relief of aching legs using the World Run Recovery System

Dental surgeons and dental assistants aching legs

Aching legs are common amongst dentists and their assistants as they spend most of their working day in one place-leaning and bending over patients in their chairs-they can also get lower back, and upper body sorness and stiffness

Poor lower leg circulation and aching from the effects of gravity holding used blood and fluid down in the lowest part of the body-the legs and ankles-leg fatigue can contribute to exhaustion and loss of concentration it also leads to workplace accidents

The picture says it all after 3 days running-do we see any parallells here to the tired leg person after a day in the clinic?

Occupational Health and Safety-aching legs are a Health Hazard

Aching legs caused by being on them for long periods is an occupational health and safety issue because the long term effect of them on peoples health is very real
(see www.hazards.org/standing)

But why aching legs?

Basically the body is a column of fluid

Gravity and the weight of blood and fluids in the body

Water is subject to pressure-at the surface the pressure is the same as the atmospheric pressure but the the deeper goes the pressure (and weight of it) increases

Head -10 mm Hg

Feet +90 mm hg

The term for this is Hydrostatic (Hydro-water Static-standing still) pressure and is measured in millimeters Hydrostatic gravity

Amongst other things this can contribute to swollen ankles

The blood is made up of many things including water, when the blood is static,the fluid separates from it and fills the tissue spaces-as it can't be pumped away fast enough, the ankles swell

Long term aching legs can lead to other health problems and I suggest a good website to check out is www.hazards.org/standing

Other areas of the circulatory system that have an impact on the dentist aching legs are

Arterial and Venous Pressure

The body is subject to 2 types of pressure that has an effect on fluid down in the lower legs they are from the veins and arteries

The veins and arteries are very complicated and have many purposes-but the basic one of each in the circulation cycle is that the arteries pump fresh blood under pressure to all parts of the body while the veins return used blood back to the body for recycling

Arterial Pressure

Blood is pumped under pressure down to the bottoms of the feet by the arteries through a series of vessels that decrease in size-by the time it reaches them all the pressure has been used and there is none left to return the depleted blood back up the legs through the veins again

Venous Pressure

Once in the veins it becomes subject to pressure from gravity and this is known as venous pressure-because of gravity the pressure is lower at the top of the head and higher at the feet

To keep the circulation in balance in the legs and reduce muscle fatigue, a similar volume of blood should come out of the legs as goes into them

This is balanced up by the calf muscle pump

The Calf Muscle Pump

The muscle pump is made up of all the leg muscles and together they form a pump which forces used blood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recycling

As the muscles sqeeze, they open one-way valves in the veins, letting blood pass through them; when the tension is released, they close stopping the blood flowing back down towards the feet

Blood and lymph fluid is progressively moved from the lower legs back up to the body where it is re-nourished with oxygen and nutrients and sent back out again to various parts of the body through the arteries

The calf muscle pump sometimes does not work properly

The muscle pump can have its operating effectiveness reduced for many reasons, these can be medical or mechanically caused-but the problem concerning the dentist is aching fatigued legs from long hours on the clinic floor and the inability of the calf muscles to work properly

Problems caused by calf muscle pump inefficiency include

• Varicose veins

• Poor circulation

• Lymph system inactivity

• Venous return reduced

Recovery from aching legs
Taking care of your tired heavy legs can be as simple as having better foot and shoe comfort; good shoes can prevent ankle and foot pain but no matter how much you take care of the feet, it still can't take care of the aching legs after the day's work and they have developed that aching throbbing feeling

Keeping the legs healthy so they can provide trouble free use over many years of working should be a priority for everyone-leg health of many people will over the course of their careers be at risk because they are doing an equivalent of ultra marathon and not recovering after it

What someone who relies on their legs to stay in their occupation and who needs to maintain the health of their legs is a simple practical recovery solution they can do during a break and after they have finished working

First aid needed for fatigued leg muscles

First aid is usually given to someone when they have an accident-but the legs can also be in need of first aid when the muscles are fatigued and aching-the faster they recover the faster you can get back to doing what you do-but it is important they get it as soon as possible before soreness and stiffness limits what can be done with them

Passive recovery

The most general practical suggestion on relieving them is usually related to elevating the legs to let gravity drain the fluid out of them so that fresh blood can flow into the muscle tissues to help them recover

The effects of hydrostatic pressure can be reversed by using gravity (after all it took it there in the first place) so it can take it back up the legs again!

-10 mm hg

+90 mm hg

Elevation is too ‘passive’ and obviously not too efficient as there are so many lost days off work still through industrially caused diseases

What someone who relies on their legs to stay in their occupation and who needs to maintain the health of their legs is a simple practical recovery solution they can do during a break and after they have finished working-they need

Active recovery

This is where the legs are helped to recover using a system that is directed at increasing the circulation so that fresh blood can flood the muscle tissues

Active Recovery means taking a pro-active role in helping the calf muscles to work the pump at moving the fluid up the legs.

