Make the best of your treatments~
plan to not go back to work after,skip the gym, don't take a long run that evening, drink lots of room temp water and don't partake in alcohol. Most importantly let yourself to to bed early so your nervous system can restore very deeply!! You treatment will last much longer.

Prepare and Recover with Sports Massage!
We know that you can run though pain however in order for you to have a long career as a runner it is not good to not help your body recover and heal.  The longer you leave your pain or injury uncheck the longer it will take you to heal from the damage.  

Our Sports Massage Therapists can help you increase blood flow for greater reduction in swelling and increase capacity for healing.

Common Injuries that we work with during marathon training and competition season:

• Runner's knee  is a wearing away of the back of the kneecap, causing pain in the knee.
  
• Iliotibial band syndrome, a.k.a. ITBS Marked by a sharp, burning knee or hip pain, ITBS is a very common running injury among marathoners. Indeed, it's responsible for as many as 80% of all overuse pains on marathon day. Massage is GREAT for this!!!!
  
• Shin splints The most common type of shin splints happen on the inside of legs.
• Plantar fasciitis is also known as pain in the middle of arch of the foot.
• Achilles tendonitis is a running injury that typically occurs from abnormal foot strokestroke in push-off and too-tight calf muscles
• Muscle Pulls for example hamstring, quads, or any other muscle, pulls come from not being flexible and/or overexerting specific muscles.

Read more about a Sports Massage treatment with an Inner Connections practitioner.

As fall turns into winter, many people experience a mild form of depression also know as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  In addition to feeling depressed, people may experience irritability:

•  headaches, 
• extreme fatigue and lethargy, 
• increased appetite, 
• carbohydrate cravings, 
• an inability to concentrate, 
• and decreased libido. 

It is thought that people with SAD produce too much melatonin.  Our brains produce this hormone during the hours of darkness and it helps regulate sleep, body temperature and the release of hormones.  Too much melatonin disrupts our internal body clock leading to depressive symptoms. Other factors contributing to SAD may include diet, genetics, hormones, and stress.

Acupuncture, often considered for its effects on pain control, can be helpful in treating depression.  From a western medical perspective, preliminary research studies have shown that acupuncture releases serotonin and noradrenaline-norepinephrine in animals, common stimulants used in the treatment of depressive disorders.

Acupuncture, combined with other modalities such as light therapy, diet and exercise, can indeed help bring the body back to balance. Light therapy includes dawn-simulating alarm clocks and light boxes that help the body maintain its circadian rhythms.  There may be a tendency to become more inactive and isolated in winter, but it is important to keep active.  Consider outdoor activities, especially when the sun is shining.  Indoor stretches and exercises such as swimming, yoga, or tai qi, are excellent ways to keep a healthy mind and body. Special care should be taken to ensure a healthy diet in winter months. Researchers in Britain looked at depression and diet and found that people who ate a junk food diet — one that was high in processed meat, chocolates, sweet desserts, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy products — were more likely to report symptoms of depression.  The good news is that the people who ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish were less likely to report being depressed.

It’s also important to appreciate the natural changes in the seasons and within ourselves.  Allow yourself to rest more and spend some time with your thoughts during this season.   By addressing your physical and mental needs in the winter, you naturally adopt a healthy balanced lifestyle.