore