If you’re into Crossfit, then you know how addicting it can become. The mix of high-intensity interval training with a little competition can help you stay motivated and make amazing changes to your body. The key to success is staying consistent with your workouts, but it can be challenging if you start to suffer injuries.
Why it Matters:
Injuries can often occur when your body doesn’t have the correct balance of strength and flexibility. Muscles tears, sprain and strains, and even painful arthritic changes can flare up by either lifting too much weight or by not having enough flexibility to support that weight through a full range of motion. So, here a few tips to reduce the likelihood of injuries:
Take a few minutes to stretch before and after your workout.
Increase the weight you lift slowly and focus on reps vs. max weight.
Use good posture and ergonomics during your workouts. Don’t “cheat” and increase your risk of an injury
Next Steps:
Researchers have discovered that a combination of proper warm up/cool down, a full range of motion and progressive intensity training can help reduce injuries when strength training. One of the most effective ways to improve your spinal mobility and flexibility is through Chiropractic care. Adjustments to your spine and extremities have been shown to increase their range of motion and may help you find that perfect balance of strength and flexibility.
Science Source(s):
Short-term effect of spinal manipulation on pain perception, spinal mobility, and full height recovery in male subjects with degenerative disk disease: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2014
Progressive resistance strength training and the related injuries in older adults: the susceptibility of the shoulder. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 2014
Smoking may be a bigger killer than currently estimated. The current estimate from the United States Surgeon General is that 480,000 Americans die yearly of smoking-related causes, but researchers from the American Cancer Society claim that the figure may be closer to 540,000 after including at least some deaths caused kidney failure, intestinal disease, heart disease caused by high blood pressure, infections, breathing problems, and breast and prostate cancer. Though these diseases are not typically associated with smoking, researchers found that smokers are more likely to die from these conditions than non-smokers. Thus, they believe these additional deaths should be included in smoking-related mortality calculations.
Maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle can provide you with a life rich in experiences and fulfillment. Whether you enjoy team sports, individual pursuits, or just like getting your 10,000 steps in every day, we’re here to support you. While not everyone is destined to be a pro athlete, staying active and living a high quality of life are goals we can all strive for. Even just a few small changes to your habits around your exercise routine, thought processes, and nutrition can pay big dividends on your overall health and wellness.
Why it Matters:
Medical researchers around the world agree on the health benefits of an active lifestyle, such as reducing your risk of heart disease, anxiety and diabetes – but it doesn’t stop there. Each year, new research is published that shows even more benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle by staying active, eating right, and keeping a positive mental attitude. We call this a balance of physical, chemical and emotional stress. As nice as it may seem, no one can reduce all the stress in their life, but by understanding this delicate balance, you can start taking practical steps towards having a great life experience.
A steady balance (or homeostasis), is when your body can function at its optimal level.
Excessive or chronic physical, chemical, or emotional stress can throw off this delicate balance.
Chiropractic care has been shown to reduce stress in the neuromusculoskeletal system by way of a muscle spindle stretch response.
Next Steps:
Information and education about how to live a healthy lifestyle are essential, but what counts is taking action. Just like learning how to do a push up won’t make you more fit, understanding how to be more healthy won’t make you more healthy until you start to create better health habits and work towards making healthier decisions each day. Need a little inspiration? Connect with our Facebook Page where we post daily health tips and motivating messages to keep you on track!
Science Source(s):
The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on strength and cortical drive in athletes. European journal of Applied Physiology. 2018
Changes in biochemical markers following spinal manipulation-a systematic review and meta-analysis. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice. 2017
Wellness/Prevention: Use of Media Devices Affect Teens’ Sleep Significantly.
A Norwegian study has found that if it takes more than an hour for a teenager to fall asleep, there is an almost 50% likelihood that they are spending more than four hours per day outside of school using electronic devices such as computers, TVs, smartphones, and MP3 players. The findings are of concern since the majority of teens in the United States report having at least one electronic device in their bedroom, and poor sleep has implications on school performance. The authors add, “The current recommendation is not to have a TV in the bedroom. It seems, however, that there may be other electronic devices exerting the same negative influence on sleep, such as PCs and mobile phones. The results confirm recommendations for restricting media use in general.” Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, November 2014
Cardiovascular and general, overall health are well established factors to general wellbeing and mental health. Likewise, improving your overall health and specifically cardiovascular health will lead to improvements in your mental health and overall outlook.
