Lets consider the following:

· For age > 65 y/o, falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and responsible for approximately 2 million ER visits per year.

· Most falls are not truly accidents rather represent affects of physical deficits related to diminished vision, strength and/or balance.

· Ankle strength and range of motion accounts for approximately 50 percent of our balance.

· Hip strength accounts for approximately 20 percent of our balance.

· Numerous muscles of the trunk accounts for the remaining 30 percent of our balance.

· Decreased flexibility of musculature and ligaments away from the ankle also contributes to imbalance.

· Improved visual contrasts in the home and work environments, and keeping floors tidy (free from slip/trip hazards) lessens risk of injury.

Come on Baby-boomers, avoid the injuries. Contact us for additional recommendations.

Patellofemoral Syndrome is commonly recognized as pain behind the knee. Knee pain frequently does not localize well relative to medial, lateral and  internal source causes.

Generally, age, gender and history of pain are telling factors. Girls 10 to 17 y/o frequently have overly developed thigh abductor muscles (compared to adductors) causing the patella to be pulled laterally, causing retropatellar pain due to patellar tracking problems. Less commonly, tears in the medial petellofemoral ligament cause instability of the patella and similar tracking problem or outright patellar dislocation.

Weak adductors can be conditioned with exercise. Nominal medial patellofibular ligament tears may heal with knee bracing, but more advanced injuries will require surgery. Additionally, prolonged lateral traction on ligaments of the patella may result in compression  of and friction injury to the lateral retropatellar surfaces.

1. Plantar Fasciitis - If identified early more than ninety percent of plantar fasciitis can be adequately addressed by a combination of weight loss and passive plus active ligamentous/muscular stretches of the feet to develop and maintain balanced, normal motion and wearing good shoes.

2. Iliotibial band - Increased iliotibial band stress often occurs with increased impact force during running. IT band micro-injury often precipitates reactive tightening of the band, resulting in lateral torque force on the patella and related soft tissues. To prevent lateral thigh pain, knee pain and plantar foot pain related to the IT band, perform frequent crossed leg sitting stretches and improve the arch support of your shoes.

3. Balance - Walking is a bit difficult without good balance. Tai Chi, a martial art, has as its most important characteristics that it improves balance, endurance and ambulatory skills amongst its practitioners.

1. Determine the ideal time to work out at your gym.
2. Keep your personal equipment and clothing organized and ready so that when you are ready, preparation is not the barrier to getting it done.
3. Develop a base routine with variations; cycle through the variations.
4. Get your heart rate up. If you can still talk while engaged in your aerobic activity, you are probably not working out hard enough.
5. Consider alternating between upper extremity and lower extremity exercises on the same day so that you get a full body workout even when you miss a day.
6. Try working out with a group or class to inspire and pace you.

Sixty percent of all issues discussed at visits with a primary care practitioner address pain. For most primary clinicians, discussing pain management infers discussing medicines. For those who are enlightened enough to consider fitness and exercise as part of general health care.

Many people have difficulty getting back to exercise because they fear that their previous inactivity will cause them to injure themselves. If you are amongst those, consider pool exercise. An effective work out in water may include walking, jogging, swimming and exercises with resistance tools made specifically for use in water.

The key advantage to restarting your fitness plan in a pool is buoyancy. You may reduce your effective body weight by up to 90 percent in deeper water. The reduced effective weight makes exercise easier on your joints.

Light dumbbells made of foam provide substantial resistance as they pass through the water not by their mass, rather due to volume and shape. Water resists the motion of the body and exercise tools as they move, providing the opposition force of work. However, it lessens the speed and torque of the work, making it safer. Additionally, the gravity-defying assistance of water lessens the risk of falling or performing exercise at an unfavorable angle.

Pain is frequently associated with excessive weight on the lumbar, hip and lower extremity joints. Pain is frequently associated with the effects of disease related to obesity. Pain is frequently related to injury that occurs subsequent to loss of muscle mass. Pool work is no magic bullet, and it is work. However, it is very effective in its many potential applications of increased flexibility, weight loss strength gains and pain management via improved fitness.

When considering personal and national healthcare plans we need to define healthcare. While much of western medicine is focused upon diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury, we should actually consider healthcare as the compound word that it is, health and care. As such, the objective should be that of caring for your health. To focus upon health, consider the following to motivate yourself to get healthy and fit.

