The Storm

MyoStorm had the pleasure of being thrown in the Shark Tank, and the Sharks took the bait! The exposure gained from being on ABC’s Shark Tank will help take MyoStorm to the next level. We have a lot in the works and have buckled down on solutions to kick pain in the butt. Here's a couple of images giving you a sneak peak of what happened.  But come back after our episode airs on Sunday Oct, 27th and you can read more about the story here! You can watch a quick recap of what happened here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ON-iUZMbvE Let us know what you thought of how things went down!

Should I stretch, use a foam roller (or the Meteor), or get a massage? And should I do it before or after my workout?    You’ve probably asked yourself at least one of these questions before, or at the very least you know someone who has told you that you should “insert piece of overly-confident, unqualified advice here”. For example, there are a large group of people that believe you should stretch before every workout to avoid injury, but did you know that the numbers don’t agree with that statement? Static stretching done before exercise does not decrease your chance of injury, and some studies even suggest that it may increase the prevalence of injuries.(1) Let’s take a second and talk about the effects of stretching and SMFR (or self massage with hands or a tool like the Meteor) on performance when done either before or after your activity.   Stretching Before Exercise   Like we noted before, stretching before exercise does not decrease your chance of injury, but did you know that it also decreases your power output?(2) In a study on athletes it was seen that their lower body power output decreased after stretching. Besides not helping your performance, stretching before activity can feel awkward and uncomfortable. What this means for you, is that if you are about to compete or even just attempt a heavy lift, you should avoid stretching your active muscles just before.    There’s a twist though! Even though stretching your muscles before an exercise will decrease your power, stretching your antagonist (opposite) muscles will increase strength, endurance, and power according to some studies!(3)(4) In one study, jump height was measured in athletes and height was shown to increase after stretching the opposite muscles. If you are about to squat and you want to make sure your quadriceps are as effective and powerful as possible, then you will want to stretch your hamstrings because they are opposite your quadriceps and perform the opposite motion.   Stretching After Exercise   Stretching after exercise is becoming more popular and actually has a couple benefits. The main benefits are that it helps to keep your heart rate up and assist in blood flow and metabolism. Because your body is warm from your workout, your stretch will be deeper and longer resulting in greater relaxation. Some studies have even found that stretching after your workout can decrease the soreness you feel in your muscles in the following days.(5)   SMFR Before Exercise   Rolling out your muscles feels great, and the best part is that it makes you stronger too. SMFR (Self MyoFascial Release) can increase your strength as well as your proprioception (awareness in space) as shown in this study.(6) Specifically in sore and damaged muscle, SMFR is effective in increasing strength in activity. In the previous study, as well as this next one, it was shown that SMFR also increases your range of motion, so you can exercise more of your muscle easier!(7) One last observed benefit of SMFR before exercise was that sprinting speed increased following rolling out the muscles of the leg.(8) So, if you find yourself feeling especially sore before your workout or you simply want to beat your own personal record, rolling out or even massaging your own muscle is a great way to get a little extra push.   SMFR After Exercise   Besides the obvious benefits of rolling out and massaging your muscles post-workout like increased blood flow, relaxation, and reduced soreness; SMFR actually increases your tired muscles strength afterward.(8) You might not be worried about your strength once you’ve completed your workout, but don’t forget that you still need to walk around and those of you that exercise in the early hours of the day still have a full day of work ahead of you! Having that added strength in your tired muscles is a great way to ensure that you don’t wear yourself out.    Fun Fact: SMFR with vibration is more effective than SMFR without vibration when it comes to improving flexibility!(9) Recovery devices such as the Meteor (which also packs the punch of heating your targeted area) are extra effective at treating your sore muscles. 1.https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/phys-ed-does-stretching-before-running-prevent-injuries/  2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18714248/ 3.https://www.naseinc.com/blog/effect-of-inter-set-antagonist-muscle-stretching-on-repetitions-performed/ 4.https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=kss_fac 5.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1250267/ 6.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25226328/ 7.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4637917/ 8.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6465761/ 9.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6416504/

