Exercising on a Bad Foundation Increases Injury

A house built on a poor foundation crumbles.  This concept has implications on the health and performance of us all, whether a professional athlete or the average person walking to keep in shape.

Our foundation begins with our spine, a balanced structure providing a platform for our body to move.  This foundation is compromised when the spine’s natural shape is altered, whether from injury, trauma, or lifestyle.  When this occurs, the body will choose to adapt and compensate, choosing to function poorly, rather than to not function at all.  When compensating, the body may increase bone growth in areas that have to bare extra weight, tighten ligaments to decrease particular movements, and recruit substandard muscles designed for other purposes to pick up the extra burden.

Much of exercise injury is caused by performing on a bad foundation.  Pain may show up when starting a new routine, or late into training; a poor structural foundation will affect both the beginner and the experienced athlete.  It can show up in a variety of problems, including pain in the upper or lower back, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.  Repeated ankle sprains?  It’s unlikely chance accidents; try looking for postural faults and poor bio mechanics.

Strengthening your muscles, including your core muscles, is not necessarily the solution.  You may even be making the problem worse.  If you are not aware of your postural faults, it is likely that you are reinforcing the imbalances.  Corrective care chiropractors can provide a full structural evaluation, will find postural faults and their causes, and can make recommendations to correct them.

Guest Blog: Micronutrients are Vital for the Health of Athletes

Athletes are more active than the common couch potato, but they are not necessarily healthier

by Sue Reynolds

Athletes are more active than the common couch potato, but they are not necessarily healthier, as they are at a greater risk nutritionally. When considering dietary recommendations for athletes, much attention is paid to macronutrients (carbs, proteins, & fats), but little time is spent addressing the importance of micronutrients.

Athletes burn more fuel, and as a result of this increased metabolism, more byproducts are generated, including free-radicals. To neutralize this greater exposure to damaging and dangerous free-radicals, athletes need increased protection from micronutrients, such as vitamins C and E, minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and selenium, and phytochemicals, which are found in ripe, raw fruits & veggies. Without the protection from the humble fruits and veggies – the body is at risk.

A study titled “Protein Modification Responds to Exercise Intensity and Antioxidant Supplementation,” demonstrates this need for micronutrient protection. After seven months of testing, athletes who supplemented with micronutrients had significantly higher antioxidant protection, and significantly decreased oxidative stress. The implications of this study are significant. Without proper dietary protection, athletes will not only face decreased performance, but will literally age faster, and are increasing their risk for generating cancer and chronic diseases.

Athletes push their bodies to the limit, spend many hours training, and want to see results. There are several factors that will affect the final results, including their training regimes, their natural ability, sleep habits, and their diets. Increasing micronutrient intake is vital for your overall health, and results in less muscle soreness, the muscles being better protected, and quicker recovery time after exercise. So next time you train, whether you compete or not – reach for that apple.

1. Lamprecht, Manfred, et al. “Protein Modification Responds to Exercise Intensity and Antioxidant Supplementation.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, January 2009, Vol 41, Issue 1.

About the Author

           Sue Reynolds is a Certified Health Coach here in Ventura County, and a long-time proponent of whole, nutrient dense food. She uses Juice Plus+ to help change the direction of others nutrition.  Her website is www.Sue4JP.com

Is Your Posture Accelerating the Aging Process?

Are you accelerating the age of your spine?  An aging neck and back may begin to show up as arthritis and disc degeneration, but old age isn’t the only cause of this break down.  Spinal arthritis can occur from metabolic diseases, sports injuries, whiplash, inflammatory diseases, and, you guessed it, sustained poor posture, or a postural fault.

Is Poor Posture Accelerating the Age of Your Neck?

Postural faults are patterns of poor posture that have become engrained.  Whether developed over time, or quickly as a result of an injury, they cause a loss of your spine’s natural curvature and are therefore damaging to your health.