Chiropractic: Resolution of Shoulder Pain Following Chiropractic Care.
A new case study sheds light on the benefits of chiropractic care for shoulder pain. A 73-year-old woman with a one-year history of shoulder pain presented for chiropractic care. Her working diagnosis included brachial neuritis, cervicalgia, arthritis, and cervical spinal joint fixations. She reported resolution of pain, and improvements in both function and quality of life following just eleven chiropractic treatments over the course of ten weeks.
Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, February 2015
Knee osteoarthritis is a condition that can cause stiffness that limits joint range of motion. Over time, the knee’s flexion and extension movements become limited, generally causing pain and an alteration of the normal biomechanics. Your thigh muscles also have to work harder during movement, generating a feeling of muscle tension.To date, the exact causes of osteoarthritis have not been fully identified. It is completely normal to have a mild level of osteoarthritis with age. However, the more advanced stages of osteoarthritis can affect the ability to carry out daily activities and sports. An exacerbation of symptoms usually occurs during a period when the level of physical activity has been drastically increased. Direct trauma to the knee can increase the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
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Structures involved
In the knee, the joint affected by osteoarthritis is the t ibiofemoral joint, formed by the femur bone and the tibia bone. It is mainly cartilage damage combined with the presence, in some cases, of slight bone spurs in the joint that appear to be responsible for the restriction of movement. Over time, certain muscles in the thigh area may compensate for the joint restriction and become more tense.1
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Signs & Symptoms that you may experience
Each person will react differently to osteoarthritis and management will depend on its stage. Knee osteoarthritis can produce, but is not limited to, local pain in the knee, localized edema and stiffness in certain knee movements. Repetitive movements of the knee during walking or other sports activities and a squatting position with direct pressure can cause pain.
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Developments
Knee osteoarthritis is a progressive condition that cannot be cured, which means that the range of motion may decrease over time. An active lifestyle and a rehabilitation plan may however slow the progression of this condition and make it easier to manage the symptoms.
Relative rest is a good way to prevent your symptoms from getting worse after a painful episode. A few days of rest while reducing activities that cause significant pain m ay be necessary, but it is very important to avoid deconditioning. A quick return to your daily activities, light cardiovascular exercises that do not cause an increase in pain, joint mobilization exercises and knee and hip muscles strengthening exercises will allow for better recovery.
Rehabilitation
Follow your therapist’s advice. This will help you manage the various stages of the healing process and increase the odds of success. Your therapist will accompany you during your rehabilitation program in order to improve range of motion of your knee’s joint, regain flexibility, muscle strength and endurance, and functional state.
According to the principles of knee osteoarthritis rehabilitation, improving joint range of motion should be an integral part of the treatment plan. A program to improve joint range of motion and flexibility, as well as specific muscle strengthening is common to control the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.
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Do not rely solely on a passive treatment approach. Each phase of the rehabilitation process is important. Patients who actively participate in their treatment plan tend to recover more quickly. Keep in mind that pain is not always a good indicator of joint or tissue damage. A significant level of pain does not necessarily imply a more advanced stage of osteoarthritis. As soon as you feel better and the pain is well under control, introduce, in collaboration with your therapist, light mobility and strengthening exercises based on your tolerance. Remember that exercise is an excellent way to manage pain associated with osteoarthritis.
Exercise: Muscle Weakness Affects 1 in 5 Older Americans. Twenty percent of Americans 80 years of age and older have weak muscle strength, according to experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior studies have linked fading muscle strength to slower walking speed and an increased risk of death. The CDC recommends that seniors should strive to maintain optimal physical conditioning through good overall preventive care, nutrition, and exercise.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 2015
When exercising, it is important to make your routine enjoyable and fun to help ensure that you keep exercising. The American Heart Association suggests the following: wear shoes that are comfortable and fit properly, wear clothing that is appropriate for weather conditions, start slow, stick to a consistent workout time, make expectations reasonable for your health and abilities, include fun activities with family and friends, track you progress, and reward yourself for success. American Heart Association, February 2015
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Aberdeen Chiropractic 