Relief Of Nurses Aching Legs

Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Recovery of Nurses legs using an environmentally friendly recovery system The Nurse Unintentional Athlete and massage Using massage to relieve problems in aching legs

Most nurses like receiving massage because they are tactile people, and it is part of their profession-many nurses are also trained massage therapists A problem with being a trained massage therapist is that they do not often have time to get massages themselves so they have leg problems the same as everyone else does The main problem with doing leg care is that massage is very difficult to do when the legs are aching during a hectic shift, and it is at this time when fatigue caused by tired legs makes the nurses vulnerable to mistakes Even the trained massage therapist/nurse skills can’t do

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Remedial or Medical massage

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Relaxation massage

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Sports massage

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Therapeutic massage

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LomiLomi massage

Plus anyone of 101 different varieties of massage on the ward-they are just not practical Swollen ankles These swollen ankles are mine after I was testing out a theory on long flights but it is a fair bet that many nurses have them like this at the finish of their day When you are on your feet all day the calf muscles start to fatigue, power stops being supplied to the pump and the blood just pools around the ankles-the water (or lymph fluid) separates from it and migrates into the tissues in and around the ankles-so they swell

As it is not being pumped away fast enough from the lower legs, the ankles swell or have edema To deal with swollen ankles the system used should be designed for dealing with lower leg circulation-most other systems are designed for fixing specific problems and as they work on the muscles and need an advanced practitioner to be used without causing injury Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 1 http://aching-legs.org/the_nurse_aching_legs-recovery.html

Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist Like these guys who have just run for 3 days they stand up they can barely move!

These are 2 people who have just been running for 3 days around a running track in all weathers and they have aching legs The people a above are intentional athletes, they train, they run, they do not smoke, drink, keep late nights, have wild parties and they are still exhausted and know they are not going to recover for the next week People who are intentional athletes •

They do a warm up and stretching before competition

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They do a cool down and stretch after competing

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They have a recovery strategy in place

Nurses are accidental athletes, than their own, they drink alcohol and smoke, have wild parties and keep late nights-they feel at the end of a shift roster the same as the intentional athlete but they still expect their bodies to recover and be ready for work the next day Nurses who are accidental athletes •

They don’t’ do any warm-ups or stretching before starting work

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They don’t do any cooling down or stretching after shifts

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They have no recovery strategies at all

(to find out what can go wrong with the legs see www.hazards.org/standing) If the nurse wishes to have as long a career they should make some changes to their maintenance routine and class themselves as athletes and get a maintenance strategy

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist There are 2 major groups of options to relieve aching legs These are passive and active Aching Leg Relief The relief of aching legs can be approached in different ways and the decision of which way to go is dependent on a number of factors-the biggest one being what other commitments you have in your life at that present time and the time you have to commit to it Passive Relief The ‘passive’ option is the most recommended way to relieve aching legs

Find a quiet area and lie down with the legs elevated to let the fluid flow back (Been there-done that-didn’t seem to work too well-I was stiff when I stood up and went light headed) That like the ultra marathon runners and walkers nurses do not have time to wait for passive recovery to work at relieving those aching legs-the active option is better Ultra Athletes

Ultra athletes cover a lot of ground, like nurses they are on their feet for many hours and their legs get fatigued-they suffer from sore feet, sore legs, swollen ankles, stiffness, wasted muscles, muscle cramps, tiredness, mental fatigue, restless legs, sore skin, night pains, muscle spasm, muscle wastage, swollen ankles, hyperthermia, hypothermia, temper tantrums, vomiting, food sensitivity, allergies, rashes, loss of judgement-and that is the good part

The runner in the red shirt had been going for 4 hours when fatigue hit him; he was discovered at the side of the track lying down unable to move-here you see him 20 minutes later up and moving again How was he able to get going so quickly and obviously happy because he got on the track again and was able to finish the event?

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist The Calf Muscle Pump

The calf muscle pump is a major part of circulation in the lower legs All the fluids in the body gravitate down towards the lowest part of the body; the feet-gravity holds it there and prevents it from going back up to the body for recycling and recirculation as fresh blood The calf muscles are the motors for a pump called the calf muscle pump that forces used blood against gravity through one-way valves in the veins back up the body, but to provide the power for this they need to be moving-it they don’t, they can’t contribute to circulation-so used blood stays in the ankles and feet Because the muscle tissues are not being refreshed with supplies of fresh blood, the muscles fatigue and they ache with the legs increasing in weight as the fluid builds up-they are heavy to carry around, and this leads to fatigue Aching legs fatigued muscles and recovery Someone with aching legs and ultra marathoners both have the same thing in common-how to recover from their aching legs and fatigued muscles quickly, and the quickest most effective way of doing this is simply to work the calf muscle pump so that the output of used blood and the input of fresh blood is increased To stop the muscles fatiguing, fresh oxygen and nutrient filled blood has to keep being supplied to the muscles-but when the muscles are fatigued they can’t work at facilitating or supplying their own needs The active way then is to manually reduce some of the fluid that has built up in the lower legs and allow fresh blood to enter the muscle tissues Using an environmentally friendly pro-active leg recovery system is easier than you think when you learn how to use the muscles to work on them selves But an especially good way to recover from aching legs is to simply work the calf muscle pump by hand to break the cycle of inactivity caused through muscle fatigue and get rid of some of the depleted fluid so that fresh blood can enter the muscle tissues The secret to leg recovery The calf muscle pump The calf muscles act as the motor for a pump to take it from the feet back to the body against gravity through the venous system where it is re-nourished and recirculated-but to be working they have to move.

