relief of aching legs using the World Run Recovery System

Keeping your legs healthy when working extra years

Many countries with pension schemes are examining ways in which they can save money before having to pay pensions to their working people-my country (Australia) is no exception, they have just increased the retirement age to 67-in some occupations involving fast machinery this can be an occupational health and safety risk

Many people already work past the present retirement age voluntarily either because their financial options are limited by the failure to invest enough money in their early working lives through lack of foresight or their personal circumstances

Others do it because they love to work, enjoy it and are in an occupation or career where they have not had so many physical demands made on their body; they can continue working on without any signs of wear and tear that may come with more physically demanding job

As we age, it becomes necessary to maintain as high a level of fitness and health as possible in the face of the bodies natural inclination to slow down and develop age related medical problems and there are many websites that discuss this at length so I am not going to cover this ground it is not my area

What I do have expertise in that others do not cover is recovery of the legs and maintaining the health of the legs through a simple natural process known as increasing the circulation through working the calf muscle pump-a simple idea but not too well researched and actually used

For those who are still working the extra years beyond what they expected to you are not going to find it easy, especially if you are in an occupation with a high rate of occupational risk of injury and wear and tear on the body

Builders, factory workers, nurses, service industries, laboratory technicians (add your own list) are in occupations that put extra stresses on the body because they are jobs that involve standing lifting and walking for the whole working day-they may not be able to work for the required number of extra years without physical limitations being placed on them that might be detrimental to their well being

The Legs One of the Most Important Areas

In the majority of occupations, the workers rely on the ability of the legs to both transport and stand on while working-now the legs have to supply mobility for a few more years than they did before, and because of this they will need all the assistance they can get

Keeping them working without fatigue will reduce the chances of having workplace accidents through slower reaction times brought on through ageing

It will also minimise the discomfort from things such as varicose veins and swollen ankles
www.hazards.org/standing

Most of us like to keep healthy and to this extent try to do the right things for our bodies-we try to eat the right food, sleep to rest them so they can recover, do some kind of activity and maintain an active lifestyle with the intensions of keeping mobile as long as we possibly can

Leg health is very important to most of us who are reliant on our legs for our living-without our legs we lose our independence, and if we do not look after them while we have them over the years we can get into deep trouble later on in life when working extra years is necessary

There are many ways available to keep the rest of the body healthy when it is under stress and working too hard and not feeling as well as it should, but there is not too much around about basic leg health that can be done in only a few minutes

Look after the legs now to minimize problems later

It is not until we see our legs after years of abuse and notice things such as stiffness, varicose veins, arthritis, and leg abuse instigated restless legs caused by angry muscles that we realize that we have neglected looking after them

The accepted way of recovering when the legs are tired and fatigued is to use gravity-the veins have one-way valves in them which open to let used fluid flow through them

lying down with the legs elevated allows depleted fluid to flow back to the body

Being upside down takes advantage of gravity by reversing its effects to let the weight of the fluid to open the valves and flow through back to body-this is known as passive recovery

Passive Recovery

Passive recovery is a slow way of doing things and while generally accepted there are disadvantages to doing this

• It needs time to do

• How long it takes to be effective for any given session

• Someone doing this can get cold

• The muscles stiffen up

• Standing and walking can be difficult until the muscles warm up again

• On standing too quickly many people can be disoriented and experience dizzy sensations which increases the possibility of falls

The alternative is to take a pro-active role in the legs care and maintenance

The body is supplied with a system which seems to be generally ignored but which can both cause leg health degeneration and leg health recovery, and if used properly can maintain leg health until well into the twilight years

The calf muscle pump

The muscle pump is a way the body provides for moving used blood back up the legs and feet against gravity up to the body so it can be renourished and recycled again

It is made up of all the muscles in the legs but the main power to work it comes from the calf muscles which compress the veins and opens the one-way valves letting fluid pass through them on its way back to the body

Like most other mechanical devices the motor that provides the power to work the pump needs servicing every so often otherwise it does not work too well and not much depleted fluid is removed from the legs-this means not much fresh blood enters the muscle tissues so they fatigue

To keep the circulation in balance as much fluid has to come out of the legs as goes into them and when the legs are young and the muscles flexible, the calf muscles work very well usually-but as we age, the muscles can tighten and lose flexibility

The veins and arteries also tend to lose their elasticity and ability to allow the free flow of blood through them-poor circulation can be a side effect of ageing and so recovery after a long day of working can be a major problem

Some conventional ways of recovering

• Have the legs elevated

• Drugs

• Vitamins

• Wear special stockings

• Shoes wear good ones

• Massage

Massage is usually seen as an after the event modality for leg relief and it is only good if you can afford someone to do it

The main obstacles to effective massage systems for those who are not usually involved in such things are

• Lack of information-which is the best type to use on aching legs?

