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Get tips about keeping in top physical condition, plus the latest news about Physical Solutions from our free newsletter. See our latest issue and the archive of past issues below. |
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Current Physical Solutions Newsletter
Warming Up the Right Way — June 2008
It's not a stretch to say that many active people do little good and some harm when warming up. Indeed, stretching is often the problem. I see runners stretching their hamstrings, football players touching their toes, and whole teams of soccer players bouncing, all trying to warm up to play sports. Ironically, people who like to stretch often don't need it while those who don't like to stretch could use more flexibility. Instead, warm up by being active. Continue >>
Previous Newsletters
Back Pain: Complex in Cause & Treatment — May 2008
Most back pain is treated using the traditional medical model. That is, using diagnostic tests to look for the single cause and then implementing a medical procedure to fix the problem. But back pain is not a single disease with a simple cause and cure like, say, appendicitis. Back pain is a much more complicated problem with many underlying causes and factors, each of which must be addressed during treatment.What does a bulging disk mean? People who have back pain often are told that they have that one of the disks between their vertebrae is bulging. And while that may be true, lots of people have bulging disks. In fact, 20 to 70% of all people over 40 years old have some disk problems. But many of them have no symptoms at all. So a bulging disk may be the source of your pain or it may have nothing to do with your pain at all. Continue >>
Core Training: Beyond Sit Ups and Crunches — April 2008
Your core is the middle of your body, the part between your arms and your legs. It's not just your stomach, no matter how many people in your gym equate "strong core" with "six-pack." Your core goes all the way around, including your sides and back. It also includes several layers of muscles.
Sit ups and crunches work on just the front of your core and just on one layer: your rectus abdominus. Good core training works the whole cylinder of your core and all the layers of muscles involved. The training strengthens many muscles we don't usually even know we have. Continue >
Do You Need to Be Stronger? Do You Really Want Bigger Muscles? — March 2008
If people frequently mistake you for Demi Moore or The Rock, you may not need bigger muscles. But most of us could benefit from increasing the proportion of our bodies made of muscle rather than fat. Doing so helps us stay trim, strong, and agile.
Strong muscles mean strong bones. Consistent overload training will increase muscle size and tone, increase muscular strength, and increase tendon, bone, and ligament strength. An important part of osteoporosis treatment and prevention is responsible strength training. Continue >>
Is There a Good Reason People Frequently Do 10 Repetitions of an Exercise ? — February 2008
Historically, the number 10 originated from the work of Dr. Thomas DeLorme of Harvard, who was looking for the best way to help injured soldiers returning from WWII regain muscle size and strength after bedrest. He developed the concept of the 10 repetition maximum (RM), which is the weight that a person can lift ONLY 10 times. The DeLorme method of training is actually an ascending pyramid of 3 sets of 5 repetitions at 50%, 75% and 100% of the 10RM. While many other ways have been proposed and tried, recent studies confirm that this is one of the most effective, efficient ways to gain strength.
The main point to note for strength training is that there needs to be progressive resistance. Continue >>
Doctors Who Are Athletes Help Active People Stay Active, Less Likely to "Take the Easy Way Out" — January 2008
The New York Times article called But First, Doctor, What Was Your Marathon Time? asks if athletes should seek doctors who are also athletes. "Nobody knows," said Dr. James Fries, a 20-mile-a-week runner and a professor of medicine at Stanford. But doctors who are athletes, he added, are less likely to say "untoward things like that running destroys the knees or that you need an electrocardiogram before you can exercise."
Duke professor and cardiologist Dr. William Kraus, runs 35 miles a week and finishes 5-kilometer races in about 20 minutes at the age of 53 was also interviewed. He notes that in general, doctors who are athletes tend to be more aware that active people want to stay active more than anything else. He said athletic doctors are less likely to take the easy way out and tell an active person who is injured or ill to stop exercising. "For many of us, that’s just unacceptable," Dr. Kraus said. Continue >>
Test Predicts Injuries for Professional Football Players — December 2007
"Weak" is not the first word that comes to mind when looking at a professional football player. But while these superb athletes can be big and strong in most ways, subtle weaknesses can cut playing time for some of them dramatically. A new study shows that a brief but very important set of tests known as the Functional Movement Screen can identify which players are more likely to be seriously injured so they can take steps to reduce the risk.
