Hosted by the Lamda Kappa Sigma Fraternity – Wednesday March 13^th 2019

There’s always more to education than in the classroom; hence, why we were delighted to be invited to the 2019 Manufactures Night at UBC. After last year’s enthusiasm from the students to learn, educate and keep up with modern advancements in the pharmaceutical sciences world, we were excited about returning to UBC. Meeting the 200+ future pharmacists of our community, engaging and enlightening them on our story, products and research.

The evening allowed pharmacy students to engage with over 20 manufactures in the industry. Promoting education and professional development, getting to expand their knowledge on various companies, products, research and meeting with people in the industry.

The evening began with a welcome speech from the Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty; Dr. Kerry Wilbur followed by the LKS Co-Presidents, and Manufactures Night Coordinators. Students were broken into groups for a manufacture rotation period, allowing us to present to a group of students for 7 minutes at a time. Each group session was wrapped up with a question, upon which the person with the correct answer would receive a raffle ticket and enter into a draw for the winning of the manufactures hampers. We targeted our questions as if we were a customer like you, coming into the Pharmacy or Natural Health Food Store and having a question on SierraSil! This helped keep the students engaged, because who doesn’t want to win a hamper full of goodies!

Students were given free time to go back to the manufactures they were particularly interested in and ask questions, allowing them to obtain a deeper understanding. Many of the students came back to SierraSil to learn more about our Human Clinical Research Studies. We thrive on being an ethical company and having data to back up what we say. The students got to learn a lot about our products. They were particularly interested in our Joint Formula Curcumin product and Pain Relief Topical Spray, both acting as a hot topic of the evening. Some of the students had informed us they had just studied Curcumin this week in lectures. We also found out, not only had the students attended Manufactures night that evening, but some also sat an exam that very same day! Telling us how their wrists were sore from writing as fast as they could to complete the exam, others saying their backs were sore from sitting hunched over their books in preparation for the exam. This is where our demo Pain Relief Topical Spray came in really handy for them! Having students coming running up to us, looking for a sample to try out there and then. We received a lot of “this is a magical spray!”, “my pain is gone”, “this really works!” and “where can I buy this?”. Putting smiles on all our faces.

The evening finished up with the raffle and closing remarks from the organizers, ending the manufactures 2019 evening.

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening, engaging with our future pharmacists. Sharing our joy of healthy active living. We at SierraSil want to make a difference in people’s lives, allowing everyone to enjoy life to the fullest, helping individuals to become more active and healthy again.

DOMS is the muscle soreness and stiffness you feel a few hours or the day after a hard work-out.

DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

This muscle soreness and ache you feel in your muscles is different from a muscle strain or torn ligament. A strain or tear is felt immediately.

DOMS, however is often not felt until the day after your run, session in the gym, extra tennis game, or challenging CrossFit workout of the day (WOD).

Your thighs or quads might ache when you walk up and down the stairs or when you’re simply walking around your office.

Whenever you work out or exercise, you introduce small micro-tears to your muscles, the process of healing these micro-tears is what builds and strengthens your muscles.

How Does Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Impact Inflammation?

The micro-tears in your muscles also cause inflammation in your muscles. This inflammation is what causes muscle soreness or DOMS.

This deep muscle ache, stiffness, soreness, and inflammation doesn’t happen after every workout, run, or tennis game. DOMS only occurs when you’ve placed your muscles under new stress.

This deep muscle soreness is a very different feeling than sore and stiff joints, it literally feels like your muscles are on fire.

DOMS is a signal that you’ve pushed your body and placed your muscles under extra load and strain. The good news is that DOMS won’t last forever and that you can take measures to lessen the impacts of DOMS.

This stress doesn’t need to be extreme and in fact, it can be what appears to be a minor change in your activity level that causes DOMS.

Maybe you went on a long weekend hiking trip for the first time and on the third day your legs were super heavy and achy – this is DOMS.

Perhaps you’re training for a marathon and a couple days after your first long run, your upper thighs are super sore that you feel like you can’t run – this is DOMS.

Or if you’ve recently joined a gym and have started lifting weights, you might have heavy sore arms two days after your first-time doing bicep curls – this is DOMS.

DOMS typically hits within the 24 – 72-hour period after an intense or new activity. This delayed reaction has to do with how the body heals the micro-tears, remember it takes time for the inflammatory healing process to start building in your body.

Keep reading to learn the facts on DOMS, including the symptoms of DOMS, and how you can recover naturally from DOMS.

Don’t worry if you’re experiencing DOMS – the deep muscle heaviness and aches will go away.

Learn about SierraSil’s research into DOMS and inflammation.

