Are You Dehydrated?

A trip to the loo is a clue! This is a great blog post on easy ways to determine if you are dehydrated, and how to get and stay hydrated if you are.

Be sure to check out the refreshing lime and cucumber spritzer recipe as well. It's super easy, actually: a bit of lime juice and club soda or seltzer over some ice with a few thin cucumber slices. I plan on drinking it all summer long!

first sign of dehydration - Simply Stated Blogs | Real Simple

USDA ditches food pyramid, adopts a plate | SimpliFried

Finally, it is simple to understand how much of what kind of food should be on your plate. Why did it take so long?

USDA ditches food pyramid, adopts a plate | SimpliFried

Pathology and Massage: Anterior Shin Splints

What are shin splints?

Shin splints is a blanket term for a number of lower leg problems. It causes pain and sometimes swelling on the lower leg. Shin splints is an inflammation of the periosteum (the membrane that lines the outer surface of all bones) and the attached muscle fibers. The muscles attached to the tibia are tearing loose. Generally, when someone gets shin splits, it is due to excessive or repeated pounding, or “impact loading”, on hard surfaces during athletic activities, such as running or tennis. The condition worsens with the actions the affected muscles do. Other technical terms a doctor might use when diagnosing shin splints are idiopathic compartment syndrome, acute and chronic exertional compartment syndrome, periostitis, traction periostitis, tibial fractures, and medial tibial stress syndrome. These different titles account for location of pain and severity of the condition. Most commonly, shin splints are medial or lateral. Lateral shin splints are also called anterior shin splints, because the anterior muscle compartment is lateral to the tibia.

Which muscles or other structures are involved?

Principally, the tibialis anterior muscle and the tibia are involved in anterior shin splints. Tibialis anterior originates along the lateral  surface of the tibia. Tibialis anterior is responsible for dorsiflexion (flexing your foot toward your leg) of the ankle and sustains tears along the tibia when overused or constantly impacted. It’s possible the interosseous membrane could also be involved as tibialis anterior also originates there.

How are shin splints assessed?

Chances are, if a client had shin splints, I would know. For instance, if they stood up and grimaced and then proceeded to gingerly walk across the room. They may even limp or hobble a bit. Walking would be uncomfortable for anyone with shin splints. If you superficially massaged the anterior leg muscles, it would probably feel tender, but good; a deeper massage would most likely be uncomfortable or painful. Lesser muscle injuries would not be visible on the leg, nor would they be palpable, but more severe injuries would exhibit red, hot puffiness around the tibia. Pain along the tibia is an indication, and may be superficial or deep, mild or severe. The location of the pain would indicate the injured muscles. Someone with anterior shin splints may describe the pain as an ache that runs the length of the lateral tibia.

How are shin splints treated?

Shin splints require first and foremost, rest. Ice, stretching, strengthening and massage are also indicated.  Massage is only contraindicated if the condition is advanced: that is, if the leg looks and feels hot and swollen, or is extremely painful. Once the inflammation and pain begin to subside, massage is beneficial. If the condition does not improve within a couple of days, it could be a sign of a more serious condition and requires medical attention. Massage is an excellent treatment as it increases circulation and releases adhesions. Massage can also prevent shin splints from advancing into more serious complications, such as exertional compartment syndrome. Proper stretching is a necessary preventative measure. Plantarflexion (pointing the foot down) and eversion (pointing the foot in toward the mid-line of the body) will stretch the tibialis anterior muscle. Stretching the lower leg muscles can be difficult through exercise alone, but massage can work every inch. Regardless of where the injury is, all the lower leg muscles should be stretched and massaged. The feet should be worked as well, as the lower leg muscles insert into points throughout them. Myofascial Release is a desirable modality for shin splints, as it can release the fascia binding all four muscle compartments. Plus, as it works superficially, it would most likely be more comfortable than Deep Tissue techniques.


These pictures are from Trail Guide to the Body, Second Edition, by Andrew Biel, illustrated by Robin Dorn (both massage therapists) and published by Books of Discovery.