This can be achieved using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation combines a sound medical physiological based theory with simple movement to offer a practical ongoing system for self recovery

Dr Guyton offers the theoretical solution to the problem of aching legs and Light Manual Muscle Relaxation offers the practical, tested, simple, oil free, environmentally friendly version
'Pumping caused by external Compression of the Lymphatics'
Guyton-Textbook of Medical Physiology eighth edition-1991 W.B. Saunders Company-ISBN 0-726-3994-0 (p. 182)

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-The massage-lite do it yourself environmentally friendly recovery system

What is massage -lite?

It is a fully portable totally stripped down to its bare essentials leg recovery system developed for ultra marathon runners and walkers

It has been fully tested on many long distance road and track events both at home and internationally
(see list on references page)

The advantages of using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation

• Do It Yourself recovery

• No disrobing

• Works with the muscles not on them

• No oil used

• Non invasive

• User friendly

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-A tested Trusted Alternative

Some References

Michael’s methods of massage and blister care helped me to stay mobile throughout the race and to recover quickly afterwards. His techniques are safe and gentle.

Unlike some treatments, which put the runners and walkers at risk of muscle tears or infection, Michael’s techniques are gentle, safe, reassuring, and highly effective. They enhance comfort and flexibility, build confidence, and promote success.

This booklet will help others to learn and practice Michael’s methods. It is recommended reading for everyone who walks and runs and who wants to go further, go faster, or just to enjoy life more!!'

SANDRA BROWN 1996 Ladies 1000 Mile World Record Holder

1999 Ladies 100 mile Race walking World Record Holder
“I know that your massage kept a number of competitor<>s in the event. The cold weather of Saturday afternoon and night certainly got to many of the walkers and your prompt action had them back in the race after a short stop.

In years past, that would have ended up as a non-finish. A number of walkers were able to keep going for the full 24 hours on the basis of your expert help.”

Tim Ericson Secretary Australian Centurions Club

'I have known Michael Gillan for many years and have always got quick relief for my aches and pains from the stretching he performs'.
CLIFF YOUNG-75-80 24 Hour World Record Holder (150.07 kilometers)

A word from Jesper Olsen World Runner about Light Manual Muscle Relaxation

“If I hadn't had the qualified help from the excellent masseur Michael Gillan, taking several thousands of km out of my legs, I could spare myself the effort!”

“My crew for the current stages, Michael Gillan, has proven to have other talents than the quite taxing job of taking care of all the requirements of a really tired ultra runner!
He has since years back been working on a new approach to stretching and muscle-rebuilding for ultra runners. I have the last two days tried his careful stretch and massage, and a bit to my surprise the muscles are beginning to feel like before the start back in Greenwich, London!!

Usually I doesn’t take massage as the legs of an ultra runner will often be quite sore during the long time events (and especially in an multi-year event like this...), and getting a massage can at times cause more injury and cramping up than good. For example my last massage was some 12 000km ago when I ran the 12-hour competition in Finland. And so far that has been the only one.

But Gillan came with best recommendations from my main contact in Australia, Phil Essam, who besides being vice president in the Australian Ultra runners Association has heaps of good knowledge to share. And this new kind of mild massage for ultra runners is definitely one of the good tips! There should be a fair chance that I actually get fresh enough to do some decent running at the 6 Day Race that I have coming up in Colac from the 21.November. I quite look forward to that, even though I can’t expect to make a top class result :-)”

He won! 756.2 kilometers (Jesper holds the record for the longest run in history over 26000 kilometers and the first person to run around the world Taken from www.worldrun.org

Win! Win!

It is very difficult for the dentist to win any races as they are competing with themselves on a daily basis, but in this situation everyone wins.

I am making my many years of knowledge available for the princely sum of $20 a manual.

Dentists Aching Legs

*Many people diagnose themselves as having restless legs which is a sleep disorder and its origins may be medical; there are treatments for these so it recommended that a visit to a physician to get it identified would be the first course of action.

ANGRY muscles are giving a reaction to overuse by standing or walking on a consistent basis-they do not have chance to recover properly before repeating the same action over and over.

When the time comes for sleep, they throb and ache and the brain cannot switch the muscle nerves off so they keep wanting to move.

This is possible to see in ultra marathon athletes when they have been going around a track for 18-20 hours-on resting the legs just keep moving and the nerve actions can be seen rippling up the calf muscles.

It is Light Manual Muscle Relaxation that calms them down

Contact mgillan@hotmail.com

Copyright 2007 aching-legs.org