Healthy Tissue leads to Optimal Health

How Healthy Can We Get?

This is a question that we have been asking lately here at ICWA. Health goes way beyond aesthetics as I hope everyone knows. It is not about look good, it’s about actually being healthy irrespective of external/societal definitions. For this post I want to talk specifically about tissue health. If you have pain or dysfunction it is a lot easier to treat that pain consistently. When you are in pain you can foam roll, STARWRAP, stretch, or exercise to return your body to that pain free state. The old adage, a teaspoon of prevention is worth an ounce of care.  If you can identify your tension patterns early, the amount of direct pressure via massage, foam rolling, and STARWRAP application to restore the tissue to healthy function is minimal.  However, what do you do when your not feeling pain? If you’re like me you don’t continue to treat areas that are not at the top of your painful/problematic area on your body.  You probably don't continue to focus on keeping the soft tissue supple and healthy. We are a very reactive society. We only go to the doctor when we are sick or injured. We wait until we get a pain signal to treat the tissue issue. What I want to challenge everyone with is to think and be preventative rather than reactive. For those of you that foam roll every day, fantastic, keep it up.  But you should also be doing more. Foam rolling is great for treating fascial tension and trigger points, but there is so much more. Deeper tissue can be neglected and are you really foam rolling as you should? I have been focusing on consistent treatment and application of the foam roller and STARWRAP for myself so I don’t continue to build up tension and wait for something to start bothering me to do something about it. We have the tools and ability to not only keep out of pain but make the tissue as healthy as we can. This action makes a difference in the way we move daily, the way we feel (our psychology becomes our physiology), and what type of an athlete we are.  By the way our motto at ICWA is Everyone's An Athlete.  I note the difference in function and mobility between my friends who like me, all are veteran elite soccer players.  At one time we've been in top physical condition.  We have all experienced a number of injuries and training patterns that create our "normal functioning patterns" that we attribute to the aging process. However, some of us are moving much more efficiently than others.  Some of us still have explosive speed, not like a 25 year old's, but still have change of speed an direction capabilities.  Some of us have created a flexibility reservoir to prevent injury and improve our performance.  This is by the work we put in off the field, training, and helping keep our bodies as healthy as possible.  Yet within this group that I know, there are still noticeable differences in performance.  I challenge to what degree we've reached our fullest potential.  If we questions our current state of health, we can't remember how good we used to feel because of our bodies amazing ability to adapt to whatever we demand of it.

Ways in which we reach optimal tissue health include regular soft tissue mobilization (myofascial release massage, structural integration) techniques that actually get the tissue to release and be restored to healthy function.  Regular exercise, we recommend functional training using mainly body weight driven exercises, a regular warm-up and cool down routine, and consistent stretching. 

What we are talking about is a positive stimulus that will get your body to adapt and be restored to optimal functioning. That is why I’m so excited that ICWA is offering a preventative health care package that includes a foam roller, small STARWRAP, and a DVD with how to foam roll, warm-up, and cool down around exercise. So call or stop by today and let’s find out how healthy can we get our tissue this holiday season and into the new year.  Because it is a process.  And it can be a very enjoyable one once you start feeling as good as you deserve.

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