Pain is a part of life. Whether it comes from a nasty fall, a basketball play gone wrong, or simply from daily chores, pain is something that everyone feels. Pain is described by the International Association for the Study of Pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage…” Even though pain is unavoidable that doesn’t mean that it should be unmanageable. One of the easiest ways to deal with simple pain from injuries is to change the temperature. The practices commonly referred to as icing and heating are formally called Cryotherapy and Thermotherapy. “Although cold and hot treatment modalities both decrease pain and muscle spasm, they have opposite effects on tissue metabolism, blood flow, inflammation, edema, and connective tissue extensibility” (Nadler). As we see from studies, heat therapy as well as cold therapy are effective in decreasing pain, but they do it in different ways. Before you try either of these approaches it’s important to know the contraindications for treatment. In other words, there are times when it is unsafe to drastically change the temperature of your body or when you should be extra cautious when doing so. We’ve provided a list of some contraindications at the end of the article. Everything you do and feel is brought about by your Nervous System. Your nervous system is, simply put, your brain and all of your nerves. Your nervous system acts by sending chemical and electrical messages from your body to your brain and vice-versa. It’s your nervous system that is responsible for telling you when you’re in pain. Cryotherapy can be used to slow down the pain signal and as a result, the sensation of pain is lessened. Studies have shown that lowering the temperature of skin can decrease Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) which is simply the speed that nerves relay information through your body. If you’ve ever tried to move quickly when you’re cold, you know how much lower temperatures can make a difference in your speed. This is is a good way to intuitively understand what cold does to signals of pain. Imagine that your nerves were a series of pipes filled with water and the messages are sent through these tubes. We can imagine that these messages are sent like a letter in a bottle. In normal conditions the bottles flow just fine through the rivers of our nerves, but if the water were to begin to freeze it would be much slower! One of the major ways that thermotherapy decreases pain is by increasing blood flow. Blood is responsible for transporting nutrients essential for healing. This is one of the reasons you see swelling in an injury. All your little blood cells rush like little paramedics to the site of the injury to help heal it up. When you use heat to treat an injury, it warms up your blood and the surrounding area. It increases the speed that the blood cells can bring nutrients to the injured site. It’s similar to our example about nerves, but in the opposite. Now that we’ve briefly touched on one example of pain management for each cryotherapy and thermotherapy, the only question left for you might be which one is right for you. Before ever considering treating yourself you should consult your doctor with any questions. When treating pain you should always remember - it’s objective. That means that nobody else can feel what you’re feeling. The goal of pain management is that it makes you feel better, so if you like heat more than cold then use it. If you love the feel of an ice bath, then give yourself an ice bath. The goal of pain relief is ultimately to encourage your body to relax. Regardless of whether you prefer thermotherapy or cryotherapy the most important thing is to be consistent. A one time treatment isn’t going to fix your problems, but heating your lower back several times a week can aid tremendously in healing. A good rule of thumb if you’re unsure of what to do is this: heat before activities and ice after. If you’re going to be moving around it’s important to help your muscles stretch out and by heating you encourage blood flow. Once you’re done with your activity you can ice the area to bring down the inflammation and slow your systems down. It is also generally a good idea to use heat on chronic issues because it encourages the healing process of the body. Nobody wants pain to get in the way of the things they love, and you don’t have to. Heat and cold therapy are cheap and easy ways to manage your own pesky pains so you can get back to the activities you enjoy! The list below is not a complete list and you should always speak to your health care provider if you have concerns or questions. Contraindications for Thermotherapy: Acute inflammatory disease Skin lesions (cuts, scrapes, etc) Peripheral neuropathy (issues with your peripheral nervous system) Circulatory issues Rheumatoid Arthritis (deep heating should be used with caution) Multiple Sclerosis Diabetes Mellitus Spinal Cord injuries Contraindications for Cryotherapy: Nerve damage Diabetes Mellitus Raynaud's phenomenon (a circulation problem dealing with constricting blood vessels) Open wounds Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Association_for_the_Study_of_Pain Nadler, S. F., Weingand, K., & Kruse, R. J. (2004). The Physiologic Basis and Clinical Applications of Cryotherapy and Thermotherapy for the Pain Practitioner. Cryotherapy and Thermotherapy for the Pain Practitioner 395 Pain Physician, 7(3), 395–399. Retrieved from http://www.preventworkinjury.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Heat-vs-Cold-Therapy.pdf Algafly, A. A., & George, K. P. (2007). The effect of cryotherapy on nerve conduction velocity, pain threshold and pain tolerance. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(6), 365–369. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2006.031237

