Active Release Techniques “The Modality For Pain Relief And Improved Sports Performance!”

 Picture being on the 8^th hole playing one of your favorite desert courses on a warm sun filled day with your friends, when all of a sudden you get this sharp pain in your back from trying to sink an 18 foot put.

Holding your back and in obvious pain you cant move. You look back in time and recall that this is happening more frequently than in the past. Now your day of golf is ruined and you now need to find a way to get out of pain, so you call your doctor who prescribes you some medicine and tells you to rest for a few days. Three days have past, you have missed work the pain is still there and life seems very frustrating at the moment. After a couple of weeks have past the pain is resolved you go back to work and things seem fine again. You then go to the range hit some balls and after 15 minutes have past by the pain is back and now you can’t straighten up. You are now very concerned and frustrated! You make another appointment with your doctor, he takes x rays, gives you more medicine and says that there is nothing showing up from the tests. “What do I do now” you asked yourself?  This is too common of a problem in the United States. Over 85% of Americans will experience several episodes of back pain during their lifetime. There is a solution that has become very popular over the past 10 years, but has been around  for 25 years. It’s called Active Release Techniques!

Active Release is a patented state of the art soft tissue movement system invented By Michael Leahy DC that treats problems involving  muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and fascia. Conditions like sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, rotator cuff problems, headaches and TMJ just to mention a few can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. All of these conditions have something in common overused muscles.

Every treatment consists of evaluating and then treating tissue texture, tightness and  movement by the use of the practitioners hands. Certified practitioners are educated on how to locate and then feel different tissues textures and how movement is affected and range of motion is restricted eventually leading to weakness and dysfunction.

The procedure for treating soft tissue injuries or nerve entrapments is to first locate where the problem is coming from, this sometimes is not at the pain site but from somewhere else. After finding a restrictive muscle or structure, the practitioner shortens applies tension in the direction of the fibers and then stretches it, this in turn will help breakdown adheased scar tissue and allow the tissue to start healing by delivering oxygen and fresh blood to the area. When you have small muscle tears (strains) the matrix (foundation) of how new tissue lays down evenly is impeded by what is laying on top. If you have an injury scar tissue forms and that tissue lays down unevenly and not smoothe, so this must be addressed so that the new tissue can lay its self down evenly so that its adjacent structures don’t stick together creating a dysfunction.

Active Release Therapy is different than just getting a massage, because the patient is involved in the therapy. If you want to get pampered and just lay there then you need to find a massage therapist, but if you want fast results and want to relieve pain and get on with your life then Active Release therapy is the solution.

From a sports performance perspective, it’s a huge advantage to have someone on site that can provide this service. There are many professional sports teams that have these talented practitioners on their staff, like the NFL. MLB, NHL PGA, LPGA  and ATP tours just to mention a few. As an example; a football player comes hobbling over to the sidelines and is grabbing on to his neck, the practitioner identifies it as a “stinger” which feels like a paralysis to the player. He performs a few moves on his neck using the patented technique, and within minutes the player is able to resume his career.

If properly evaluated and treated most conditions can be permanently resolved within 6 visits. This doesn’t mean that another injury won’t occur unless you can identify what caused it and then do the prescribed home program protocol faithfully!  Most insurances if billed under a soft tissue code should cover the procedure, but many practitioners nowadays don’t take insurance, but in the long run if it can keep you off the operating table, eliminate the need for prescription medications and avoid getting shots then it will save not only your health but thousands of dollars.

I have many clients that come and see me that want to lose weight fast but don’t know how. They have tried dieting, aerobic exercise, even tried many of the fad exercise weight loss programs that they saw on television. Nothing seems to work. The bottom line is you have you overload your muscles and challenge yourself to lose weight. Most women fear lifting weights in that they think that they are going to become bigger or injure themselves in the process. If done correctly strength training is the safest mode of exercise out there. When you try and get fancy and challenge yourself beyond what you are capable of doing is when you can get injured. Men want to lift heavy but get caught up in a rut after doing so, most likely because of their exercise choices. Older men who have desk jobs and low energy think they will hurt themselves and so they avoid it all together.

Strength training challenges you both mentally and physically. When you can squat, bench press or even do 10 chin ups will boost your self confidence, make you feel good about yourself and will keep you young, even as you age. There are so many benefits to strength training that I will touch upon a few that I feel will want to make you pick up weights and question why didn’t I do this sooner!

