Sports Spine Specialist Chiropractic Team: Athletes strive to achieve their body’s maximum performance by participating in numerous training regimens consisting of strenuous exercises and physical activity and ensuring they meet all of their body’s nutritional requirements. Through proper fitness and nutrition, many individuals can condition themselves to excel in their specific sport. Our training programs are designed for athletes that look to gain a competitive edge in their sport.
We provide sport-specific services to help increase an athlete’s performance through mobility, strength, and endurance. Occasionally, however, the excess workouts can lead many to suffer injuries or develop underlying conditions. Dr. Alex Jimenez’s chronicle of articles for athletes displays in detail the many forms of complications affecting these professionals while focusing on the possible solutions and treatments to follow to achieve overall well-being.
If you have a child who plays sports, then you share my excitement for them when they play the game. You probably also share my apprehension about injuries. I recently witnessed one of my daughter�s teammates tear her ACL in a volleyball match�in a non-contact play. The same thing happened to my son and it was heart wrenching. In fact, this caused me to look at the latest research for ways to prevent this from happening to my child and to other children in our community. It is more important than ever before to have parents understand the importance of injury awareness. �This has never been more true today as we become a highly competitive�community.
The Research Is Revealing
My son and daughter�s teammate are not alone. There are nearly 150,000 ACL injuries in the U.S. each year (American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine). 70% of those are non-contact injuries involving landing or cutting. Females are 2-8 times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than males. Worse still: 1 in 4 go on to have another knee injury later.
One study (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014) looked at re-injury rates in 750 people after 5 years and found that of the 561 people who finished the study, 4.5% had their graft repairs tear and 7.5% tore the ACL in the other knee. What I found most disturbing is that the highest incidence of further injury occurred in the people who had their first surgery before 20 years of age!
I looked at several studies going back 15 years. They all conclude about the same things when it comes to injury prevention: a program of education, strength, flexibility, sport specific agility drills and plyometrics [aka: jump training] help to prevent injuries.
You might well ask: If we know that is the case, then why haven�t we taken the recommended actions to reduce the number of injuries �the rate of which are basically unchanged in the past 10 years? There are a number of reasons, and perhaps one of them is because we parents assume this is part of the coach�s job.
Truth be told, though, we really expect coaches to focus on technical training �that will help our children gain proficiency and expertise. Sure, they want to reduce injuries, too, but they can�t do it all and most don�t have degrees in injury prevention. So, if the coach can�t do it, who can? Well, if you are lucky enough to have a certified athletic trainer at your school, that helps. But for me, the �aha!� from the research is that injury prevention falls first and foremost on my shoulders as a parent.
What a Parent Can Do �And Should Not Try Do
A�childs athlete�s best training tool is BODY AWARENESS. Learning how to decelerate and land from a jump are just some of the important skills to learn that can help with performance and safety”.
The research backs this up.
There are various screening tools to assess an athlete�s ability to hop from a box, jump and land. Athletes who have poor control or have asymmetries right to left were correlated with greater injury risk. (Chorbe et al N AmJ Sorts Phys Ther 2010; Padue et al AJSM 2009).
The�PUSHasRx’s�and other local pre-season programs are progressive student education programs�starting with teaching body control in static positions, progressing to linear jumping drills and plyometrics. Then, the young athletes are taught to apply the learned techniques to deceleration activities in their sport, while all along maximizing strength and joint range of motion. This type of program needs to be ongoing to be effective (Padue et al AJSM 2012) and typically works best if done 2-3 times per week pre- season and 1 time per week in season.
Mind and Body Make the Winning Combination
So why can�t we just give our children a packet of drills to do on their own or take them to the gym ourselves? After all, I was a pretty good athlete in my day� Well, one reason is psychological. They need to understand the serious purpose of the activities and be 100% committed to what they are learning and doing. One way to do that is to work with a professional. �Sometimes kids need to hear it from someone not in a parent position to understand. �We just will have to do what it takes to get our kids to understand.