If you’ve ever tried an activity that’s new to you - such as rock-climbing, yoga, horseback riding, or even joining a recreational league volleyball team - you may have found it difficult to get out of bed the next morning (or even the next couple of mornings!). That stiff feeling in your muscles is something that we in the exercise science world call DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This phenomenon occurs when tiny microscopic tears are made inside your muscle cells. That’s right! Not only do your muscles themselves tear when you exercise, but a part of your muscle cell called the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, or SR for short, is damaged. Your SR holds onto important ions that are used in muscle contraction, but when it is damaged they spill out into the cell and your body activates an immune response. This soreness is what we call DOMS. It’s sort of like when you get sick and your nose gets stuffy or your eyes get all red. The inflammation and stuffiness is your body trying to heal itself. As a result of this immune response, your muscles feel painful and sore and because of how long it takes for all these things to happen you won’t even feel it until the next day or two! You might be thinking “I played football or ran track every day in high school. I shouldn’t get sore after playing a little bit of volleyball!”. While it’s true that exercise in general will keep you from getting sore (this is because of something called the Repeated Bout Effect) there is an important feature of muscle known as the SAID principle which stands for Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. This means that your muscles learn. Just because you do a million push-ups does not mean that you’re going to be able to climb a rope easily. If you want to become stronger and better at a certain activity, you need to practice that activity. This seems obvious when we think about it. The more we exercise, the less sore we get. You wouldn’t expect to see someone like LeBron James catching fly-balls out in left field for the New York Yankees (though I’m sure people would pay to!). This principle explains why you can get so incredibly sore when trying out a new activity. This observation is sometimes referred to as the Law of Specificity or the Principle of Specificity. Okay, so now we know why that Saturday morning yoga class has left you feeling like you just ran a marathon, but what can we do about it? There are actually several effective treatments for DOMS, but we wanted to focus on the power of physical touch, or massage, and the mechanisms behind it. Studies have shown that manual manipulation, whether it be through professional massage or even self-massage with a foam roller or massage ball, are effective in relieving pain. The first process of pain reduction that we’re going to look at is how touch reduces pain by fooling your nervous system. Have you ever stubbed your toe? Or bumped your knee? Burned your hand? How about closing your finger in the car door? I’m going to guess that you’ve done one, if not all of these things at one time or another. Think back to the first thing you did after this traumatic experience. It’s incredibly likely that you grabbed onto whatever your hurt body part was and maybe even rubbed the spot. The amazing thing is that this actually works! And it’s through something called Gate Control Theory. Gate Control Theory is based on the assumption that different nerves in your body bring information to your brain at different speeds. The signals of touch travel to your brain quicker than those of pain. Imagine that your brain was like the King or Queen of a castle that is your body. This ruler is in charge of protecting the castle and everyone in it. This castle has royal messengers and they tell the King or Queen what they need to know. Now, if every single false alarm of danger (such as a strong gust of wind, or a couple of medieval teenagers throwing mud on the castle walls) was interpreted as a need to rally the royal army and go to war, there would be so much chaos and confusion that there wouldn’t be time to respond to the everyday needs of the kingdom. It would be in the best interest of the messengers then to organize themselves; and whenever a frantic messenger is rushing to announce that war is imminent, another (quicker) messenger cuts them off and calms them down before they reach the royal hall. This way, maybe they can think more rationally about whatever ruckus they’re reporting. This isn’t exactly how nerves work, but it serves our purpose for explaining how the nerves that sense pain (nociceptors) aren’t as fast as the nerves that sense general touch. The