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist The latest in non-polluting, non-technical method of leg recovery techniques is being used

The active way to help the legs recover is to learn how to work with the muscles If you can use your hands you have the tools to do the job of recovery

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist Below is a chart from when I discovered working with the muscles rather than on them shows how much things did improve for the runners and walkers If these figures are translated into recovery speed for the person with aching legs they would be very happy Results from 1995 Coburg 6 day footrace Name A Krouglikov

Day 1 237.2 539

Day 2 113.6 284

Day 3 130 325

Day 4 106 365

Day 5 126 315

Day 6 108 Kilometers 270 Laps

T Rusek

215.2 538

98.8 247

98 245

139.6 349

138.4 346

122.4 Kilometers 306 Laps

M T aylor

174.4 436

128.8 322

143.6 359

123.6 309

138.4 302

122.4 Kilometers 223 Laps

B Beauchamp

180.4 451

133.2 333

124 310

117.6 294

110 275

93.2 Kilometers 233 Laps

150 375

134 335

105.2 263

94.8 237

111.6 279

106 Kilometers 265 Laps

138.4 346

108.4 271

106.8 267

116.4 274

106 265

107.2 Kilometers 268 Laps

168 420

119.2 298

90 225

116.4 291

106 180

107.2 Kilometers 247 Laps

G Watts

132.2 328

96.4 241

99.2 248

104.4 261

92.8 232

133.6 Kilometers 334 Laps

C Young

142 355

91.2 228

90 225

97.6 244

88 220

92 Kilometers 230 Laps

D Kettle

138.2 332

86.8 217

90.8 227

95.2 238

94.4 236

84.4 Kilometers 212 Laps

R H ill

128 320

80.8 202

99.2 248

70 175

95.6 239

96.6 Kilometers 241 Laps

K Fisher

164 410

91.6 229

50 125

115.2 288

49.6 124

81.2 Kilometers 203 Laps

P Gray

D Parri s

I Davis

G Pollard

T Rafferty

61.2 Kilometers 120 74.8 73.6 68.4 69.6 300 187 184 171 174 153 Laps The above group came in for Light Manual Muscle Rel axation The below group did not or had their own recovery people 141.6 112.8 104.8 101.6 98 96.4 Kilometers 354 282 262 254 245 241 Laps

G McConnel

145.6 363

110.8 277

126.4 287

113.6 284

108.4 271

106 ki lometers 265 Laps

G Audley

152.8

110.8

126.4

113.6

114.8

95.2 ki lometers

S Scanlon

140.8 352

82 205

84 210

J Timms 127.2 Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

98.4

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74.8

34 0 85 pulled out-bli sters 0

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0 Kilometers Laps 0 ki lometers

Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Quickly-easily and in an environmentally friendly way! Recovery from leg fatigue or ongoing leg maintenance using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-the massage –lite system

Here I am giving a demonstration of leg recovery in Denmark using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation Everyone needs recovery after a tough day-and the fact that to get it blood to the muscles in the legs needs refreshing But to get that old depleted blood in the lower legs needs pumping out of them so that new fresh blood can be pumped in-simple really

The World Run Recovery System is a simple system that is easy to use without the need for equipment other than the hands Resource Box

Michael Gillan is an Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist who has been a masseur around many ultra long distance events both in Australia and internationally since he was a student in 1993 In 1995 while working at a 6 day run, he changed the approach to recovery of the athletes from the conventional way of working on the muscles using the hands and fingers to increase muscle blood circulation, to working with the muscles and making them work on themselves The results from this changeover can be seen on the Coburg result sheet on page 5 In 1996 Michael went to the Nanango 1000 Mile 16 day event where it was tested and helped the worlds 4-5 and 11th to achieve their distances Other notable events the World Run Recovery System was tested on was World Run 1 with Jesper Olsen www.worldrun.org and the World Run 2 training camp in Denmark in 2007 Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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Nurses Accidental Athletes using a massage-lite recovery system Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist I am presently supporting 2 student nurses in the Philippines please buy a manual if you go there so I can continue doing this

Aching legs should always be checked out by a medical professional before doing anything to and with them because there are many medical reasons why they may be aching-see a physician first If you want more details go to my website at http://aching-legs.org/the_nurse_aching_legs-recovery.html

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan

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