If Winter Sports Cause Concussion, Floating May Help

Concussion in progress... Photo by shinichiro tanaka

If winter sports cause concussion, floating may help

Winter sports are fun and fast.  Skiing down fluffy mountain moguls, or skating on shiny and perfectly flat ice while making sharp turns and stopping on a dime is exciting. Sledding or tubing after a big snowfall is a great way to spend a cold winter day.  But all too often, a sudden slip, fall or collision can abruptly end the fun.

January is traumatic brain injury awareness month. And it is for real. Several years ago, before the “discovery” that professional football players were routinely being concussed and not properly evaluated and managed, nobody really gave it a second thought.  Strangely enough, as concussion and traumatic brain injury news has been more in the public eye, it seems more people are suffering them. Or maybe it has been there the whole time.  It’s amazing how awareness can shape perception. 

It happens in an instant. The jello-like brain slams against the skull with such incredible force. Sometimes the skull cracks as the head hits the ice, a tree or the pole sticking up at the bottom of the sledding hill.  Sometimes it doesn't fracture, it just internally bleeds or inflames without external signs and symptoms.  Often, the effects of a concussion are not apparent for weeks or months, after the broken arm, bruised ribs or headache goes away.  This is where winter fun is no laughing matter.

When you endure a head injury, it always affects the brain.  Period.  Seeking medical counsel immediately upon injury is crucial.  However, sometimes there is a delay in signs or symptoms.  Concussion and traumatic brain injury is often associated with headaches, vision and hearing changes or sensitivities, nausea, sleep disturbance, inability to focus on tasks or concentrate.  Concussion can also affect emotions and behavior and can lead to unexplained anxiety, fatigue, depression or memory issues.  

In the spring, long after your concussion and when the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming, its easy to forget to tell your doctor you smacked your head 3 months ago, when you are in the office seeking treatment for what may appear like something totally irrelevant. 

Current literature indicates that there is an ill-defined consensus regarding treatment strategies related to concussion.  As time passes, traumatic brain injury can become disguised and creatively intermingled with other behavioral, neurological and musculoskeletal dysfunction.  This is why building a support team and an integrated medical approach to assist TBI recovery is crucial.  

In addition to your general practitioner or a neurologist, those with TBI may find help and relief with different forms of bodywork or energy work such as massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, craniosacral, myofascial release, or reiki.  Further, psychological counseling, dietary modification, yoga or various exercise training can help.  

Floating or floatation therapy is emerging to be a valuable adjunct to any therapy being considered for TBI.  Floatation therapy, otherwise known as R.E.S.T. or restricted environmental stimulus technique, involves a 5’ x 8’ fiberglass tank filled with 150-180 gallons of skin temperature water ( 93.5 degree) saturated with 1000 pounds of epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate salt. You effortlessly float face up, like a cork, for an hour in a private room.  You have a choice of darkness and silence, or lights on and ambient music.  Either way the effects of gravity are removed, which is a huge source of stimuli and mental distraction for the brain.  It has been scientifically demonstrated that floatation affects regions of the brain that respond similarly to deep meditation, restfulness and anti-anxiety.  There is further indication that the brain is very receptive to rest and repair during and after a float session.  Existing and current case studies at The Float Zone in Richmond, VA are shedding light on the positive possibilities of recovery from concussion and TBI both by itself and in synergy with other therapies and considerations.  

This January and throughout the year, if you or someone you know is suffering from the effects of concussion or TBI, please tell them to consider floatation therapy.  Because floating is good for the brain.

For more information on floating and concussion, contact The Float Zone at 804-551-1413 or www.myfloatzone.com.

Example of Pod used in concussion case studies AT the float zone

Gastronomy and Floating

        RICHMOND CHEFS FIND INSPIRATION THROUGH FLOATATION 

WAS THIS A FLOATATION INSPIRED GASTRONOMIC CREATION?

A symbiotic relationship has always existed between any culture and its food that makes culinary artists such an important subset of any community.   A local example of this is the varied and talented gastronomists of Richmond, Virginia that continually carve local culture.  Over the past several years, Richmond has transformed into a foodie culture. There are an impressive number of rising and talented local chefs whose creations are only limited by their own inspiration.  However, the work of a chef is much more than just the planning, purchase, prep, staff instruction and execution of the meal.  Administrative duties, equipment maintenance,  marketing and other intricacies of the kitchen often hinder proper sleep patterns, which affect the very inspiration needed to keep producing new and different gastronomical masterpieces. This is why chefs like to float - and many Richmond chefs have floated at The Float Zone.

Floating or floatation involves a sleek 8’ by 5’ fiberglass “pod”.  It is filled with 10” of skin temperature water and saturated with 1000 pounds of Epsom salt.  There are light and music controls within the pod for which you can float in the light or dark and listen to music or silence.  The pod can be left open or closed, while you float face up effortlessly like a cork, for an hour.  By removing gravity and other sensations such as light, sound or the sensation of water temperature, the brain enters a very restful, restorative and left/right brain synchronized state.  Further, the magnesium salts have a powerful muscle relaxing and pain relieving effect.  The result is that one feels both physically and mentally refreshed.  

A pleasant side effect of this sleep-promoting, stress-reducing therapy is that it seems to inspire creativity.  Sometimes that new idea comes in the middle of a float. Sometimes it happens on the ride home afterwards or through a float inspired dream that night. But when you feel calmer for the next few days, less reactive and brighter in mind and body, you’ll appreciate the benefit of the float experience. 

The month of July is culinary arts appreciation month. We appreciate great gastronomical efforts and thank all RVA chefs along with their support staff, for all the culinary inspiration that you bring to our city!

