Pages

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Foot Mobility Progressions

More great information on mobility from Kelley Starrett of MoblityWOD.  This is especially beneficial for runners but can be applied to anyone with foot issues.

This is part one of three (which I will post later).  Happy soft tissue work and less pain.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Long Term Caloric Deficit and Athletes

The pressure in athletics to achieve one's highest level of performance has never been higher.  Training programs, rehab, supplementation, and lab work have been some of the main areas of focus to help with improving athletic performance.

An often overlooked area that contributes not only to sports performance but also to the prevention and treatment of athletic injuries is nutrition.  In sports where caloric intake is closely monitored for either performance standards,  physical appearance or a combination of both a lack of adequate caloric intake can become a predisposition for injury and decreased performance.

Now, where the confusion and discussion can start.  Caloric deficit is not just in the short term of not eating well for the past day or two or even in the mid-term when we look at a week(s) and even up to a month.  Where caloric deficit can have major impacts is over the long-term and consistently hitting caloric deficits week after week.  This condition is known as Athletic Energy Deficit (AED).  It has been found that long term caloric restrictions can cause a decrease in resting metabolic rate and then increase the amount of fat stored within the body.  It is actually possible (although hard to believe) that higher caloric consumption along with that high activity can lead you to lower body fat.

As AED becomes more severe it's impact is seen especially in women as the body starts to responds by suppressing basic physiological functions that essential to body function including immune function and bone health (to name a few).  See the figure to the side to look at the bone mineral density of commonly injured bones in amenorrheic vs. eumenorrheic athletes.

See more below:

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Why Ice and Anti-Inflammatory Medication is NOT the Answer

Written by Josh Stone

Why Ice and Anti-Inflammatory Medication is NOT the Answer

Another interesting article (along with the baseball pitcher and icing one) about the use of ice and anti-inflammatory medication in the management of swelling. A lot of the questions I personally have are around can we change the commonly accepted way of thinking but both practitioners and also athletes to looking at other ideas in the treatment of swelling?  Ice has been the go to for so many years (myself included) but is it truly the best option.  Can we be more proactive with muscle activation, manual therapy to lymphatic channels, and/or compression?  

The comments are very interesting at the end of the article and your thoughts are always appreciated.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Glute Strength (Specifically in Runners)

A good article from Runner's World on the importance of glute strength and it's importance in the work of the "core".  Activation of the glutes is something that I think gets under addressed in many sports and specifically in this case runners.  Enjoy.

Runner's World Article: Glute Strength

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Sand Scrapping: Gua Sha

Whether you are professional athlete, part-time marathoner, want to be strongman, or just a weekend warrior you have undoubtedly experienced some form of muscle pain or trigger point.  While they are inconvenient and don't feel good they can be much more problematic than thought.  A muscle spasm or trigger point can result in d   the muscle fibers that results in ischemia due to the squeeze on capillaries.  As the contractions continue without adequate blood flow to its cells anaerobic glycolysis produces lactic acid which in turn brings a hydrogen ion with it and the "burning" sensation in your muscle occurs.
Gua Sha (gwa-sa) traditionally means "sand scrapping" and is a technique that involves applying an edged tool to the skin.  There are a variety of tools (see picture) to apply to different parts of the body.  During treatment "sha" become visible in the form as petechiae (red dots).  The presentation of petechiae is thought to show the increase of blood flow to the area and brings about the conclusion of the treatment.
Gua Sha is used to interrupt vasoconstriction by mechanical stimulation of mast cells resulting in the activation of the axon reflex flare.  This is achieved by stroking the tools over the skins surface to cause a mechanical stimulation that degranulates mast cells.  Histamine is released and stimulates nerves and through mediators the capillaries dilate resulting in erythema (skin redness).   Results of this stimulation and increase in blood flow are the normalization of blood pH, reduction of pain and a return to normal cellular production.
Continue by clicking below:

Friday, April 4, 2014

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Concussion Treatment: Convergence Deficiency


By: Joel Luedke

Found this on Mike Reinold's website by a guest writer and it was something I had neither heard of or  thought about in the treatment and management of concussions. Concussion Treatment: Convergence Insufficiency



In the article it talks about the four visual components: Accommodation, Vergence, Divergence, and Convergence.



The article talks about convergence solely which is the ability to move medially, towards the nose, which allow for single vision of closer objects, the ability to cross your eyes.  The article talks about working on convergence to help with relieve of concussion symptoms in a quicker manner.  This will help address the daily activities of athletes that bother them even after they feel good at complete rest.



"Normal" convergence is starting to get diplopia within 4-6 cm from the nose-meaning, they are able to move both eyes medially to focus on the target, keeping it as one, up until that point.  For those with concussion, it is common to get diplopia at 15-20cm or not at all.



The author, Shaun Logan DPT, reviews more on treatment of convergence deficiency in his article here:  Concussion Treatment: Convergence Insufficiency




Update: 1/28/16

This is something we have begun to implement a screening on along with our concussion protocol at UWL.  It is very interesting and one that is a 'new' wave of looking at multiple facets of what could be causing concussion symptoms and possibly prolonging them.  When your eyes can't do what they are supposed to we need to be able to identify it and so that way we can go back and work to correct it.  The corrections are highly interesting consisting of actual training and also adjustments to lenses to help readjust your vision.

Incredibly pioneering stuff going on.