The second reason is about what is known as �motor memory�. Form is everything and it takes a trained eye to recognize and teach form, such as good landing mechanics and deceleration skills so that they become a part of motor memory. The bottom line is: If your child practices good jump-landing techniques s/he may have better form and motor memory to handle knee joint loading forces (Meyer et al. Am J Sports Med 2013).
As we head into summer�sports, let�s give our kids the best opportunity for an injury free season. I urge you to do what I�m doing: seek out a body awareness/training professional who can teach them to stay in the game they love!
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez looks at exercise and fitness from a chiropractic perspective.
The advantages of exercise are plenty: Exercise might help prevent numerous conditions � to osteoporosis � from heart attacks and it can also prevent back pain and neck pain.
Cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility training exercise all play a significant part in a healthy exercise routine, and each form of exercise contributes to spinal health.
Training &�Stretches
Flexibility is something most people take for granted when they’re young, but growing elderly tends to make the significance of flexibility and stretching training a lot more clear as range of movement begins to fall. Yet, stretching and flexibility training may be incorporated into your fitness routine at any given age, and you may reap the benefits for a long time. Flexibility training can boost your mobility, balance, equilibrium, and posture, which will assist you to avoid back and neck pain. Pilates all, yoga, and flexibility training classes might help you enhance your stretches technique and lead to long-term flexibility.
Weight Training &�Core Strengthening For Back Pain
You could believe strenuous exercise and strength training tend to be more prone to result in a back injury than to prevent one, but your overall spinal health along with function cans significantly enhance. With feeble back and abdominal muscles, on the other hand, you happen to be more inclined to encounter a back strain injury. For the best results, you will want to combine weightlifting with strengthening exercises that use your own personal body weight as opposition to maintain a healthier neck and back. Make sure do not fail core muscles such as transverse abdominals and the external obliques, and to alter your work outs.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise has many health benefits, and it’s also an essential element of a well-rounded workout routine. One of the key advantages to cardiovascular exercise is the way it can simply help with weight reduction. Being obese or overweight can lead to worsening of spinal circumstances and puts extra strain on your back, so discarding some extra pounds with only a little help from cardiovascular activity can mean great things for your back and spine. Cardiovascular exercise also helps you build endurance, which can be essential for long-term health and will help with rehabilitation from spinal and back injuries. Naturally, cardio has wonderful effects on different aspects of well-being too, from enhancing mood and enhancing cholesterol amounts to lowering blood pressure. Because endorphin levels are boosted by cardiovascular exercise, it can also help alleviate outward indications of depression, which may add to the long-term pain experienced by some people. Like that were quality slumber is promoted by cardiovascular activity, and also a good night�s remainder is essential for back and spine well-being.
Exercise &�Aging
It really is particularly important as we age, although exercise is very important at all ages. These deteriorations can impede, although decline of flexibility, range of motion, and function are a part of the natural aging process. Although vigorous action may be hard amongst aged adults, aerobic activity that is light still has tremendous health benefits, specially in comparison to no activity in the slightest. The quantity of exercise one needs so that you can see health benefits might surprise you � you are able to exercise at an intensity level which allows you to carry on a casual conversation and still see health benefits.1 If you have a few other health issues, such as for instance diabetes, high blood pressure, or a heart condition, specific activities may well not be healthy for you. Request your doctor about your planned exercise routine, in case you do not feel comfortable exercising by yourself, and consider exercising in the existence of a physical exercise device. Don’t forget to tune in to your own body, and cease exercise at once should you experience pain aside from muscle soreness that is typical.
The SpineUniverse Exercise Center shows you the top back stretches and neck stretches to maintain your spine powerful and healthy. Discover the crucial advantages of exercise as how to keep healthy as well.
Adding a few miles of biking each day to your commute might add years to your life span, new research suggests. The British study found that bicycling to work appeared to halve people’s odds for serious disease and premature death.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow in Scotland looked at the commuting habits of more than 264,000 people in the United Kingdom and tracked their health over five years.