1.    Describe your objective. How will you look when you are healthy? Write your description detailing your future appearance including hair (color, amount, style), face (with or without wrinkles, acne, scars, etc.), skin (tone, lesions), posture, height, weight, body measures (e.g., chest, waist, hip circumference), and clothing sizes.

2.    Create an initial plan. Create a plan for reaching your objectives. Of course, we all have different resources. So, your plan will need to fit your budget and resources. Plan elements may include: exercise plan, dietary plan, social habits plan (e.g., related to alcohol, cigarettes, pharmaceutical products, sleep, etc.), describing a support network (e.g., physician, nutritionist/dietician, trainer, software resource, books, newsletters, blog information, family, friends, etc.).

3.    Create a calendar. Create a skeleton calendar noting endpoint objectives and intermediate targets. The skeletal nature will allow for updating the plan, with the most detailed aspects of the plan being the current month.

4.    Sign up for events. Participate in contests and competitions for which the primary expense is your time and effort. These physical events should be consistent with your level of fitness. The contests may be a 1-day event for a charity where the primary benefactors are others or may be a fitness competition that is performed over the course of months, sponsored by nutritional supplement companies, with prizes for the high performers. Participation in these events and contests will be complementary motivation.

5.    Share you goals. Tells others who will encourage you if nothing else. The term “support” in “support network” will be defined in many ways. Sharing enhances your accountability.

6.    Visualize your objectives often. Type your goals and post them where you will see them frequently and where you need the reminders and encouragement. These locations might be on your bath mirror, in the bedroom closet, on food cabinets, on your refrigerator, and in the car. If you are sophisticated enough to scan a picture a picture of yourself into a computer, digitally manipulate it and print the image of the anticipated “new you”, do so.

Formulate your plan, get healthy and stay fit.

Knee pain can be of many origins. This article is not intended to be about knee pain differential diagnosis. Rather, consider that in the absence of arthritis, obesity or effects of specific injuries, many persons experience repetitive strain type injuries to knee structures simply due to loss of flexibility.

Particularly, the ilitotibial band (ITB), originating at the lateral pelvic crest extends downward (distally) to the lateral femur and lateral, proximal tibia. It helps stabilize the patella (knee cap) and contributes to hip motion. Repetitive knee bending (alternating flexion/extension) pulls the distal ITB medially (towards the opposite knee), across the distal end of the lateral femur (outer aspect), irritating the distal end of the lateral femur, irritating its insertion if the ITB is tight, resulting in lateral knee pain. It may also cause the patella to be pulled and shifted laterally (outward, away from the other knee) resulting in inflammation of the underside to the patella because of abnormal tracking (motion pattern).

If this is your problem, self-care should include a trial of sitting cross-legged, forcing the knees and lateral thighs to the floor slowly, for five minutes, three times per day. Alternatively, perform similar exercises sitting in a chair, one leg at a time with the the leg crossed, the lateral ankle sitting atop your distal thigh.

March 5, 2009 — Children born with a gene linked to obesity don’t have to get fat. A healthy diet and exercise will win over the obesity gene’s unhealthy effects.

People who inherit a variant version of the FTO gene tend to need to eat more to satisfy their appetites, so they may gain more weight than others. As such, the FTO gene has been labeled the ” obesity gene.”

However, the gene does not specific food selection or exercise habits. As such, your fate is not sealed. See more details regarding this work performed at the University College of London.

For full article CLICK HERE

For diet and exercise information CLICK HERE

 Subscribe in a reader

[contact-form]

March 5, 2009 — “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” is what Yogi Berra would say. Now many health scientists are agreeing that a bit of exercise and simply quitting bad habits such as  the couch-potato habit and smoking can have a demonstrable effect on your lifespan, even at middle age. See detailed results from a recent study by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

For full article CLICK HERE

For fitness information CLICK HERE

 Subscribe in a reader

[contact-form]

The heavy scents of spices waft from ethnic cuisine towards the waterline. Gazing down the paths at the edge of the marina, antique lamps glowing along the tree-lined route, the enticing laughter and soft music reach out to me as I stroll briskly towards you.

Active again, investing in hearty play, great food and healthy behaviors once more. Socially active again because I am taking care of myself, preventively, regularly, finding natural tools to keep me moving. Welcome to living a contemporary, healthy, good nutrition-filled, fit and enjoyable life.

If you want an alternative perspectives on contemporary health, nutrition and fitness, we are here.

The Funalt III Group

Subscribe in a reader