relief of aching legs using the World Run Recovery System

Trade Show Exhibitor Aching Legs

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)

While the health hazards are well known, 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

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

'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)

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

Working on exhibition stands

People who work at exhibition stands get to meet many people during the course of an event; througout their time at it they make aquaintances from the public and members of the stand next door as they network and demonstrate their products.

While making new aquaintances there with people, they may also become aquainted with aching legs, stiffness and soreness in the legs as their time at the exhibition passes.

The 'Aching Leg Institute of Hard Knocks' spent time at trade fairs and learned first hand of the hardships of the exhibitor and how aching legs develop as the show progresses.

By the last day I was dreading going to work there because the legs were tight, sore and throbbing before I started and the feet were so tender on the bottoms.

'Flat Floor Syndrome'

Exhibition stand floors are flat areas with very little contrast in their surfaces; this is good for safety and cleanliness but they are not people friendly to those who have to work and walk on them for hours.

Many event organisers do try to have surfaces to make it easier on legs and to make standing a little more comfortable and they are softer on the feet but by the second or third day it does not seem to make much difference no matter how many breaks or sitting down you may get.

Gravity and the weight of fluid in the body

Water is subject to pressure-the deeper it is the more pressure there is at the bottom; on the surface the swimmer feels none, but the deeper he goes the more it affects his body as the pressure increases.

Blood in the body is similar, at the head, the pressure is almost non-existent, but at the feet the lowest part of the body the pressure is higher.

The term for this is Hydrostatic pressure (Hydro-water Static-standing still) and is measured in mm hg.

Head -10 mm hg

Feet +90 mm hg

In a standing person, pressure in the veins is low at the top of the head and high at the bottom; the pressure and weight that is placed on the veins in the legs is very high; the only thing preventing all the fluid running out of the feet is the ends of the toes!

This means there is a lot of weight in a column of fluid with all the pressure at the bottom

When it just sits and stagnates, there is no fresh blood going to the leg muscles so they fatigue and feel heavy; water (lymphatic fluid) starts to separate from the used blood into the tissues and as it can't be pumped up the legs back to the body fast enough the ankles swell.

The exhibitor's legs may look like this towards the end of the day

On subsequent days it may be harder to get the shoes on because the feet are still swollen
With that column of bodily fluids bearing down on the feet in and all that weight in the veins on a consistent
basis it comes as no surprise that over the long term, varicose veins develop.

(These are caused by the pressure from the weight of the blood widening the diameter of the vein and allowing gaps in the one-way valves to open allowing blood to flow back towards the feet)

These problems I had were acute so I recovered from them within a few days afer it finished but some people attend trade show and exhibitions on a frequent basis and these problems become chronic or long term.
www.hazards.org/standing


Swollen ankles can be caused by the calf muscle pump not working efficiently

Other problems caused by calf muscle pump inefficiency include

• Poor circulation

• Lymph system inactivity

• Venous return reduced

How to reverse the fluid build up in the legs?

The most advised way of helping the legs recover from a day on the stands it lie with the legs elevated higher than the body to let the used blood and fluid in the ankles flow back; the fluid flow reverses

The passive way

-10 mm hg

+90 mm hg

Does the Exhibitor with family and house hold commitments in between shifts really have time for this?

No of course not

It took the legs hours to get like this-how long is it going to take for gravity to drain it all back?

Why not just make the calf muscles work at their other job?

The Calf Muscles have other purposes than to just help move us from one place to another; they are the prime movers in lower leg circulation

The Calf Muscle Pump

The muscle pump is made up of all the leg muscles but like any pump it needs power to make it work , the main motor to drive the pump are the calf muscles.

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

The the arteries veins take blood away from the heart to the rest of the body and the veins which have one-way valves in them take it back to the body again; the way used blood gets back up the legs so that it can be replaced by fresh blood is by a special system called

The Calf Muscle Pump

The calf muscle pump forces used blood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recycling by alternately putting pressure on the venous system and releasing it

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

Oxygen depleted blood 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.

Making the calf muscle pump work again will take some of the pressure away from the lower legs and let fresh blood into the muscle tissues to help the legs recover

A group of athlete's most similar to the exhibitor are the ultra marathon athletes

Ultra marathon is very long distance competition where they have to run or walk as far as possible in a given time;it can be over 6 hours-24 hours-48 hours-6 days-16 days or even around the world www.worldrun.org

The main similarity between them is that their muscles are always sore, stiff, and fatigued and the muscles are angry-this can interfere with their sleep because their muscles cannot cut off and stop moving.

They have to get up and get back on the track or road on a constant basis whether they want to or not to achieve their objective

The person with occupational aching legs also has to get up and go to work on a constant basis whether their legs have recovered or not.

www.hazards.org/standing

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.

No matter how much you take care of the feet, it still cannot take care of the aching legs after the day's work and the legs have developed that aching throbbing feeling when the legs are filling up with fluid.

First aid needed for fatigued leg muscles

The faster the legs receive help during or after a long day, the faster they recover but it is important they get it as soon as possible before soreness and stiffness limits what can be done with them.

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

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 is applied through

The latest in non-technical, non-invasive 'cutting edge' solutions to fatigued aching legs relief-the World Run Recovery System

The advantages of using the World Run Recovery System

Do It Yourself recovery

• No disrobing

• Works with the muscles not on them

• No oil used

• Non invasive

• User friendly

The World Run Recovery System-A tested Trusted Alternative

Think the exhibition stand is a small space and the legs can't be looked after in such a small area?

The chair next to the bottles was my living and sleeping space for 24 hours at the Montreal World Distance Championships in 2007

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 'Accidental Athlete' to win any races as they are competing with themselves on a daily basis, but in this situation everyone wins.

With your support I get to on the World Run and the 'Accidental Athlete' gets the very same recovery system I will be using on World Run 2!

There are not enough funds to cover my time on the road so I am making my many years of knowledge available for the princely sum of $20 a manual.

This will go towards defraying my costs of being involved in the world run project, and at the same time let the marathon runner share the experience of a recovery similar to that of the world runners at a very affordable price without coming with us to get my skills!

In Australia it is very difficult to get sponsors unless you already have a big name as a star-

For support crew who do cannot supply glamor it is impossible.

*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 the World Run Recovery System that calms them down

Trade Show Stand Aching Legs

Contact mgillan@hotmail.com






Copyright 2007 aching-legs.org