Cycling to work was associated with a 46 percent lower risk of heart disease over five years and a 45 percent lower risk of cancer compared to a sedentary commute. Risk of premature death was 41 percent lower. Walking to work was also beneficial, but not to the same degree.
Hoofing it was associated with a 27 percent lower risk of heart disease and a 36 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease. However, it wasn’t linked with a lower risk of cancer or premature death, the study found.
The study doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between commuting by bike and longevity.
Still, “if these associations are causal, these findings suggest that policies designed to make it easier for people to commute by bike … may present major opportunities for public health improvement,” said researcher Dr. Jason Gill in a university news release. He’s with the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences.
Gill suggested bike lanes, city bike-sharing, subsidized bicycle purchases and increased accommodation of bicycles on public transit.
The researchers said cycle commuting may offer greater health benefits than walking because cyclists cover longer distances, get more intense exercise, and have higher levels of fitness than walkers.
For example, cyclists commuted an average of 30 miles a week, compared with 6 miles a week for walkers.
The study was published April 20 in the journal BMJ.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
SOURCE: University of Glasgow, news release, April 20, 2017
Additional Topics: Chiropractic and Athletic Performance
Chiropractic care is a popular, alternative treatment option which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries and/or conditions associated to the musculoskeletal and nervous system, primarily the spine. Many athletes, and civilians alike, seek chiropractic care to restore their natural health and wellness, however, chiropractic has been demonstrated to benefit athletes by increasing their athletic performance.
�Lets take a look at the 7 minute and 9 minute workout.
The New York Times has a new super quick workout routine that you can do anywhere, even if you can�t make it to the gym today. I tried it, though, and… hey, wait, am I the only one actually doing these?
Short, intense workouts seem like a good idea on paper. If you�re not already working out, it�s probably because you feel like you don�t have time to get to the gym. But does anyone do these short workouts? Sure, I have nine minutes and some floor space, but do I want to get my work clothes sweaty? And if I�m going to the trouble of changing, why wouldn�t I just head out the door for a run, or turn on Sworkit or Nike Training Club and get something a little closer to a full workout?
After all, the seven-minute workout that got the New York Times started on their repertoire of super short workouts has an odd history. It was published in a scientific journal, but that doesn�t mean any scientists tested whether it was easy to stick to or whether it gave the promised results. Instead, it was designed using hints from previous research, aiming to give people a mini strength workout at a fast enough pace to count as cardio. The designers were coaches at a corporate wellness institute. In other words, people that your boss pays to make you exercise.
We love to talk about these short workouts, but I�m not seeing any evidence that people care to get in a quick couple of minutes of strength or circuit training. The new nine-minute workout dropped earlier this month, but I�ve scoured social media and found almost nobody enthusing or complaining about what it�s like to do this workout�just post after post sharing the fact that it exists.
So, How Is the Nine Minute Workout?
First of all, the nine minute workout actually takes 11 minutes. I just want you to know that going in. There are nine exercises, though, and you do each for one minute. Here�s the structure:
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One minute of squats, one minute of push-ups, one minute of mountain climbers.
Rest one minute.
One minute of forearm plank, one minute of jumping split squats, one minute of single-leg hip bridges.
Rest one minute.
One minute of burpees with push-ups, geez, hardcore. One minute of single leg toe touches. One minute of leg raises.
This seems like an exercise program that doesn�t know what it wants to be. The NYT touts it as a strength program, but then says it�s designed according to the �principles of high-intensity interval training�known as H.I.I.T.�
It ends up being a hybrid that doesn�t accomplish either. If you want to build strength by fatiguing your legs doing split squats, you�ll be done before the minute is out. But if you try to stretch out the exercises to fill a full minute, you�ll have to do them at a slower pace than HIIT requires.
And that�s exactly how this workout went. One minute felt way too long for some exercises, too short for others, and overall it didn�t really feel like a strength session or an interval workout. It was fine for what it was, though! A little something that challenges your body in a much better way than sitting at your desk or on your couch for the same amount of time. Still, if that�s your goal, you can find better exercise plans than this awkward one.
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