One woman lost her voice, but she got it back, thanks to a massage

Check out this article on muscle tension dysphonia and myofasical release. MFR helped a woman who had thyroid surgery and had to give up singing - her inspiration and her life - as a result. It always makes me swell with pride when massage can help someone in such a significant way!

One woman lost her voice, but she got it back, thanks to a massage

Seasonal produce

Peak-Season Map at Epicurious.com

Check out this seasonal produce map. I've been looking for a good one for what feels like forever, but was only ever able to come up with ones that are too area-specific or too general. This one lists what's in season by month and state. You can grab these things at the grocery store if you like to stick to seasonal eating. Chances are they'll be at their best flavor if you buy them in season, and your grocery store might even stock them from a locally grown source at that time. It's also a good indicator at what will be plentiful at local farmers' markets.

Right now in Maryland, asparagus, spinach and strawberries are where it's at. Enjoy!

Massage for Your “Manly Man”

Want to give a special father in your life the gift of massage? Is your man resistant to massage, though? Maybe he thinks it's 'for girls'. Maybe he thinks he's fine and doesn't need the bodywork. Lia Suzuki in Santa Barbara gives some excellent tips on how to make massage appealing to a 'manly man'.

One point she makes is to get a gift certificate that is fairly plain. My online gift certificates only have one simple graphic (my logo).

Click for more: This Father’s Day: Massage for Your “Manly Man” | Massage Santa Barbara

Meanwhile, in my personal life ...

My husband and I recently adopted this sweet guy.

His name is Sidney. He's nine months old, is a black Lab mixed with something, and is fun, playful, bright and clever. He has lots of energy and is a very fast runner. He came to us knowing "Sit" very well. We didn't have to house train him, which was a blessing. I think he might know "Stay". He has selective hearing with "Come here". We taught him "Gentle" for treats and he got really good at it really quickly.

We had our first obedience class last week. We worked on sit (reinforcing it for us), getting and holding his attention, and loose leash walking. He picked up on that one very quickly as well. I worked with him a lot on it today in the backyard, and when my husband gets home from work we'll try it out on a real walk around the neighborhood. I'm looking forward to learning "lay down"! He's still a puppy and likes to chew on whatever he can, including my arms, legs, feet and slippers.

We adopted him from Lab Rescue of the LRCP. He was given up by his owner to the Humane Society. No reason was given, but I think it has something to do with the fact that he is small. He's only 51 pounds, which is small for a Lab. We don't think he's going to get much bigger, if at all.

The Humane Society gave him to the Lab rescue, who placed him with a vet until a foster home opened up. Our adoption coordinator brought him to our attention, though, and we drove to Virginia just south of Frederick to visit him. He was totally spastic from being in a kennel at the vet for 11 days, but once he calmed down a bit, we could see that he had a sweet, friendly disposition, and that he was eager for love and attention. So, we brought him home! He already has a play mate; neighbors of ours have an 8-month-old silver Lab. They wrestle, then chase each other around the yard, then take a water break, then run some more, wrestle some more, have some more water and then wrestle again. And then at night, they sleep :)

Update: Not long after posting this, my husband did some research into what Sid might be mixed with. Sid has a small white patch on his chest, plus one on his groin and some white on his back toes. My hubs googled "Labs with white spots" and found some very interesting results. Turns out, Sid might not be mixed with anything and may actually be a pure bred Lab. Labs were developed from the St. John's dogs, which had white chest patches. So they pop up from time to time in Labs. The American Kennel Club has listed the white patch as an undesirable trait, though, so Labs are sometimes given up if they have one. Most people think Labs are always supposed to be all one color, but sometimes they aren't and it's perfectly normal.

Also, some Labs are bred to be field Labs. They are smaller, typically 50-60lbs, as well as sleeker and faster. This explains some things for us. Sid is incredibly fast and obsessed with birds. He will stalk the birds at our bird feeder like a cat (he never catches anything, though). He also likes to dig and put his whole head into holes if he can. It probably also explains his small stature. 

I am totally smitten with my young field Lab!