Water and Floating

WATER AND FLOATING

    One of Four Float Rooms at the Float ZOne in Richmond, Virginia

It takes up most of the planet and makes up most of our body.  We feel good being in it, on it or around it.  We often don’t get enough of it.  When was your last glass of water.

A shortage of potable water has become a major issue in some parts of the country.   In many parts of the world, water supplies are contaminated. Sometimes, evening the pursuit of clean drinking water, our hopes are dashed with hidden contaminants or harmful plastics.

A glass of water first thing in the morning can go a long way towards a healthy body.  Drinking coffee, tea, juices, colas and energy drinks can be dehydrating.  And dehydration can lead to many other problems, such as headaches or the persistence of pain. Instead of popping that aspirin, consider a glass of good old H2O. How much water in ounces, does one need each day? Take your body weight, and divide it in half.

It may seem strange, but there are benefits to adding salt to your daily water consumption. Celtic or Himalayan sea salts, although located half a world apart, contain the most mineralized, beneficial salts on the planet.  Adding a pinch of either type of salt to your water is like drinking the healthiest Gatorade or electrolyte replacement drink. 

You can also benefit from water by floating in it. Float pods or floatation, is becoming a very popular recreational and personal wellness activity.  Floatation involves a fiberglass enclosed large tub filled with 10” of skin temperature water, which is saturated with 1000 pounds of Epsom salt. Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate salt, has a ton of health benefits.  Also, when you proportionally add that much of it, you are able to float face up effortlessly.  It’s a strange, but relaxing and rejuvenating experience when you remove gravity from the equation. What a difference it can make in both mind and body.

There is nothing like a tall, cool, pure glass of water.  There is also nothing like floating.  Both are good for you, but not at the same time.  Make sure not to drink too much water before your float so you and your bladder can enjoy it.  Then drink plenty of water afterwards, to leave hydrated and happy.

Come float in the pristine crystal clear water in any of the four float rooms at The Float Zone!

Acupuncture and Floatation Therapy

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Acupuncture has been around for centuries. Long before the advent of penicillin or aspirin, acupuncture was successful in addressing a wide range of ailments and disorders.  It takes years of study and practice to become a proficient practitioner in this healing art.

 While only a few points are typically chosen for your treatment, over 360 acupuncture points are available to restore balance to your body’s energy systems. Like the old school telephone switchboard operators that plug and connect phone lines, needles purposefully placed in points and patterns on the skin, communicate with your inner rivers of energy.

 Regardless of your reasons for receiving it, acupuncture is a surprisingly relaxing experience.  During an acupuncture session, many experience a sense of “drifting off” and lucid dreaming, similar to the experience of floatation therapy.

 Floatation therapy and acupuncture complement each other. Many partake in both, as part of a personal wellness strategy to combat the effects and pressures of modern day society.  For this reason, many acupuncturists recommend floatation therapy to their patients.

Floating is like an instant mind and muscle relaxer.  It is like meditating without having ever practiced meditation, like receiving the effects of a full body massage without being touched, like getting the most restful sleep without really sleeping, all in one hour.

Imagine a fiberglass molded “pod” which contains 10” of skin temperature water (93.5-94.5 degrees) and 1000 pounds of Epsom, or magnesium salts.  You are in a private room.  You shower, insert earplugs, climb into this pod, lie on your back, turn off the light (from inside the pod) and float effortlessly for an hour like a cork. Your brain gets a chance to rest, to recharge and to refresh being relieved of “normal” stimuli, like gravity. Your body soaks up the healthy magnesium salts.  You emerge feeling distinctively different. And it lasts for days. The more you float, the better you feel.

 Acupuncture and floating work well together.  Come float at “The Float Zone” in Richmond, Virginia. 

Chiropractic and Floatation Therapy

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It is likely that you or someone you know has probably experienced back pain, neck pain or headaches and saw a Chiropractic Physician as part of the treatment plan.   Since the 19th century, Doctors of Chiropractic have been musculoskeletal specialists who use their hands rather than pills, to manually repair a wide range of injuries and disorders.

Schooled like a medical or osteopathic doctor, but with a heavier emphasis on radiology, anatomy, neurology, rehabilitative exercise, and nutrition, a chiropractor is a good choice for managing pain from head to toe.  Whether it is a bum knee causing back stress or a weak muscle group creating imbalance, a chiropractor can help identify and treat it, or refer you to the right specialist who can.

Most who seek chiropractic care for pain or injury realize that there are also preventative and wellness benefits to regular (spinal) check-ups, similar to that of a teeth cleaning at the dentist. And while the benefits are broad and valuable, there are also limitations of this healing art, especially as it relates to modern day pressures and lifestyles. 

Chiropractors and health care practitioners alike, easily recognize that stress, anxiety and depression that plagues our modern world, can sabotage treatment benefits and cause collateral health issues. Chiropractic care is well suited to work in conjunction with other therapies that address stress reduction and muscle relaxation. This is why chiropractors often recommend floatation therapy to their patients.

Floating, or floatation therapy is like an instant mind and muscle relaxer.  It is like meditating without having ever practiced meditation, like receiving the effects of a full body massage without being touched, like getting the most restful sleep without really sleeping, all in one hour.

Imagine a fiberglass molded “pod” which contains 10” of skin temperature water (93.5-94.5 degrees) and 1000 pounds of Epsom, or magnesium salts.  You are in a private room.  You shower, insert earplugs, climb into this pod, lie on your back, turn off the light (from inside the pod) and float effortlessly for an hour like a cork. Your brain gets a chance to rest, to recharge and to refresh being relieved of “normal” stimuli, like gravity. Your body soaks up the healthy magnesium salts.  You emerge feeling distinctively different. And it lasts for days. The more you float, the better you feel.

 Floatation therapy in combination with chiropractic therapy can have profound benefit.  Come float at “The Float Zone” in Richmond, Virginia.