What is The Stick?

The Stick is a revolutionary device used to segmentally compress and stretch muscle. It is highly effective in the treatment of muscle pain and trigger points.

The Stick provides the following benefits:

Prevent & Predict Muscle Injuries
Dramatically improve strength, flexibility and endurance
Rapidly prepare muscles for physical activity
Disperse the effects of lactic acid following activity
Accelerate muscle recovery

What is the Stick Made of, how long will it last?
Stick products are made of a space-age plastic that allow necessary flexibility of the tool and provide maximum compression of the muscles (the Stick contains no rubber or wood). The center rod of the Stick is surrounded by spindles which roll independently over the muscle. The handles provide maximum comfort in the grip. The Stick comes with a 90-day satisfaction guarantee, and a 1 year manufacturer's warranty against defects. With proper use, The Stick should last a lifetime.

Medical Talk:
The Stick converts non-compliant muscle to compliant muscle by performing what Dr. Travell calls stripping massage. In fact, this noted medical physician relates that, "deep stripping massage of the tender spot in the muscle was generally the treatment of choice for muscular rheumatism (myofascial trigger points) long before the turn of this century, and for fibrositis afterwards." The Stick allows people to self-perform general as well as segmental therapeutic procedures with a high degree of precision. These procedures remove the barriers to peak physical performance. It is the unassisted rolling, stretching, twisting and compressing of the muscle that diffuses barrier trigger points and converts non-compliant muscle to compliant muscle.

Clinical/Health Care
The Stick is widely used in hospitals and by all members of the healing arts, including physicians, chiropractors, massage therapists and other practioners.
Some Stick benefits include:

Prepares muscle tissue for additional therapeutic procedures
Accurately documents offending myofascial trigger points
Supplants conventional and expensive modalities/procedures
Accentuates recovery through patient participation

Sports
Athletes in all sports and at all levels can benefit from the Stick. Many thousands of high school, college, university and Olympic athletes follow the lead of numerous professionals including: New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres....
Some Stick benefits include:

Warms muscle without expending vital energy stores
Performs both general and segmental stretching procedures
Removes trigger point barriers to peak athletic performance
Enhances strength, flexibility and endurance
Accelerates muscle recovery and relieves pain

Occupational/Industry
From corporate on-site massage to planned industrial wellness, The Stick is an effective modality for overworked and overstressed muscles. Companies "On The Stick" include: Miller Brewing, 3M Companies, Tenneco, Toshiba, Genuine Parts, Anheuser Busch, Web Marketing Associates and many others.
Some Stick benefits include:

Allows worker to prepare muscle tissue for activity
Provides unassisted stress relief without leaving work sight
Controls myofascial lesions associated with CTS
Prevents RSI by assuring compliant muscle

The Stick - Techniques

General Tips for Use

• Keep muscles relaxed during rollout
• Use on skin or through light clothing.
• The Stick is waterproof and designed to bend without fear of breaking.
• It is not necessary to hurt the muscle in order to help the muscle.
• Most effective when used before, during and after periods of activity.
• For pin-point rollout, slide hands onto spindles.
• Excessive use may caue muscle soreness.

General Instructions

• A typical warm-up for healthy muscle tissue is about 20 progressively deeper passes over each muscle group (about 30 seconds per area).
• Discomfort or pain is experienced when the spindles locate a bump or tender knot in the muscle - this is known as a trigger point.
• Muscles containing trigger points are often weak, stiff and sore. They are frequently tight, easily tire and often hurt.
• Muscles containing chronic trigger points need 20 additional passes over the involved area, and may require attention several times daily.

The Stick for Athletes

The Q-10 Effect
Warm muscles perform better than cool muscles, Traditionally, athletes would have to do light exercise to raise muscle temperature and enhance enzyme activity, This came at the expense of energy stores that could make the difference between first place and second place. Intracell Technology allows an athlete to warm-up without expending energy reserves.

Speed, Strength and Endurance
Emphasis on flexibility training by most athletes is almost non-existent. However, flexibility is crucial for developments in speed, strength and endurance. The usual approach to flexibility is less than optimal since muscle rarely stiffens uniformly. Typically, isolated segments of muscle become chronically shortened. Intracell Technology allows an athlete to perform general stretching as well as segmental stretching procedures with a high degree of precision.

Growth, Repair and Glycogen
Restricted blood flow to the muscles following exercise hinders muscle growth, muscle repair and glycogen repletion. Blood flow restrictions are due to generalized muscle tightness and barrier trigger points. Intracell Technology relaxes tight muscle to enhance muscle growth, repairs tissue and augments glycogen repletion following heavy exercise.

Enhanced Lactic Acid Removal
During exercise, lactic acid can build to critical levels where optimal performance is sacrificed, Intracell Technology expedites the discharge of lactic acid from your muscles and encourages its conversion into glucose by the liver. Intracell Technology appears to be very promising in the arena of enhanced sport performance. Look for more research along these lines in the future.

What is Fibromyalgia Syndrome?
The condition can affect people in many different ways, however the major symptoms include diffuse muscular pain, ache, soreness and stiffness. Frequently waking during sleep and rising unrefreshed are companion symptoms. Memory loss and irritable bowel complaints are other symptoms that often accompany fibromyalgia syndrome.

Trigger points and tender points, are they the same thing?
Sometimes this is difficult to address because the conditions are often found in concert with each other. A safe way to differentiate the two is by pain patterns. Remember, the pain of Fibromyalgia Syndrome is widespread, hence the tender points will also be widespread. Trigger point pain is found in a condition known as myofascial pain syndrome, which may be highly localized or regional. An active trigger point will also refer pain when palpated, while a tender point is more likely to just cause more pain at the local site. Also, the prognosis for trigger points is more favorable than tender points.

Barrier Trigger Points
Barrier trigger points are inflexible bands of muscle containing knots. These barriers set an artificial ceiling on muscle performance by restricting blood flow to the muscle. And, unrestricted blood flow is vital for both high performance and full recovery from exercise. Intracell Technology lifts the ceiling on performance by extinguishing barrier trigger points.

Information has been taken directly off the stick website.

To order any of the products or services you see here, call 604-291-9941 or email info@performanceforsport.com

Read more articles

 http://www.thestick.net/Articles/FSUArticle.htm

http://www.thestick.net/Articles/Triceps.htm