The No Pain No Gain Myth

Before we get into the facts behind DOMS, we want to bust the no pain no gain myth.

Yes, you may feel some muscle soreness when you stress your body differently.

However, experiencing pain in your muscles after working out, is not a good thing or a sign that you’re building real fitness.

It’s important to understand that you don’t need to suffer to benefit from your exercise routine. Yes, you may have sore legs after a sprint workout or a heavy squat session in the gym. But this should be an anomaly and not a normality.

Remember that the pain in your muscles can be a sign of real muscular and tissue damage. Instead of the no pain no gain mentality, we want you to have a regular exercise for long health mentality.

What Are the Symptoms of DOMS?

The symptoms of DOMS can include:

• Swollen muscles that are sensitive to touch.
• Stiff muscles that makes it challenging to walk or carry household items.
• A feeling of weakness in the impacted muscles. It might feel like your thighs can’t support your weight when you walk down the stairs.
• Stretching exacerbates the sensations in your muscles.

It’s important to be aware of how your body feels a few days after the onset of DOMS.

If you’re experiencing a sharp pain in a muscle or a persistent ache that is very sore, do not ignore these signals. This can be an indication that you may have done some damage to your muscles and tissues, such as a strain, sprain, tear, or some type of tendinitis.

It’s a good idea to see a physiotherapist or other health care practitioner if you’re experiencing these kinds of sensations.

How to Recover From DOMS

To recover from DOMS, do the following:

• Before your workout make sure you warm-up your body. Do some light stretching, a brisk walk, a short ride on an exercise bike, etc. You want to wake up your muscles and body systems to prepare them for what is ahead.
• Pay attention to your diet. Eat a pre-workout snack so your body has some fuel to power your walk, run, bodybuilding session, hike, etc.
• Make sure you’re well hydrated. Your muscles require water to support you through your workouts. Drink before, during, and after your workout. If you’re exercising in the hot weather, consider using a natural electrolyte supplement to help replace the sodium, vitamins, and minerals you lose in your sweat.
• After your workout, it’s important that you help your muscles recover. Try to eat a high-carb snack 30-45 minutes after your workout. For example, if you’ve just completed your Sunday long run, you should have a snack such as a couple slices of bread with natural peanut butter or drink a specialized recovery smoothie.
• Remember to stretch afterwards. Don’t end your run at your front door and immediately get on with your day. Take a few minutes to stretch out your upper thighs, your calf muscles, your hamstrings, and lower back. This is a good time to finish the water in your water bottle and to drink a recovery smoothie.
• As well as stretching, it can be helpful to use a tennis ball to relieve muscle soreness. Thanks to the power of myofascial release, a tennis ball is the ideal size and shape to help give your muscles a gentle and targeted massage.
• Keep working out. You need to get your muscles moving, this stimulates the blood flow and helps reduce the symptoms of DOMS. Sitting and doing nothing can make you feel tight and then make it harder to get back to your regular work-out.
• Incorporate natural supplements into your daily diet. Recent research has highlighted the benefits of taking curcumin on a daily basis to help mitigate the impacts of DOMS. Because curcumin has anti-inflammatory effects, this natural ingredient can help you recover from DOMS.

These steps can help you limit the sensations of DOMS and reduce inflammation in your body so you can get back to your favorite activity.

We want to remind you that SierraSil’s Joint Formula 14 and Joint Formula Curcumin have been clinically proven to aid in the prevention of and recovery from DOMS.

DOMS Doesn’t Need to Slow You Down

Don’t let DOMS slow you down or interrupt your healthy living routine.

Remember our tips on how to prevent and recover from DOMS.

Follow the basics of a good warm-up, a healthy balanced diet, proper hydration, stretching after you exercise, using a tennis ball for myofascial release, and providing muscle support with a natural anti-inflammatory supplement such as curcumin and SierraSil.

Your body will thank you, your muscles will strengthen, you’ll reduce inflammation, and you’ll be able to continue doing the exercises and activities you enjoy.

To use a tennis ball for sore muscle relief, to relieve your sore back, calf muscles, feet, hands, shoulders, and thighs takes just a few minutes a day.

Thanks to the power of myofascial release, a tennis ball is your new best friend when your lower back starts to ache or when you feel some tension and discomfort in your feet.

Just as a massage helps work out the stiffness and knots in your muscles, you can do the same with a simple tennis ball. The great thing about using a tennis ball to relieve your muscle and joint tightness and discomfort is that it costs nothing, and you can treat yourself whenever you need it.

What is Myofascial Release?

Myofascial release is a type of massage and physical therapy that works to relieve tightness and discomfort in your myofascial tissues. Myofascial tissues are the tissues that support and surround your muscles.

