“Why am I so stiff and sore today?!
Hint: *MUSCLE FASCIA: (The slick tissue between the skin and the muscle). “Stuck” fascia is a key reason we (and our horses) become muscle-bound/sore and eventually lose our normal range of motion.*
Yesterday we received an email from Frances, a Therapeutic Body Therapist in SoCal. Her comments about NATURAL RELEASE Muscle Wash are terrific, and they also give us a chance to discuss how and why we become sore and tight.
Following Frances’s note, we have added some brief explanations about fascia, and its role in muscle soreness. Yes, we learned this in 9th grade biology, but I, for one, clearly need a reminder!
Here is Frances’s note: (She ordered six bottles of Natural Release and we asked her why.)
“Hi! The [Natural Release] product is great! It seems to melt layers of fascia that are stuck; breaks up the adhesions so wonderfully. So to answer your question, I bought it for myself and to give away a few bottles. I have some clients that need it very much. Also you should be seeing other orders from the south bay area. I’m telling a lot of people and I think the chiropractor I work for will be getting some soon too. Okay off to work. Have a great night. Frances” Click Here to Read the Reviews
So below, lets learn about Fascia – and remember why we need to stretch! (borrowed from StretchCoach)
WHAT DOES MUSCLE FASCIA DO?
There are three main functions that the muscle fascia performs:
1. The fascia holds the muscle together and keeps it in the correct place.
2. The fascia separates the muscles so they can work independently of each other.
3. The fascia provides a lubricated surface so that the muscles can move smoothly against each other.
STRETCHING MUSCLE FASCIA
As stated above; when improving flexibility is the goal, the muscles and their fascia should be the major focus of your flexibility training.
When you are inactive for long periods of time, due to inactivity or injury, the muscle fascia starts to bind together. This prevents the muscles from moving freely against each other, and leads to a stiffness or tightness that limits normal range of motion and prevents freedom of movement. Regular stretching will help to keep your muscles and their fascia in good working order, and prevent your muscles and their fascia from seizing up.
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If you have read this far, here are a few suggestions that we at Four Oaks have learned, and try our best to employ each day. They help!
1. Each morning stand in place with your hands at your sides. Slowly begin to twist your shoulders back and forth. Keep your arms loose, and they will sort of flap along with your shoulders. After a moment start to VERY slowly raise your arms as your shoulders continue back and forth. You will now look like a scarecrow in the wind. Keep doing this as your arms raise up. Eventually, they reach the top and then start back down until they reach your sides. You have now loosened every muscle in your upper body : Back, shoulders, neck, arms and waist. Even your knees and legs loosen up. (Learned from Kim Kizzier, Applied Integrative Therapy. Thanks, Kim! It is an amazing morning ritual… even though it makes me look a bit daffy:-)
2. If you spend your day at a desk, stand up and move at least every 30 minutes. (It’s easy to get lost behind a computer for hours at a time!) Do ten knee bends or 10 toe touches, or ten jumping jacks. Even walking to the mailbox will help. The added benefit is that your mind needs the same rest as your body. Science tells us that the maximum length of mental efficiency without a break is 90 minutes. For most of us in is less than an hour. After that our brainwaves falter, and we simply can not work at peak level.
** NATURAL RELEASE™ Muscle and Joint **
This site is the offiical site of FOUR OAKS FARM VENTURES, Inc, the makers of many international products since 2010.
www.fouroaksproducts.com
This is the 4th time we have used Dust On Powder for skunk smell elimination. We can say that it has been properly tested. After a little learning curve, here is what we learned…..
#1. Do NOT wash yet! Skunk oil does not mix well with water.
#2 Puff the Dust On powder everywhere the pet has been hit. Use a bunch.
#3 Grab some gloves and rub the powder into the coat so all areas have been fully coated. (See photo). The powder draws and absorbs the oil out of the coat
#4 Keep the pet outside and let this sit for 10 minutes.
