The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 1 ultra marathon recovery specialistwww.aching-legs.org/customer_service_tired_legs.html

Aching Legs are a Health Hazard for Customer Service Workers

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-massage-lite thegreenalternative

Customer service workers whether they are checkout chicks, checkout operators, floorwalkers all haveone thing in common-they get aching fatigued legs that some days feels like this when they finishAching legs caused by being on them for long periods is an occupational health and safety issuebecause the long term effect of them on peoples health is very real

(see www.hazards.org/standing)

Aching legs can be detrimental to general health and can contribute to stress-for more on long termeffects of poor lower leg circulation on the lower legs, seewww.hazards.org/standing If the poor circulation is medically related there is not muchto be done except get themdealt with bythe medical profession-but if the lack of circulation it is related to not moving enough then it may behelped by restarting the calf muscle pump

Muscle health is based on having a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to them

To maintain the supply of fresh blood to the lower legs a balance between what goes into the musclesand what comes out of them is important-fresh blood can't enter the muscle tissues if nothing iscoming out of them

Blood is made up of many parts-it is a mixture of cells and a watery liquid, it contains things likenutrients (such as sugar), hormones, clotting agents-the blood is pumped under pressure from the heartto the extreme parts of the body through vessels called arteries which break down into smaller vesselscalled arterioles, and even smaller ones (capillaries)By the time it reaches the feet and toes, all the pressure has run out and there is nothing left to take itback up the legs and into the body for renourishment and recycling againThis job of moving the used blood which carries all waste products to be flushed out of the body-isgiven to a different set of vessels called the veins-these have a series of one-way valves in them thatopen and close forcing used blood back up the legs against gravity-but to do this it needs a motor towork the systemWhile the watery part of the blood can move in and out of the vessels, the larger parts, the blood cellsand platelets can’t

The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 2 ultra marathon recovery specialistwww.aching-legs.org/customer_service_tired_legs.htmla swollen lower leg and ankle-showing how lack of movement can affect lower leg circulation

Edema (or collection of fluid) that gives the ankles that puffy look is caused by blood collecting at itslowest point of the body, the lower legs-and the fluid separates from the blood and fills the tissuespaces around the feet and ankles-as it can’t be pumped away fast enough the ankles swell

To help pump all the fluid from the lower legs, the veins rely on the Calf MusclePump

The calf muscle pump forces used blood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recyclingThe muscle pump is made up of all the leg muscles-the main motors for the pumping system are thecalf muscles, the soleus which is used for standing and walking and the gastrocnemius used for runningand jumpingWhen standing upright for hours concentrating on work, the calf muscles are inactive-they are notdoing their job as motors for a pumping system designed to move used blood and lymph fluid from thelower legsThey usually work as a pair by alternately putting pressure on the veins and releasing it-this takes usedblood back to the body through one-way valves which stop it flowing back down towards the feetagain-when standing for long periods the pump is not workingThis leaves all the weight of the body fluids in the veins putting pressure on the vein walls causingthem to widen-gaps appear in the valve flaps allowing leakage of fluid back into the lower legs-oops-varicose veinsLack of movement reduces the veins ability to open and close by keeping constant tension on them, thisis called calf muscle pump inefficiencygastrocnemius

soleus

The Calf Muscle Pump-Light Manual Muscle Relaxation as an aid to lower leg circulationCopyright 2009 Michael Gillan 3 ultra marathon recovery specialistwww.aching-legs.org/customer_service_tired_legs.html

Problems caused by calf muscle pump inefficiency include

•

Poor circulation

•

Lymph system inactivity

•

Venous return reduced

This can lead to long term leg health problems

(See www.hazards.org/standing)

Occupational health and safety issues with aching legs are a constant problem, and one that is difficultto deal with-usually the best advice that can be given is to wear a good pair of shoes and recover byhaving the legs elevated to allow the fluid that has built up in the lower legs to drain back to the bodyLying down with the legs in the air is the last thing with aching legs needs at the end of the day, it istoo passive and no one has the time to do this in today’s busy lifestylesWhat someone who relies on their legs to stay in their occupation and who needs to maintain the healthof their legs is a simple

practical

recovery solution they can do during a break and after they havefinished working

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-a self help massage-lite recovery

Many people seemassage as a means of removing the used fluid from the legs

The term ‘massage’ covers many areas, and ways of using ‘constructive’ touch, most of them rely onthe skill of the therapist at manipulating the muscle tissues-the knowledge they use to do this requiresmuch training and practise-they have to pass examinations in order to work in this fieldUnless you know what you are doing most modern massage techniques are not only too technical-theycan be too rough on tissues, arteries, and veins in the legs from

uncontrolled finger force

and untrainedhands working

and

into

the muscles causing damageThe circulation is already challenged and the muscle tissues already struggling for fresh blood-working

the muscles entails using the hands and fingers to encourage circulation and this means usinguncontrolled finger force into the tissues

Why is working

with

the muscles more important than working

them?

Dealing with the muscles in an appropriate way is important if using manual therapies-to help increaselower leg circulation it is important to make a choice that is not going to make things worseUnskilled hands working

the muscles threaten the integrity of the venous and arterial systems bybreaking the fine capillaries and venules that run throughout the circulatory network of blood vesselsTo prevent this, fatigued legs need something simple that is easy to do without putting the system atrisk of damage