It takes me a lot longer to read a book than it used to. I'm not sure what to attribute this to because I used to read every day, could read for over an hour and retain the information. I've had some head traumas, a couple of strokes and age: choose one of those I suppose. that means it's taking me a long time to reread Jack Meagher's book; a really long time. I do a few pages at a time. Looking at this with rose-colored glasses it means that I am carefully and fully processing the information. Today's nugget of knowledge relates to using heat or cold on tight muscles. He believes cold is better than heat (won't go deep enough or last long enough or stay in the area), contractile currents (stem, the muscle is already too tight), muscle relaxers (not accurate), or rest (counterproductive and could mean the problem is permanent). He writes, "Perhaps the most effective way of obtaining the properties of heat is with ice. One of the prime body mechanisms is the maintenance of temperature. When a part is chilled, the body races blood to the area to restore normal temperature; that is why an iced area will feel warm after icing. Circulatory increase gained in this way will be much more effective than when heat is applied to the surface. ... Accurate Therapy is locating and releasing the exact spot (stress point) which is in spasm. The spasm requires three things to secure its release:
A hyperemia (circulatory increase) to soften.
Therapeutic motion to the spastic fibers to restore normal motion.
Proper follow-up exercise."
This has opened my eyes quite a bit. Some old injuries, months or years old, can be fixed with some smart and targeted massage. So stop throwing money at the latest therapy craze, and at least give accurate massage therapy a chance.