faster nerves “close the gate” that the nociceptors take to get to the brain and as a result they lessen the pain signal. This is why squeezing your finger after jamming it in the door relieves pain! The same principle works in massage, foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and really anything that activates the nerves in your muscles and the surface of your skin. You can use any of these tools to relieve DOMS in your muscles either once you feel the pain, or immediately following your workout to prevent it. There’s another really interesting benefit to manually massaging (or applying pressure with another tool to) your aching muscles. Hormones. That’s right, hormones. When I say that word most people think of the kind of hormones that make teenage boys grow hair and get deeper voices and go crazy over teenage girls, but those aren’t the ones we’re talking about. While certain types of hormones do cause those things, a hormone is simply any substance made in one part of your body that is transported to another part of the body before being used to enact a change. The first hormone is Oxytocin which many people know as one of the “love hormones”. Oxytocin makes us feel good and it’s been shown in studies that touch can stimulate the release of this hormone into the blood which lowers pain! There is some speculation within some in the science community that SMFR (Self MyoFascial Release) which is a form of self massage may affect the nervous system and reduce levels of the hormone Cortisol. While studies have shown a decrease in comparison to a control group, the differences were not large enough to be statistically significant. There were several aspects of the study that researchers suggested altering in future experiments, as what they saw appeared to be promising. While cortisol is a useful hormone, high levels of it that result from both physical stress and emotional stress (that feeling you get when you forgot to study for the big test) are detrimental to both muscles and bones. If manual therapy is effective in reducing cortisol, it could have added psychological effects in addition to how great it feels on your muscles. One more weapon in the war on DOMS! There are so many different ways to lessen the pain from that pesky DOMS that you feel, whether it be an old family secret, a revolutionary cryochamber that professional athletes use, or even just good old fashioned rest - but hopefully you learned something about how to better treat the pain you feel. Massaging your own sore muscles with a lacrosse ball, foam roller, or another tool like the Meteor is a quick and easy way to manage the aches and pains of everyday life.  -Bailey Carlson   Definitions of Science-y words: Contraction- The action of your muscle flexing Ions- Charged particles that are used in your body for things like flexing muscles Nociceptors- Special nerves responsible for relaying messages of pain to your brain Repeated Bout Effect- The explanation for how activities become easier the more you do them Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAID_principle (SAID Principle) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_control_theory (Gate-Control Theory) https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/foam-rolling-self-myofascial-release/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143417907000522 (oxytocin and pain) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242954/ (cortisol and SMFR) http://www.rnceus.com/ages/images/Gate.jpg (gate control theory image)

The 2016 Summer Olympics held in the beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was a huge accomplishment for Team USA. The United States ranked first in medals out of all the nations competing, and it was their third most successful medal count in their Olympic history.    One of the bright spots for Team USA was a marathoner with an iconic mustache.   He had finished in third place a few months prior to the Olympics game back in February during the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, California to earn a spot on the 2016 US Olympic Team.   The same man who just recently at the 2018 New York City Marathon, the second-fastest race in its history, finished sixth overall as the first American to cross the finish line while battling through a grueling hamstring injury.                                             His name is Jared Ward.   Jared headed to Rio de Janeiro with aspirations to help Team USA compete amongst the best athletes from countries all over the world and on the biggest stage.   In his Olympic debut, he beat out many of the best runners in the world and finished sixth overall in the marathon, running a personal best time of 2:11:30.   This was an incredible accomplishment for the Utah native, and ended with fellow Americans in attendance chanting in unison, “Wardy, Wardy, Wardy!”   The former BYU All-American’s Olympic debut etched his name into Olympic History, finishing top-six as a world-class Olympic marathoner. He is now preparing in hopes of making a run in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and bringing home a medal.     Lofton Bean Check out the article in Sports Illustrated on how Jared Ward was able to overcome an injury to finish sixth overall at the 2018 New York City Marathon.

