personal training 4 all

massage - the healthy alternative

Originally published September 1995

BY ANDREW GALLAGHER
- Physiotherapist/Massage teacher and Director Australian School of Therapeutic Massage.

Massage is one of the earliest recorded forms of medical treatment. Throughout history, across many cultures, reference has been made to its healing, soothing and restorative effects.

Early records from Greece tell us of the use of massage in the treatment of arthritis and back pain as recommended by Hypocrites, the father of medicine in ancient Greece. Further frescoes found in the ruins of Roman cities depict athletes and gladiators receiving massage in what must be the earliest examples of "Sports Medicine" clinics.

In the writings and culture of the cast we also see continual reference to massage, its use and potent effects. The early Chinese physicians recommended the use of pressure massage over acupuncture points to stimulate the circulation and relieve pain.

In current times we now see massage emerging as part of both traditional and alternative health practice. Just attending any major gathering of athletes, be it at an international level or a local fun run, one observes the presence of massage practitioners before, during, as well as after these events.
Increasing too are the number of medical professionals, becoming aware of the benefits of massage in helping alleviate the effects of stress and now readily refer patients with tension headaches, or other stress related problems for relaxation massage.

The benefits of massage are well documented and include:

• pain relief
• relaxation
• enhanced tissue healing
• improved circulation

As well as these, massage helps to promote an overall feeling of both physical and psychological well being.

How does one go about finding a massage practitioner?

Fortunately good massage is readily available to the general public as most large health clinics now usually provide massage therapy as part of their health services available. In fact most suburban physiotherapy, chiropractic and some medical practises will have massage practitioners on staff.
If the clinic you attend does not provide massage therapy you should be able to find a practitioner in your area by consulting the Yellow Pages. Here you will find suitably qualified and experienced practitioners listed under the professional massage associations.

A growing number of people particularly those who are active, health conscious and aware of their bodies are choosing to have massage on a regular basis.

I believe that massage has much to offer in the way of preventing illness, maintaining health and treating many common ailments. It is safe, effective and in these days when many are for drug free alternative, it is the ideal treatment as massage is completely natural.

the self contained power area

The " Self Contained Power Area " (SCPA) is an innovation created for the explicit purpose of saving floor space.

The SCPA’s total area, including the between-area space, is approximately 16 square metres, and it can accommodate four persons.

I first came across the concept in articles by Bill Kroll published during the early 1990’s in the NSCA Journal.

The SCPA was developed for use with American College and High-School power-based athletes. Their gymnasiums are often limited in space yet need to accommodate large numbers of athletes at the same time.

Each SCPA consists of a power rack, an adjustable incline bench, a power bar, an Olympic bar and a curl bar.

The SCPA allows for the completion of every free weight exercise.

Each SCPA requires rubberized area 4.27 by 2.44 metres with a 1.23 metre space between areas. Weight racks are positioned in the between-area spaces. Double tiered dumbell racks can be positioned adjacent to the top of the SCPAs.

The use of a number of “connected” SCPA’s arranged in a row allowed four athletes per station and a sharing of weights and dumbbells located between adjacent SCPA’s.

The SCPA allows a great deal of flexibility in terms of the number of exercises that can be trained in one area.

In his article, Kroll explained that the traditional gymnasium arrangement  (utilizing individual machinery) required 62 square metres to do the same number of exercises that could be completed in a 16-square-metre SCPA.

They are efficient from a supervisory and a user standpoint as there is no need for traffic flow from area to area throughout the room, and no bottlenecks waiting for pieces of equipment to become available.

In a modern commercial environment consideration might be given to excluding many of the Power bars. The concept could now be adapted to include core stability equipment such as Tubular Therabands, Swiss Balls and Body Blades and utilize equipment such as selectorized dumbbell systems.

The article referred to earlier was: Kroll, Bill, Structural and Functional Considerations in Designing the Facility, Part 1 ,NSCA Journal, Vol 13, Number 1, 1991