About the Functional Movement Screen
During the Functional Movement Screen, an athlete performs seven basic movements to test his or her strength, mobility, stability, and balance. The exam requires the necessary functional patterns and combinations of movement necessary to be safe and successful in sports. Years of observation and research have allowed development of this screen to quickly ascertain potential risk when an individual's movement patterns are painful, limited, or altered. Continue >>
New Treatment at Physical Solutions! Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT or cold laser) — October 2007
Lasers are being used for many things these days, and physical therapy is no exception. Low-level laser can help treat many conditions. After much research, we chose the Microlight ML830® laser to use at Physical Solutions. The Microlight is a "cold" laser that delivers light to deep tissues. Most other lasers are the same category as laser pointers.
A team of doctors and medical engineers designed the MicroLight as a safe and effective therapeutic application of advanced low-energy laser technology. The outer skin layers absorb some light, but the MicroLight gets more light past the outer layers of the skin in to the damaged cells that will benefit from light. This light energy promotes the process of "photobiostimulation."
Balancing the Body's Network
Damaged cells show an imbalance in the nerve network, lymphatic system, circulatory system, or possibly all three. Low-level laser focuses on the interdependent relationship between the nerve network, lymphatic and circulatory systems. Although it is possible for damaged cells to normalize on their own, laser treatment may speed up the process. Continue >>
Real Help for Back Pain —March 2007
Question: What Can I Do about Back Pain?
I’ve tried lots of things. Can anything help me feel better now? What is available to help me permanently?
Answer: Try Physical Therapy First
You are not alone. About 80% of the population will suffer from back pain. Some people are lucky. Their pain is short lived and no medical attention is necessary. But many times the pain lasts a long time or comes back again and again. This is a sign that you need help.
But what kind of help and where?
When you are in pain and want effective help fast, you don’t want to wait weeks for appointments or to be sent from one place to another. You don't want to wonder whether the treatment you are getting has been researched well and is proven to be safe and effective.
An article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal's January 12, 2007, edition clearly acknowledges what the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy (AAOMPT) has been saying for years: “Before trying expensive alternatives, get patients into physical therapy first. You'll save millions of dollars and actually help the patient.” Continue >>
Countdown of 10 Great Reasons to make Exercise Part of Your Life —January 2007
10. Build Strong Bones in Girls; Prevent and Slow Bone Loss
A study conducted at the Louisiana State University in Shreveport, La, found that weight-bearing exercise, which includes high-impact sports like soccer, may be best when it comes to helping girls build strong bones. According to researchers, soccer places repetitive impact on the skeleton, which further promotes bone development. An additional study found that girls who participated in sports had a higher bone density in adulthood.
9. Defeat Diabetes
66 percent of Americans with type 2 diabetes do not have their disease under control, which puts them at risk for early death, blindness, and limb loss. Cases of diabetes have increased markedly in recent years, as people have become more sedentary and overweight. Continue >>
Functional Training: Not Just a Fad — December 2006
The newest fad in exercise is functional training. Anytime a fad occurs in health care, one should be at least a bit skeptical. What passes for functional training is often the same old exercises performed on a different, more functional piece of equipment, such as sit ups done on an exercise ball instead of on a bench.
But true functional training is invaluable. It's been around for many years in the physical therapy world; in fact even before there was the title "functional training," effective physical therapy was indeed very functional. Continue >>
Female Athletes Injured up to 8 Times More than Male Athletes — September 2006
Today more girls and women engage in a wide variety of sports, exercise, and physical activity than ever. While the benefits of exercise, sports, and just being more active far outweigh the risks, studies show that females may be injured at a higher rate than males. Females tear their knee ligaments (ACLs) much more often than males, as much as three to eight times more often! Women and girls also seem to suffer from more overuse and chronic injuries.
But as this newsletter will show, new training techniques developed for women and girls can dramatically reduce their rate of injury — and provide as a bonus improved performance. Continue >>