Anna Castellano

I'm not a huge fan of massage guns because they can be too aggressive. The one I am most familiar with is the Hyper Bolt, which we used at Olympic trials for track and field. I recommend using it before a workout to get everything moving and warmed up, but avoid using it after a big workout as it can further traumatize already tired muscles.
 
Transcript: "Hi, Max. Thanks for your question. What brand or model would you recommend for   a massage gun? I personally am not a huge fan of massage guns. I think they're a little too aggressive. Uh The one I am the most familiar with is the hyper bolt.  That's the one that we used mainly at Olympic trials for track and field. And the thing that I don't like about it is I can't feel what the tissue is doing beneath it because you are holding a big apparatus. The attachments I use the most were the ones that looked like a flat doorknob kind of one. And then the ball one, the pointed one was very for a specific area like the hands or the feet. And again, you don't want to go crazy with it. I always keep it at a low speed if you, especially if you're using it after a big workout, I don't recommend it because those muscles are already traumatized from the work you just put them through and they want to recover and that percussion can further traumatize those muscles. I would say if you want to use one, use it before the big workout, you know, before a warm up and just to get everything kind of moving in that jostle to get things warmed up and then go through your warm up, especially if you're really stiff that day."

To keep your shoulder loose and limber, do some band work with a body blade or door jam. Stretches such as elongation and rotation can be done to help with the mobility of the shoulder.
 
Transcript: "Hey Louise, thanks for your question. What are some basic stretches to keep my shoulder which is all screwed up loose and limber? So a good thing to do is some band work. If you have access to a body blade that would work really well because it not only works on the shoulder stability but it also works on your core strength. If you don't have access to a body blade you can also do something with the door with some really light bands. Just make sure that you have the knot and it's coming up over the door like so. So when you shut that door it's not gonna slap in your face because that's never a good thing. And if you can't reach it, like I had a hard time reaching it, you can go ahead and just go on to the door jam like so and that will also be helpful too. So with the higher up one what you can do as far as a stretch would go, we are gonna do an elongation stretch. So what you can do is hold up like here like so and then you're gonna lean back into that and just allow that recoil of the band to pull that shoulder out for you. And then as you stand up you're gonna start with that lat and you're gonna pull it up nice and easy and it's gonna be a little stretch. It's nothing crazy like that okay. You can also come in if it's more in the back, come in at a 90 degrees here or here and again you're just allowing that recoil to gently stretch that as you roll forward. And it's not a big motion, it's real small and it's real controlled. You can also do it on like I said the door jam. So we're here and you just give it a nice little rotation here. If you have any other questions let me know. Thanks!"

I would recommend athletes use the Norma tech device for Recovery up to two times per day, no longer than 30 minutes per session.
 
Transcript: "How often would you recommend athletes use the NormaTec device for recovery? The best is basically post-event and or post-hydrotherapy. So if you do cold tubs or hot tubs, I would pop in a NormaTec after those. And it's best, you could do 30-minute sessions, I would say would be the longest, and you can get the most benefit within 10 minutes of a session. It just really depends on where you're at on your training and how often you use them. And you can use them up to two times per day, but no longer than 30 minutes on each of those sessions."

Hydrotherapy is preferred over cryotherapy.
 
Transcript: "In what situations, if any, would you recommend cryotherapy over hydrotherapy? I don't see any situation to recommend cryo over hydro. I am gonna go with hydrotherapy all the time if it's available. I just I'm just not a believer in cryotherapy."

My favorite and most effective massage tool is the new edition of my Electrons Plus Machine, which administers pulsed electromagnetic field therapy while I do the massage, as well as my fat tool that I can use for scraping to get into hard areas and hold at the end for stubborn pressure points.
 
Transcript: "So I was asked what is my most effective and favorite massage tool. That would be the new addition, my Electrons Plus machine, which administers pulse electromagnetic field therapy while I do the massage. As well as my fat tool that I can use for scraper to get into hard areas that are mainly just stuck fascia. And I can also hold at the end a stubborn pressure point if I need to."

I don't believe in cryotherapy because it gets too cold too quick and can be detrimental to muscle recovery. I would suggest hydrotherapy instead, since its not as cold and has therapeutic properties that can help the body recover.
 
Transcript: "Hi, Keturah. Thank you for your question. What do you think about Cryotherapy?  I personally don't believe in cryotherapy. I believe more in hydrotherapy. Cryotherapy   just gets too cold, too quick and it can be detrimental to your muscle recovery because that blood flow basically slows down. Inter interstitial flow slows down. So you're not flushing those systems with the good nutrients that they need to get there because everything is kind of basically frozen and you need to defrost and then they have to kick back into gear. So, in a way, you're just prolonging that process of healing and recovering a little bit quicker than you'd like if you like cold tubs. I would suggest that that's going to be a little bit better because it doesn't get as cold and it's safe. You're not going to frost bite your feet. If you forget to put on the little um footy things for the cryotherapy and also hydrotherapy, there's an element of water that is naturally going to help the body recover because of its therapeutic properties. So I would say no cryo and yes to hydro"