MyoStorm’s ‘The Meteor’ has been supported and proven by extensive scientific research to effectively release fascial tension. For those that suffer chronic pain or exercise regularly, such a trait can be life-changing. In order to completely grasp the importance of fascial tension relief, one needs to first understand what fascia is and the purpose it serves. Fascia, simply put, is connective tissue. It is found all over the body and serves many purposes. There is superficial fascia that is thin and just below the skin as well as deep fascia. It can be thought of as a thin sheath, just under our skin, that extends throughout the entire body, serving as a protective layer over the muscles and organs. Though it serves as a sheath, the fascia is incredibly complex and 3 dimensional. It is a sort of living spiderweb that communicates and moves in the body. Along with protection, one of fascia’s primary purpose is to aid in daily, functional activities. When one participates in tasks as menial as walking, lifting a box or climbing stairs, fascia is working to allow such movements to easily be performed as it permits the muscles and bones to smoothly move against each other. Fascia, just like other parts of the body such as muscle or skin, reacts to stresses placed upon it. The entire fascial network is connected and contracts as well as relaxes in response to our activities. When fascia is healthy, it is well hydrated. This allows it to move and glide in its complex, 3-dimensional pattern. Stimulating fascia with exercise, stretching, or a massage ball helps the fascia to rehydrate itself the same way squeezing a sponge helps it to fill up with water.     While fascia is absolutely vital and fundamental, it also may be the reason one is experiencing significant pain or discomfort in certain areas of the body. Due to the fact that fascia is a continuous connective network that extends throughout the entire body, discomfort in one muscle of the body can cause pain in another.     For over 4 years, I’ve struggled with continuing and worsening shoulder pain. As time has passed this shoulder pain has spread to my elbow, causing simple activities such as sleeping on my right side or throwing a football to be extremely uncomfortable. Over the past couple of months, this pain has become nearly unbearable and surgery was seeming to be a likely option. Thank goodness for the Meteor. I was lucky enough to be able to use this product with consistency, hoping the vibration and heat that the Meteor provides could grant some relief. In the matter of a couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a considerable difference in my ability to participate in activities that, before, would’ve been a burden. The Meteor helps release the stress that we often put on our fascia which can lead to an increase in performance and flexibility. If you struggle with a constant, nagging pain, the Meteor is the product you need to recover as quickly as possible.   Nick Stensrud   

Have you ever felt a knot in your neck muscles at the end of a long day? Or even an unusually tense spot on the back of your arms? These are most likely trigger points, a condition where a specific area within one’s skeletal muscle becomes tight and extremely sore. These areas can pop up just about anywhere in the body. The most common being in the trapezius, triceps, and quadriceps. There are many ways that these areas form, such as repetitive overuse of the same muscle day after day. Examples include sitting at a desk with a slouching back or a physically demanding work environment causing one to pick up or move heavy items too often. Another very common cause is stress, which leads to prolonged muscle contraction. All of these can cause the muscle fibers to spasm and cluster, which only compounds the problem. These “knots” in the muscle disrupt blood flow and cause muscle substitution, which may lead to more trigger points forming. It is important to treat them once identified. In fact, it is rare for someone to only have a single trigger point. Some Trigger points can develop for months before being identified, while some form very quickly. The easiest way to find them is by sliding your hands over the suspected muscle group, feeling for out of the ordinary sensitivity or unevenness. One of the most effective and common ways of treating trigger points is through trigger point therapy. This is simply a massage that compresses the area, realigning the muscle fibers to renew adequate blood flow. This can be accomplished by professionals or oneself. In some cases a family member can assist. The basic idea behind the trigger point massage is to loosen the muscle fascia and muscle fibers. This can be done through isolated squeezing of the painful area and repetitive linear pressing parallel to the muscle group. New studies have confirmed self-administered myofascial release therapy with a massage device can significantly improve one’s chronic muscle pain. In fact, earlier this year a group of male break-dancers were enrolled in a study where they regularly used a vibrating massage tool on their legs. The study found significant improvements in various objective mechanical tissue properties, range of motion, and pain desensitization in healthy, well-conditioned dancers.   Tyler Coggins  