Left over time, postural faults can place uneven pressure on your spine and speed the aging process.  Imagine driving your car for hundreds of miles on tires that are out of alignment.  The tread will wear out faster and unevenly as only one side of the tire is in contact with the ground.  Your body can suffer similar effects when not properly aligned.

It takes time to develop, so don’t expect to correct a postural fault overnight.  They cause the many ligaments supporting your spine to become  shortened and molded into faulty positions. Sustained traction is often needed to reshape these ligaments.

Does sitting up straight fix the problem?  Standing straighter and sitting in an ergonomically correct chair is not a fix, as the faults have become engrained, but creating an ergonomically friendly environment is helpful to prevent further postural faults.

Do you know if you have a postural fault?  They can not always be seen with the naked eye.  Get evaluated by a professional who can assess your posture, before degeneration and accelerated aging begins.

Photo provided courtesy of Ambro at:

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499

Guest Blog: Routine Maintenance for Your Body

by Rhonda Clure

Most people have that sticker in the car window telling us its time for our next oil change or tune up, yet we rarely plan this well when talking about routine maintenance for our bodies. We schedule our bi-annual dental appointments, but we usually wait until we are running a fever of 105 and have been out sick for a week before we seek help. What if you could do simple things each day that could improve your body’s fuel efficiency and overall performance? Just like the high efficiency fuel we put into our cars we need to make sure that everything we put in and on our bodies optimizes peak performance.

The skin is the largest organ of the body. Although we see the skin as an extremely durable protective barrier, it is also the most incredible filtration system ever designed. This amazing system allows beneficial nutrients to penetrate and nourish our bodies at a cellular level while providing our bodies with a way to eliminate toxins. Unfortunately we are being exposed to more toxins than even before, many of which are in products we use every day, and our body’s natural ability to eliminate toxins is being inhibited.

Only 11% of the ingredients in personal care products sold in the United States have been tested for safety. Common household cleaners such as bleach and ammonia have been linked to respiratory and other health problems. There is a great deal of misleading information about product safety, so it is important to learn how to choose products that are safe. Here are some simple steps to help you eliminate toxins which and can have a profound effect on your overall health:

1. Eliminate toxins from home and personal care products. Find non-toxic household cleaners, shampoo, body wash and cosmetics that you use daily.

2. Support you body by eating health fruits and vegetables and supplement with great probiotics when necessary.

3. Hydrate…inside and out! Drink plenty of fluids and use products with natural humectants to prevent transdermal water loss. When properly hydrated your body can more efficiently flush the toxins from you system.

About the Author

Rhonda Clure is an Independent Consultant with Apriori Beauty and a Director with Melaleuca. Her passion is teaching classes about safe skin care, educating skincare professionals and her clients about safe product ingredients in personal care and home care products, new technologies and how to reduce their exposure to ingredients that can be potentially harmful to their overall health. She has 8 years of experience in the industry and is an advocate for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Breast Cancer Fund. She is the author of the Safe Skin Care Shopping Guide and the “Beauty Buzz”.

For more information contact Rhonda at: r_clure@yahoo.com or 805-338-7431

www.useloveshare.com/ic/rhondaclure
www.safeskincareshoppingguide.com

Notable Blog Posts: Slay the Sugar Monster in Four Doable Steps

Struggling to cut refined sugar out of your diet?  Check out this insightful blog post written by Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist.

“A reader recently emailed me asking for help to end her lifelong sugar junkie addiction.

Dear Sarah, I’m sure you get lots of emails every day but I sure hope you can give me some advice. I’m 52 years old and a horrific sugar addict. At six weeks old, my mother started me on chocolate milk and other than very short periods of time, I don’t think I have been without sugar…” (click here to read more)

Orthodontics for Your Spine?

A scoliotic spine in need of corrective care.

At your spinal checkup, a good chiropractor will examine the actual shape of your spine.  If abnormal, a plan to correct your spine’s curves might be recommended.  This process, known as corrective care, is like orthodontics for the spine.

