Low back pain is quite prevalent in our society and still, to this day, I see people doing sit-up exercises in the gym. Be they old or young or male or female, it doesn’t matter. For some odd reason, people still like to lock their ankles into a decline bench and then bend their bodies all the way. Many times, they’ll hold onto a weight for an extra effect…(I have no idea why they do this)….other times, they’ll have someone throw a medicine ball back and forth with them.
So, this begs the question…do these people really know what they are doing? What muscles do they think they are training? What muscles are they actually training? Are the exercises dangerous? For that matter, are the exercises beneficial in any way?
Those of us who exercise usually need some sort of guidance somewhere along the way. Whether we are training for a particular sport, strength, power, agility, endurance, or any combination of such, many of us have not had the proper training/instruction to take our bodies through the rigors of ‘tough’ training.
This is where a trained professional comes in. My other business, Pro Form Instruction, LLC, offers continuing education credits to fitness professionals for most of the major fitness certifying bodies in the country. It also has a branch that works with elite fitness instructors and high level athletes. I have seen my share of great trainers and those who can do more harm than good.
On this end, I see injuries due to ‘working out’ and also due to poor instruction from ‘fitness instructors’. It’s important to note that the more specialized the athlete, the more vital it is to have someone qualified to work with him/her, otherwise injury is sure to occur. Would you want a fitness instructor to advise long-distance running for an athlete whose sport doesn’t have any long-term aerobic needs? How about a young athlete being advised to do hundreds of crunches at a time…for what? Does any of this make any sense? Read More »
If you’re interested in a shoe to help you with toning up and you’re considering purchasing an expensive pair of one of those new and cool rounded shoes on the market, please read on.
Sketchers and MBT lead the way in this category with their ‘shaping’ shoes, or shoes that are supposed to help you tone up while you walk. In theory, this sounds great…work on an activity that should tone you up just by doing it, and tone up because of the footwear you choose versus the activity you are performing…and, of course, there is no downside?? Read More »
I’ve had the great fortune of working many pro beach volleyball competitions over the years. As a whole, beach volleyball players are great guys/gals, and they really appreciate the care they receive. They are wonderful athletes to work with.
When one considers volleyball injuries, usually the shoulder is the region that gets blamed most. This makes sense as we usually envision volleyball players ‘spiking’ the ball. The rotator cuff and other structures of the shoulder take a beating from the high force and movement that is required of the shoulder…in many cases, the players have dysfunctional scapular movement to begin with and this predisposes them to injury…add that to frequent forceful acceleration and deceleration movements, and you have a nice recipe for injury.
What is sometimes surprising when working with volleyball players is seeing all the other injuries that they sustain as a result of the game. I have seen more neck, knee, hip, low back, toe, foot, ankle, and elbow injuries than I would’ve ever imagined! Shoulder injuries are actually about half of the way down on the list of injuries. Why is this? Read More »
I have been asked by a LOT of my patients who have this condition to write a blog about it…so, here we go…hope it’s informative!
Spondylolisthesis, generally considered to be an anterior slippage of parts of our vertebrae following a pars interarticularis (the region between the two facet joints) fracture or due to degenerative changes can be a very serious condition. In most all cases of the fracture type, it does not heal, and it can be a source of pain. I remember learning about this condition in school and thinking to myself, well, I’ll likely never see any of these…hopefully. I mean, how common is it to see spinal fractures? Certainly, these are are more-so orthopedic concerns than chiropractic ones, right? Read More »
Tennis Elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a common medical catch-phrase condition for individuals who experience pain on the outside (lateral) portion of the elbow. Classically, it has been called ‘Tennis Elbow’ because tennis players tend to get this problem, generally from hitting backhands. However, labeling everyone with lateral elbow pain as having ‘Tennis Elbow’ is just simply not correct. Newer research is moving away from using the term ‘Tennis Elbow’ and ‘Lateral Epicondylitis’ and is moving towards calling the condition ‘Lateral Epicondylosis’. Regarding all these complex medical terms, what are we actually describing? Read More »
Ankle sprains/strains are common injuries with athletes of all kinds. I see them with runners, triathletes, figure skaters, soccer players, volleyball players, basketball players, and more…proper treatment for these injuries is essential if the patient wishes to be able to continue with their activities at a competitive level.
Before we begin, we should differentiate between a sprain and a strain. Sprains involve ligaments and strains involve muscles. It is possible to have one without the other (example: hamstring strain).
The vast majority of ankle sprains/strains are what we call inversion sprains. This means that the ankle turns in. This type of injury can lead to damage to various structures, including muscles, ligaments, and even bones. Read More »
The first Body at Work blog topic is one that will hopefully pique your interest. Many of us go to the gym to exercise, and this is a good thing. However, all too many of us perform exercises that are dangerous. The reasons for this are plentiful, but what can we do to ensure that we know what we are doing? Also, if we use a fitness professional, are we sure that the individual’s training is at a high level? For this blog, I’ll go over one common gym movement that creates significant damage to your body, over time. Read More »