Optional – Spray lemon juice over the skunked area. This is not mandatory, at all, but it will give you that lemony fresh scent.
#5 Grab a hose and do a good wash down with shampoo.
#6 Dry him. You are done. The entire process will take about 20 minutes in total. When you are done, the pet can go back to his spot beside your bed and you won’t even know that the drama occurred. No smell at all.
Oh, and Rock got hit twice, too. Here is his mugshot.
“All I can say Is WOW! your product, Dust On! Wound Powder is Awesome!
This is Boomer and Bluedog…they are both good buddies, but ended up fighting over licking water off my horse’s leg whilst giving her a bath .. lol Dogs! I thought Stitches would be required, but when an injury is in an odd place, stitches will only tear, and then create a worse healing situation. My neighbor gave me a bottle of “Dust On” and the wound immediately stopped bleeding and scabbed over, now the biggest problem I have is keeping Bluedog from running around like normal. my only regret is that i didn’t take a picture of the wound, before my first application of your miracle powder… anyone that owns animals should have a bottle of this stuff in their first aid kit.
I can’t thank the makers of ‘No Thrush” for making this stuff, I will highly recommend this product to all my friends.
Now I am super excited to try your “Natural Release” Muscle spray on my 23 yr old gelding…I am sure it will make a world of difference for him!
* The daily application process takes no more than 1 minute per day. Besides a brief dabbing away of bedding and drainage in the early stages, DUST ON use requires no washing, no pulling scabs, and no wrapping in most cases. With a barn full of over 50 horses, we can honestly guarantee that you have never used a product that takes less work on your part, and produces the least amount of stress on your horse.
* DUST ON is all-natural. No chemicals.
* DUST ON! allows the body to heal naturally, meaning that it allows proper amounts of granulation tissue to cover the entire wound, then creating a healthy and BREATHABLE scab.
NOTE: A few weeks into use on a wound like KOA’S the scab will become big and chunky. This is what we want! You will be tempted to mess with it. Please don’t. For DUST ON to work as designed, the scab must stay in place. Don’t fret, you are not drying out the wound. The healing happens underneath the scab. In fact, removing the scab means that you now must start all over again, extending healing time, adding to your horse’s discomfort, and making scarring more likely.
* DUST ON! controls bacteria without being caustic, (This means that it does not damage live tissue, which also means scarring is far less likely.)
* DUST ON works extremely well on proud flesh. In fact, stay tuned on this FB page. Our next videologue series will be on proud flesh. We are currently documenting a significant case right now. It has been amazing to see the difference DUST ON has made in just 3 days.
LAST NOTE: I must reemphasize one point above. Take a look on this FB page and watch the KOA DAY 1,2, and 3 Videos. (1 minute each). It is important that when using DUST ON that you follow the usage demonstrated in those videos. Why, you ask? Well, many of DUST ON’s biggest fans and even some of our best friends decide that they should tinker. (They feel a little guilty that they’ve only spent 1 minute a day on that wound) Here are a few things we’d ask them NOT to do…… Perhaps they decide that the scab should be softened so they add creams and ointments. Maybe they decide that the scab should be removed altogether so they wash and soak and pick and pluck; or they decide they should wrap day after day after day. All of this tinkering will significantly slow the process, or much worse. (For example: proud flesh, infection, scarring, etc) The product slogan should be “Just Dust On – and Keep It Simple!”
Just trust the powder. Or as author, Craig Alanson, likes to say,
“Trust the Awesomeness.”
The powder will do its job.
Final Thought: Equine healing has evolved over millions of years. In the wild; an open wound drains, granulation tissue grows over the wound, the wound scabs over, and the wound heals by stitching itself together from the edges inward. No creams, sprays, or ointments are needed for this healing. DUST ON re-enforces and speeds up this natural process, it does not try to reimagine natures design.
Find additional videos, info, and more go to the DUST ON! Page