1. Weight training will help you lose fat!  The bottom line is more muscle means more calories burned during rest! With all the different fads that are on the market, nothing can match old style strength training. Where most people fail is they don’t push themselves hard enough to gain a metabolic effect during recovery. For instance , a large review of published research shows that weight training has an average loss of approximately 1.7 kg of fat in both normal and overweight individuals while preserving both their lean body mass and metabolic rate[1].

2. Strength Training decreases blood pressure and improves heart function!  Weight training dramatically improves heart function. it repeatedly has been shown to decrease blood pressure. A review found that across 8 trials, systolic blood pressure decreased by an average of 6.2mmhg. This shows clinical significance  since it is more than double the benefit of typical blood pressure medications[2]

3. Strength Training improves sleep and reduces chronic pain! A recent intervention showed that older men improved their quality of sleep by 5% and woke up fewer times during the night. Research has shown that sleep disturbance, not getting quality rest  and losing out on deep REM sleep can influence glycemic control, diabetes risk, body fat gain and inflammation.

4. Lifting heavy can help build bone! Weight training more than any other activity helps to build bone mass and density. Studies show former elite athletes who included weight lifting as part of their workouts have much stronger bones as they age. This translates into a 50% lower chance of fracture in men, and 20% lower fracture risk in women.

To build bone you want a program design that emphasizes hypertrophy and strength ranges. This means lifting at times near maximal loads, doing plyometrics and even wearing a vest! For hypertrohy stay in a rep range of 8-12 reps and near 75% of your max, while for strength gains do 6-8 reps near 85% of you max load.

5. Strength Training can help prevent disease, particularly cancer and diabetes!  Many doctors who specialize in treating diabetes use diet and exercise, and research has shown that interval training is the most effective. Building muscle increases the muscles demand for glucose which pulls it out of the bloodstream, this contributes to better body composition and diabetes prevention.

Strength training has been shown to repeatedly to correlate to lower risk of a number of cancers, in particular breast cancer. Teen girls who weight train experience a greater reduction risk of breast cancer later in life. But the benefit for cancer prevention extends to women of all ages.

6. Strength training improves hormone levels and reproductive function!  Strength training increases both testosterone and IGF-1 in men which correlates to leanness. In women  building lean muscle has been shown to improve the metabolism of estrogen which in turn means lower risk of cancer and lower body fat!

Sports Conditioning Camps “A Building Block for Our Young Athletes Future”

Over the past 20 years our nation has become a computer driven sit on the couch type of society.  The urge to text a friend write on a facebook page or play violent video games has become a habit of our children. Most of our schools across the country have either fully stopped physical education classes past 10 the grade or have not made it mandatory. It is no wonder why nearly 70% of middle school children in California fail the Presidents Physical Fitness test. It has been said that because of the statistical rise of obesity in our country that this generation of children may not outlive their parents. It is scary to look into the future when the present is looking so bleak! Diabetes ,high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease are all at an all time high!  Children are hooked on energy drinks, soft drinks and anything that contains sugar and caffeine. They frequent fast food places that contain empty calories or “non food Items”. They stay up late watching TV or playing video games, so they are not getting the sleep that they need. Our children are basically deteriorating! They have no idea about what they are doing to themselves. I believe that it all starts at home, we must educate and reinforce good nutrition and lifestyle habits!

A  popular summer idea to get kids off the couch and get physically fit is having them attend a sports conditioning camps. Whether they are an athlete or have never exercised before this could kick start their interest into a healthier lifestyle. It has been my experience in the past watching shy-low self esteem kids blossom into fitness enthusiasts after exposing them to fun-energy driven activities. One they are associating themselves with other kids , they are part of a group that wants to succeed and at the end they have accomplished something so great that they become proud of themselves. I have witnessed depressed children not needing medication anymore because they are now active everyday. I have heard about kids with asthma not needing their inhalers anymore, and have heard from parents over and over again that they can’t believe that their child doesn’t have a problem with waking up early and that they look forward to attending each session. These are your typical middle schoolers that have not been exposed to fun-fitness!