If crooked, your teeth will wear down much faster, and in the same way, a spine that is not aligned properly may degenerate much more rapidly.  Just like straightened teeth, a straightened spine and posture can take years off of your appearance, making you look much younger and healthier.

Your spine should be straight when looking from the front, if it isn’t, it may be considered a scoliosis.  From the side, your spine should actually have natural curves.  Due to unhealthy habits, sedentary lifestyle, or trauma, you may have developed deformities, changing the natural curves, which can lead to disc herniations, sciatica, low back pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, knee pain, and much more.

Make sure you get a spinal checkup from a chiropractor that offers corrective care to help you prevent degeneration and disease, and to improve your health and youthful appearance!

Limitless Health Moves To Thousand Oaks

We are excited to announce that Limitless Health has found a new home!  We have moved to the beautiful city of Thousand Oaks, Ca.

It is already clear that this is the right place to be as the community is vibrant, friendly, and health conscious.  We look forward to contributing to the community, keeping it thriving, and helping it to enjoy limitless health!

Do Chiropractic Adjustments Cause Stroke?

Do Chiropractic adjustments cause stroke?    Not according to the best scientific evidence!

According to Murphy’s review of the research, “The odds of stroke occurring within 24 hours of a visit to a primary care physician was virtually the same as stroke occurring within 24 hours of a visit to a chiropractor.”

Murphy adds, “Therefore, based upon the best current evidence, it appears that there is no strong foundation for a causal relationship between [chiropractic adjustments] and [strokes]. The most plausible explanation for the association… is that individuals who are experiencing a [stroke] seek care from a chiropractic physician or other manual practitioner for relief of the neck pain and headache that results from the dissection.”

If a patient has symptoms of a coming stroke, their odds of survival are actually improved when they see their chiropractor, because chiropractors screen for neurological signs of stroke, allowing for early detection.

Read the research review at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922298/?tool=pubmed

What’s in your mouth?

From fatigue, to candida, to brain damage, the effects of mercury exposure are startling.  Most people don’t realize they are getting exposed on a regular basis.

Is Your Exercise Robbing You Of Your Health?

The "no pain, no gain" work out may be doing more harm than good.

If your exercise is done wrong, you may actually be adding to your daily stress.  Stress related illnesses are already a huge problem for most people, and excess stress from improper exercise only burdens your adrenal glands further.  The adrenal glands produce adrenaline in response to stress, giving you the “fight or flight” energy needed in times of stress.  It is less known that the adrenals  also produce and regulate your mineral, sugar, and sex hormones.

Are your workouts over stressing your adrenals?  Overworking of your adrenals will throw off your mineralocorticoids, which regulate your salt and water retention as well as other vital minerals.  Problems here can lead to high-blood pressure.  Excess cortisol is produced, making it difficult to lose weight, no matter how much you exercise, as well as impairing immune function, leaving you vulnerable to colds and flu.  A decrease in sexual desire and sexual dysfunction are common.   Signs that your adrenals are overstressed are: unusual feelings of fatigue, excess fat gain, blood sugar issues,  getting sick with the cold or flu more than once or twice a year, menstrual irregularities and menopausal symptoms, and sexual dysfunction.

The “no pain, no gain” approach towards exercise is actually doing more harm than good.  Many forget that there are two essential parts to any training program: exercise and rest.  Make sure get the proper rest in between workouts.  In addition, the majority of your time exercising should be developing your aerobic base.  Aerobic exercise is performed at a lower heart rate, and should feel good, while anaerobic exercise is more intense, near the end of your heart rate capacity, and actually creates a stress response.  Look for my next two blogs where I’ll talk about Aerobic vs Anaerobic exercise and then give an easy and fun method for getting aerobic exercise.

If you’re interested in beginning an exercise program and you are in Orange County, come join our run/walk or attend our free workshops.  To find out more info, go to http://www.meetup.com/Newport-Beach-Back-Bay-Walk-Run/