These myofascial tissues are the tissues that get tight, cramp, ache, or feel stiff. Myofascial release applies pressure to the trigger points in your myofascial tissue, gently allowing your muscles, tendons, and ligaments to relax, releasing tension and tightness.

Often, myofascial release is done by your massage or physical therapist. Your physical therapist may place his thumb on a spot on your thigh, for example, and ask you to breathe in deeply and then bend your leg or move your leg gently.

The process of applying pressure and gently moving, activates the trigger point, allowing the tissues to relax.

Anyone who is experiencing tightness and stiffness can benefit from myofascial release. However, this kind of treatment can be expensive and hard to fit into an already busy schedule.

This is why using a tennis ball for myofascial release is an ideal option. In fact, even if you’re not feeling any muscle tightness or stiffness – you can benefit from a quick daily tennis ball massage routine.

How to Use a Tennis Ball to Relieve Your Sore Muscles

To use a tennis ball to relieve your sore muscles and perform a myofascial release, do the following:

1. Start slowly.
2. Listen to the signals your body is giving you.
3. Don’t push too deeply.
4. Remember that deeper is not necessarily better.
5. Establish a regular routine, using the tennis ball in the morning or evening.

Read on for specific step-by-step instructions on how to use a tennis ball for myofascial release in your back, feet, shoulders, calf muscles, and thighs.

Remember that it’s easy to go too deep with the tennis ball – start slowly and apply only gentle pressure. If you do have questions about myofascial release with a tennis ball, talk to your massage or physical therapist.

How to Use a Tennis Ball for Back Relief

To use a tennis ball for upper back relief, do the following:

1. Place 2 tennis balls on either side of your spine where you feel the tension.
2. Gently lie down on the 2 tennis balls.
3. Slowly move your upper back so that the tennis balls gently massage your upper back.
4. Do this for up to a minute. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

To use a tennis ball for lower back relief, do the following:

1. Place 2 tennis balls side-by-side between your buttocks and ribs.
2. Gently lie down on the 2 tennis balls.
3. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor.
4. You can optionally move your hips from side-to-side to enhance the myofascial release.
5. Do this for up to a minute. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

How to Use a Tennis Ball for Aching Feet

To use a tennis ball for aching feet, do the following:

1. Start barefoot.
2. Take 1 tennis ball and place it on the floor.
3. Gently place the arch of your foot on the tennis ball and roll the tennis ball along the length of your foot.
4. Do not place all of your weight on the tennis ball. You do not want to stand on the tennis ball.
5. Do this for up to a minute on each foot. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

How to Use a Tennis Ball to Relieve Tight Shoulders

To use a tennis ball to relieve tight shoulders, do the following:

1. Place 1 tennis ball on the floor.
2. Gently lie down on the tennis ball so that the tennis ball is behind your shoulder blade.
3. Gently move your shoulder and arm – moving it along the floor and lifting it up in the air in a waving motion.
4. Do this for up to 3 minutes for each shoulder. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

How to Use a Tennis Ball to Loosen Tight Calf Muscles

To use a tennis ball to loosen tight calf muscles, do the following:

1. Sit down on a carpeted floor or on a yoga mat.
2. Stretch your legs out in front of you.
3. Bend one leg placing your foot flat on the floor.
4. Place 1 tennis ball beneath your calf muscle on the leg that is extended. The tennis ball should be at the top of your calf muscle, close to but not underneath your knee.
5. Place both hands on the floor and use them to gently raise your buttocks off the floor.
6. Gently move your extended leg so the tennis ball moves up and down your calf muscle.
7. Do this for up to a minute on each leg. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

How to Use a Tennis Ball to Loosen Tight Thighs

To use a tennis ball to loosen tight thighs, do the following:

1. Place 1 tennis ball on the floor.
2. Lie down on the tennis ball so that the tennis ball is underneath your thigh.
3. Gently move your leg so the tennis ball moves along your thigh.
4. Do this for up to a minute on each thigh. Remember to breathe, deep breathing helps to encourage the release.

Using a Tennis Ball to Relieve Muscle Soreness

Everyone experiences muscle soreness and tightness. Maybe you’ve started a new exercise routine and are experiencing DOMS in your legs or you’ve been injured and are slowly returning to regular exercise.

Regardless of the source of the muscle and joint tightness and discomfort, know that you can relieve this tension naturally and safely. Remember that when you use a tennis ball to relieve your muscle and joint soreness, it’s important that you start slowly and gently.

Along with using a tennis ball for myofascial release, we encourage you to learn more about inflammation in the body and how it contributes to stiff and sore joints.