When it involves soft tissue work and its suitability with them; most conventional systems are just too hard because they require a high skill level that not everyone is capable of achieving

The lack of skill can threaten, damage or make worse underlying issues in the muscles by provoking the muscles into defending themselves from further injury

• Affordability

Lack of financial reserves-ability to study-facilities such as massage schools and teachers for learning the handskills required for modern massage techniques impact on the benefit that flow from massage were it available

• Lack of access to practitioners

See how many practitioners are actually close to where you live-it is generally assumed that the people have the financial ability to be able to afford the care and services of the therapist-it is unfortunate that the therapists mostly live in or around larger centers and cities and are unavailable to people who live in more isolated regions

You could do it yourself-but there are problems with this option

• Lack of access to training schools in more isolated areas

• You only learn how to massage someone else

To do a full course in recovery systems will cost hundreds of dollars in fees, there is also the time needed to study physiology, anatomy, and the hand skills needed to do it.

• Many older people have problems with coordination in doing massage strokes such as 'pettrisage' and 'tapotement' they need lots of practice to master the hands/muscle/brain coordination required for modern massage systems

And then it may not be suitable for your needs because it may not be portable enough, you will also have to carry oil to provide lubrication between the hands and skin, massage table, towels, but you have to buy them first and this can be expensive for the use that you will get from them

Conventional recovery work is invasive because it involves uncontrolled finger force on and into delicate muscle tissues leading to injury if done by someone who is a novice at using their hands

Ultra Marathon and what is learned on it can benefit someone who is working extra years

Ultra marathon is anything over marathon distance-it can range from 24-48 hours-6 days-16 days or over-across continents or even like Jesper Olsen-around the world www.worldrun.org

Problems experienced by ultra marathoners include

Muscle and mental fatigue-stiffness-tiredness-muscle cramps-muscle spasm-poor coordination-poor circulation-muscles not working-refusing to work-sore hips-foot problems-mental stress-outbursts of temper-cold feet-hot feet-creeping feelings up the legs-down the legs-inability to move after sitting down for a short time-angry muscles-inability of the brain to shut the muscles off on going to bed to rest-poor sleep-swollen ankles-joint pain-vague aches and pains in various parts of the body

They actually compress time and stress on the body into a short space of time and suffer many of the problems that may be being experienced by an older worker in a physically demanding job who may have to work for longer than they used to

The ultra athletes I work with can't afford downtime and have to rely on my skills as a muscle recovery specialist to assist their legs to recover quickly enough so they can get back onto the road or track without complications or time wasting-I do this by simply using the hands to increase the lower leg circulation

Most other forms of maintenance needs tools to do the job but leg maintenance for the older worker already has the tools supplied-they are your hands

The method I use is called Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-it can be done

• Simply

• Easily

• Without any massage experience

• Without any threats to muscle integrity

• Without any need for greasy oil, towels or equipment

What makes Light Manual Muscle Relaxation different?

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation works with the muscles not on them

Because it uses the 'snowshoe' effect of spreading the load, weight and pressure of the hands and fingers it does not stimulate pain receptors or produce friction or heat-therefore it can be done 'on demand' or as often as required

The latest in non-technical 'cutting edge' solutions to substitute complicated massage therapies that only trained practitioners can do (if they are available) for a simple maintenance system that can be used by anyone

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4726300.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/dawning-of-a-new-retirement-age/2007/10/09/1191695906507.html?page=fullpage

Extending Your Legs Working Shelf Life

Some aching legs links

http://www.cardiovascular-exercise-equipment.com

http://www.promote-health.org

http://www.vintage-collectables.org

http://www.feet-and-legs.com

http://www.home-and-garden-show.info