Massage Monday: Fifteen Fun Facts About The Human Body

Since massage is all about the betterment of a person's physical health, and in turn the human well-being, I thought today would be a good day to focus on a few fun facts about these lovely things we call bodies. Some of these facts surprised me when I first learned them. I hope you enjoy. :)

1. There are 206 bones in one human body.
2. The number of muscle cells you are born with are the number of muscle cells you die with. No other cell-nervous, bone-are like this. Basically, when you work out you are "growing" your muscle's size. You are not increasing the number of muscle cells.
3. Thumbs are counted as the first digit, but they are not counted as fingers.
4. Walking barefoot in the sand is one of the best core workouts you will get. Not to mention, it is one of the best way to strengthen your leg and feet muscles. Doing this on a regular basis could decrease your chance of needing corrective foot wear.
5. The femur bone-AKA your thigh bone-is the longest bone in the human body.
6. There is a muscle that runs from the under side of your tongue to the back of your neck/top of shoulders, which often causes headaches.
7. Trigger points in muscles-AKA knots-can sometimes cause pain that can be confused with organ pain. (You don't need the appendix removed. You need a massage. LOL).
8. There is a sheet of tissue that is connected from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. If this tissue is restricted at your feet it can cause low back pain or even headaches.
9. Hydrated and dehydrated tissue feels very different to trained professionals-even some untrained people can feel the difference. So, if your therapist asks you if you are drinking enough water, answer truthfully because they probably already know the answer. :)
10. If you are a migraine sufferer, heat on your feet is your new best friend. If you feel a migraine coming on, or even a bad headache, putting your feet in a warm bowl of water or placing a heating pad on your feet This may decrease your pain. The heat makes the blood vessels in your feet expand and draws the blood down towards your feet; thus, relieving some of the pressure in your head.
11. There is only one bone in your body that does not have muscles attached to it. It is a part of your ankle joint.
12. Walking is the best preventative measure for Ostioporosis. (Sorry, about the spelling). When you walk muscles put stress-good stress-on your bones by pulling on them. This stress causes your bones to produce more cells in order to be stronger for the muscle attachments. Walking is one of the only exercises that uses all muscle groups.
13. If you are someone with joint problems and you want to workout, swimming is probably one of the best forms of exercise for you-this goes for older and/or dogs with joint problems. Swimming does not cause pounding on the joints and the water cushions them.
14. The lobe responsible for processing your sight sense, is the furthest lobe of the brain away from the eyes: it is at the back of your head. Images have to travel a complicated and long path in order for your brain to sort them out and tell you what you are seeing.
15. If you get little muscle twitches-in your eyes, legs, arms, pretty much anyway-eating bananas and drinking a lot of milk, or taking a calcium supplement, should help with this. Your body uses a lot of calcium and potassium for its every day activities and its supply can become quickly depleted. These little muscle twitches can be indicative of calcium and potassium levels being too low.

As you can see, I am full of some useful and some not so useful Body Facts. Have a great Monday, everyone. :)