Sunday, August 17, 2008
Life, Health + Fitness

Say aaaahhh

When you work out hard, sometimes you need someone to work out the knots

By Colleen Oakley

My job is fun, but it’s not easy. Every week, I put my body through a new, usually grueling fitness routine so I can tell you guys whether it’s worth it. And every week, I have a new litany of complaints for my very patient fiancé: “Rub my feet. My neck hurts. I think I threw my back out, and I’ll probably never walk again or be able to bear your children.”

That’s why this week I jumped at the chance to get a therapeutic massage at new Vilas Med Spa in Cummings. “It’s great to help people stay in good condition for sports,” the representative told me. Which is exactly what I told my editor to convince her that I should write about massage for a “fitness” column.

When I arrived at Vilas Med Spa, I filled out a questionnaire about my health and any pain that was causing me problems. I have a bad right ankle that flares up every now and then, and it was hurting that day. I also have neck and shoulder pain that I always assumed was from weight lifting or sleeping wrong. I wrote it all down, and then changed into the comfy white robe and slippers they gave me.

My massage therapist escorted me to the massage room, and we talked about my neck pain so he could understand more about it. Then I laid on the massage table, and he went to work, first on my ankles and legs, then moving up to my neck and shoulders. For those of you who have never gotten a massage before—you should. For those of you who have, believe me when I say this was one of the best massages I’ve ever gotten.

TK spent a lot of time working the knots out of my shoulder, and he even performed “energy” work—running his hands over my problem spots, but not touching them, and telling me to concentrate breathing deeply into his hands and out through my fingertips. I thought it was a bunch of granola hoo-ha, until my shoulder started feeling better.

After a full hour of soothing pampering, I felt relaxed and pain-free. “I think your shoulder pain is being caused by you clenching your teeth,” he said. I do clench my teeth a lot, particularly at night, but I had never made the connection with that and my pain. But I was relieved to know that it wasn’t my fitness routine making me ache.

At home that night, my fiancé was thrilled that I needed no rubs from him. But I did go straight to bed because I was exhausted from all my relaxing—this job is hard work! SP
Colleen Oakley is a freelance writer in Atlanta and the former editor of Women’s Health & Fitness magazine. Got a fitness challenge for her? E-mail her at colleen@sundaypaper.com.