When looking for a conditioning camp you want to check out the location and time to insure that it will work for both of you. In places where heat is a factor the earlier the better is important to avoid heat exhaustion and dehydration. Also you want to know how experienced the trainers are and what credentials they hold! This is very important in knowing that your young athlete is safe. A trainer that has a degree and holds national level  credentials is highly advised. Also knowing What  the ratio of trainers to participants will be. Ideally  there should be a 1-15 trainer to athlete ratio to ensure safety and proper supervision. You also want ask questions regarding the types of activities  and events that are planned for them. To inspire kids these days it has to be fun and creative. Obstacle courses, running skipping and strength training activities should all be available. Dynamic warm ups and cool downs should be covered to avoid musculoskeletal injuries. Another important item that they should offer regards nutrition. In the past I have given many lectures and seminars to the local middle schools, high schools and sports organizations. Topics that would be informative would be the types of energy foods that help with recovery after workouts to good food choices for breakfast lunch and dinner. Also hydration should be covered… how much water to drink each day weather active or non active. The effects on the types of foods and drinks that you are consuming now and what they do to the body. How much sleep you should get for optimal mental and physical recovery.  Sports conditioning camps should also offer pre and post testing in order to give the athlete feedback about their progress. Typical tests that should be covered are number  of push ups in a minute, situps in a minute, a shuttle run to determine cardiovascular fitness to the more athletic tests like the 40-30-20 yard dash, vertical jump test, 5-10-5 agility test and long jump test. Look for a camp that lasts over a month not a week. This gives them ample time to show performance gains. A week is not long enough as there is usually long days with a lot of standing around and not ideal supervision. What really makes a camp successful is the impact the trainers have on the kids.  The trainers should show passion and interact with the participants as often as possible. It is easy to get lost when the camp has attendance marks of over 100 kids.  Having your sibling participate in one of these camps can have a positive or negative impact on their life for a very long time, so choose wisely!

 

 

When you mention the word golf to individuals who are just observers and not players,
they see it as a country club event that requires minimal exertion or athletic ability. Some
have argued that it is not a sport because it lacks the physical contact of football, the up
and down the court running, jumping and fast pace style of basketball, or the non stop
action such as in soccer.
By definition an athlete is someone who possesses strength, agility coordination and
stamina. This someone also has skills to overcome obstacles and can react to multiple
sources of stimuli( such as a running back must fight off forces from all sides keep his
balance and have the strength stamina and the agility to run over and around people in a
split second). A golfer must have some of these physical characteristics to perform well.
What these critics don’t realize is the coordination, stability, strength and accuracy that it
takes to drive a golf ball say 250 yards, taking into consideration the speed that the
clubhead is traveling ( possibly 100 mph), down a narrow fairway, avoiding bunkers,
water, trees and even the playing conditions, and eventually getting it to drop into a small
hole in 4 just to make par. Then you add in the shear forces that are placed on the spine
during rotation around a fixed vertical axis, and the strength and balance that is required
by every joint in the body per unit of time that passes by during the swing to consistently
achieve accurate drives, I would say that it takes athletic ability to become proficient at
this sport.
With this in mind to be good and stay healthy, golfers need to train the body to coordinate
movement patterns by challenging the neuromuscular system with exercises that have a
high carry over to golf.
Going to the gym on a regular basis and working with equipment that can challenge your
neuromuscular system like swiss balls, medicine balls, balance boards, cable machines
and bungy-type elastic cords are good sources. Challenge yourself on uneven surfaces
since golf is played on uneven grounds. Machines make your neuro system weak, since
there is little to no communication going on since you are only moving in 1 plane and the
movement doesn’t require any balance or coordination, so then this will not help your
golf performance.
I have a few clients that are seriously trying to make it to the tour, but want to be trained
both as a golfer and an athlete. The rewards were substantial for them because they rarely
complained of fatigue after playing a 3 day tournament, nor were they physically sore, in
fact I had 1 golfer who had just completed a tournament and wanted to do a 1 hour
plyometric workout with me. The stamina of these golfers are excellent.
The point I’m trying to make here is that golfers are like athletes because of the physical,
technical and mental similarities that they have in common with other athletes to
overcome obstacles in order to perform at their highest level. Even though the sport might be different, training
for optimal flexibility, strength coordination stamina to
increase performance and decrease injuries is something that they all have in common.
Here are some examples of neuromuscular exercises that require coordination and
increase strength and stability.
Static posture hold

Dynamic Trunk rotation