Injuries

I want you to do a little experiment. Get an ice pack, and get a watch with a timer. Put the ice pack on your thigh, and start the timer. After 1 minute has elapsed, remove the ice pack.

Now take a look at your skin. What color is your skin where the ice pack was laying? For most, the skin will look white / blanched.

Now put the ice pack on your other thigh and leave it there for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes have elapsed, remove the ice pack.

What color is your skin now? Most people will find that their skin will be red. And if your skin turns red after only 5 minutes, you’ll probably find that it turns really red after 20 minutes.

When your skin begins to cool, the initial reaction is constriction (shrinking of the diameter) of blood vessels. This happens after a short period of time (1-2 minutes for most people). The result of constriction of the blood vessels is that “whiteness” or blanching.

Not ready to get pregnant just yet? You’re in good company. With growing numbers of high-achieving, career-oriented women, couples are delaying children until both future parents are established in their chosen professions. However, infertility can strike even the healthiest of couples. Here are a few simple things you can do now to help increase your chances of getting pregnant later:

Fat intake – Eat a diet plentiful in health, unsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil, avocado, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and peanut butter.

I witness people in pain all the time. People getting out of the car holding their back, people in the gym rotating their shoulder because "it just hurts so much", people flexing and extending their knee saying "it just doesn't work the way it used to". Almost every person I talk to has some sort of pain going on. Getting surgery or going to the chiropractor seems like a regular trend these days. The excuse: "well, this is what happens when you get old".

Really? That's what happens when you get old? You complain about pain and expect someone else to get rid of it? As an Exercise Therapist, I have witnessed client after client with the same story. "My back-shoulder-hip-knee-ankle hurts and my doctor thinks I should have surgery. I've seen and tried everything under the sun, and the pain just won't go away...can you fix me?" My response: "YOU can fix YOU".

Is your focus on optimum health and performance? If it is, then you are probably on the lookout for options that will help you to work and play better.

I recently met with Dr. Jim Hoven, DC, a practicing Chiropractor with a diploma in Sports Injuries. Dr. Hoven has over 16 years of experience and he has treated people from all walks of life.

During our time together, I asked Dr. Hoven about chiropractic to help the members of MFT get a better understanding of this effective form of health care.

Q: Dr. Hoven, it seems like more and more people are either going to a Chiropractor or are considering trying one. What is it that attracts so many people to chiropractic?

A: Lots of people want to get healthy so that they can do the things that they either want to do or have to do. And many are looking for ways to feel good that are as “natural” as possible. For most, chiropractic can fit the bill as an effective, safe way to meet those goals.

Q: As a Physical Therapist, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many Chiropractors over the years, and I’ve seen many different methods. Can you explain that to our readers?

Some of the most common injuries happen on one side of the body. For example, you may have injured your left shoulder, or your right knee. A return to strength training may take a while, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay out of the gym and just get weaker and weaker.

How would you like to learn about a way to increase the strength of the injured limb without risking further injury and without even exercising it?

Enter Contralateral Training and the Contralateral Strength Training Effect.

Is strength training safe for pre-teens? If it is, what kind of program should they engage in? Let’s have a look at the answers to these questions.

Strength training (which can include bodyweight-resisted and weight-resisted exercises) can be safe and effective for pre-pubescents to participate in. However, as their bodies are developing, care must be taken to avoid any injuries that might be permanent (i.e. damage to growth plates). A carefully constructed and monitored routine can have many benefits including:

• Improved sports performance
• Increased bone density
• Increased strength and endurance
• Increased cardio respiratory function
• Improved coordination
• Improved body composition
• Discipline and self confidence

There are three common rotator cuff exercises used by rehab and exercise specialists. These exercises target the four muscles of the rotator cuff:

1. External Rotations – For strengthening and conditioning of the infraspinatus and teres minor muscles.
2. Internal Rotations – For strengthening and conditioning of the subscapularis muscle (non-specific).
3. Full Can Exercise – For selective strengthening and conditioning of the supraspinatus muscle.

The most common way to do these exercises is to do 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions. They can be done with a dumbbell, pulley / cable machine, or resistance tube.

Here are three very effective variations you can use with your rotator cuff exercises:

One way injuries can arise is as the result of an “incident” like falling or during a lift. Another way they can happen is over time, through repetitive or cumulative stresses (i.e. tendonitis).

In either case, you may experience several different sensations. Sometimes the pain is sharp, sometimes dull, and other times the painful area simply feels “tight”.

When the injured area feels “tight”, the first solution that comes to mind is stretching. But what if you found out that stretching could make the problem worse instead of better? You may be wondering “Is that even possible?”

The quick answer is: Yes, it is possible. But whether or not stretching can make the problem worse has to do with (1) which tissues are involved and (2) the cause of the tightness.

It’s possible that the injury involves certain tissues that are slightly (or not so slightly) torn / disrupted. When you stretch, there is a chance of tearing tissue.

If you’ve been working out for more than a month, you probably know that leg workouts can be brutal. Throw in some knee pain, mix it up with a more than strict workout partner, blend in some ego, and you have the recipe for a really miserable workout! In this article, I’m going to share some wisdom about how you might approach knee pain.

Knee pain can be the result of many things. In my experience, by far the most common problems are related to a combination of (1) mechanical dysfunction coupled with (2) structural compromise. What this means is that the way someone is moving (mechanics) added to problems with the tissues (structures, i.e. cartilage, muscles, ligaments, etc.) results in pain.

Let’s face it… When it comes to weightlifting, there’s a whole lotta cheating goin’ on.

At its roots, cheating comes from never really learning good form in the first place. Many people simply “learn” by watching others. Often, this is not good enough. The subtleties and nuances of technique are difficult for the inexperienced to see, if they can be seen at all! Exercise is a science, and the movements of exercise need to be learned.

Also, the tendency to cheat increases as the weight / load increases. This is not to say that using light weights guarantees good form. It doesn’t. But the two things that result in cheating / loss of form are actual load and perceived load.

Actual load is the weight on the bar. It’s just that simple.

Perceived load is relative to how fatigued you are. Fatigue can be local or systemic. Local fatigue involves the muscle or muscles you are working. Systemic fatigue means your cardiovascular system is taxed. Both can spell trouble when it comes to keeping good form.

I don’t mean to imply that cheating the weight up (or down) is necessarily a bad thing. Used as a tool by an experienced lifter, it can be a powerful intensity technique. But, believe it or not, there is a proper form to this kind of cheating!