Two days ago, my husband woke up at 3am with a shooting pain in his side. Since he had done nothing more strenuous than play the ukulele the day before, we knew it wasn't a pulled muscle and immediately took him to the emergency room. He had appendicitis. The hospital released him after the appendectomy to recuperate at home, but then he developed a shooting spasmodic pain in his right shoulder and upper abdomen. When one tensed, the other would spasm. We called a massage therapist for help.
Massage is an effective treatment for sore and exhausted muscles as well as mental stress, post-surgery soreness and illnesses. An ancient Chinese medical text called Huangdi Neijing recommends massage for relief, as does the even older Babylonian medical text, The Diagnostic Handbook, comprising a series of 40 tablets drawn up by the scholar Esagil-kin-apli.
One of the muscles that massage therapists typically focus on is the sternocleidomastoid, which runs from the corner of the jaw down to the collar bone. It is the muscle that rotates and tilts the head and neck. It also assists to raise the sternum and helps respiration. Nerves impinged in this area can trigger pain in other "referral" areas, even as far as the upper abdomen or hands and fingers. According to the massage therapist, it appeared that there was a pinched nerve from the position that my husband had been put in for the operation, which linked the sternocleidomastoid with an area just above his liver.
Massage is an effective way to deactivate pain triggers by stretching the contracted muscle fibres of trigger points. It may also stimulate local circulation, though a recent study calls this into doubt. A common rationale for using massage after exercise is that it assists in the removal of lactic acid in the muscle by improving circulation. However, a study by researchers at Queens University presented at the American College of Sports Medicine conference in May found that massage actually impairs the flow of blood to the muscle after exercise, and therefore also slows the removal of lactic acid.
On the other hand, a study from August 2008 shows that massage after exercise does improve recovery times - in animals at least. Rabbits were exercised over four days, and half received a massage immediately after. The massaged rabbits recovered about 60 per cent of their muscle strength; the rabbits that were left to rest recovered 14 per cent of their strength. The massaged rabbits showed less damage to the muscle fibres.
It's still a mystery how exactly massage works. But it does. After an hour of strategic rubbing and pressing my husband uncurled his body and looked normal for the first time in two days.
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
Kill Bill Volume 1
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine and Michael Madsen
Rating: 4.5/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Sassuolo v Bologna (11.45pm)
Saturday
Brescia v Torino (6pm)
Inter Milan v Verona (9pm)
Napoli v Genoa (11.45pm)
Sunday
Cagliari v Verona (3.30pm)
Udinese v SPAL (6pm)
Sampdoria v Atalanta (6pm)
Lazio v Lecce (6pm)
Parma v Roma (9pm)
Juventus v Milan (11.45pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)