What sets The Meteor apart from competitors is that it combines both heat and vibration into one recovery ball.  This maximizes myofascial release and gives your muscles the recovery they need. The product has been tested by athletes who have given testimonials that it is the best recovery product on the market. One of the crucial recovery properties is vibration.   Vibration causes all the little somatosensory receptors within the skin and muscle to be activated, which in turn affects the neurological system helping it to relax (Dr. Brent Feeland).  The Meteor will provide you with a localized vibration that will cause your muscles to contract and relax. With just a 30 second application of vibration, muscle stiffness can be reduced by 50%.  World class athletes such as Olympian runners Jared Ward and Drew Windle, and body builder Leon McCall have endorsed the product and see the potential for The Meteor to completely take over the recovery market. Vibration as a means of muscle recovery is not something that is new.  The practice of vibration began over 50 years ago and has since been simplified after further research and developments.  Research has shown that vibration provides many benefits for muscle recovery. Some benefits include increased flexibility and strength, as well as reduced soreness after a workout.  It has also been found that passive vibration reduces pain in 70% of patients suffering from both acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain (Lundeberg, 1984).   Vibration is typically measured by its frequency in units called Hertz (Hz.).  The ideal frequency for muscle recovery would be to expose the muscle to a frequency of 30-50 Hz.  This means that the targeted muscle would receive 30 – 50 cycles of vibration per second which would force the muscle to contract and relax 30 – 50 times in the same period.  The Meteor provides this optimal frequency of vibration vibrating between 30-90 Hz.     The Meteor is a scientifically backed product that is designed to provide relief from soreness to those who are working to better themselves physically.  If you want to get stronger, be more flexible, or reduce soreness after your strenuous workouts, recovery is an essential part of the process.  The Meteor effectively combines heat and vibration into the ultimate massage recovery ball. Try it and discover what the combination of heat and vibration does for your recovery program.   John Hunter  

After a grueling and tough workout, you are filled with positive feelings from the endorphins that have been released throughout your body. More often than not, those feelings are later replaced with the inability to walk the next day due to tight hamstrings after doing heavy squats or your shoulders are too sore for you to hit your free throws when playing pick-up ball with your buddies.   Heat treatment promotes blood flow and helps sore and tightened muscles relax. The improved blood circulation helps eliminate the buildup of lactic acid that occurs after exercise, which adds to the soreness felt after a workout.   While you are working out, blood rushes to your muscles, carrying necessary oxygen and the needed energy to complete the physical workout. After doing bicep curls at the gym, or squat exercises at home, those muscles having been worked are inflamed and have little micro-tears in the muscle fibers. The rebuilding process of those fibers is what will make the muscle stronger in the end.     Because of those micro-tears, it is extremely important to not only provide those muscle fibers with proper nutrition, but to aid their recovery by promoting blood flow to help flush out the lactic acid and waste. Your muscles will be able to recover properly by being relaxed. Heat plays an essential role in stimulating blood flow and increasing elasticity of your muscles in your body. Another added benefit from heat is that it can stop muscle spasms and relax muscles that feel too tight. Heat will relax the muscles and reduce the pain.   “After playing football and constantly working out for many years without properly recovering and stretching, my muscles have grown particularly tight, especially my hip flexors and hamstrings. While stretching, I regularly experience muscle spasms along my iliotibial band (IT band) and hip flexors, causing extreme and intense pain. Since using the Meteor with the combined heat and vibrational benefits, the spasms have been reduced dramatically and my legs have never felt better,” says a Brigham Young University student who had the opportunity to test not only the finished product but also the original prototype in its earliest stages of development.   Heat plays an essential role in supplementing and promoting muscle recovery. By using proper heat treatment, you will have increased blood flow and more relaxed muscles, including an elimination of lactic acid that leads to sore muscle tissues.     Lofton Bean