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Greetings!
A few things before we get to the articles:
- If anyone would like to submit a brief testimonial specifically regarding use of our MedX equipment to relieve back and/or neck pain, please do. Many of you already have, but we can never have too many.
- We really do appreciate your referrals, particularly when you tell an individual many times over many months how much our service would help them. Eventually it will sink in...
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Neck
Strength as Deterrent to Concussion
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By Adam Reid
Any parents of student
athletes should pay close attention to this article. Much as been written of late in the
mainstream press regarding risk of concussion in high school and collegiate
sports, particularly with regard to females. Many local schools now have
adopted the ImPACT test, which consists of baseline and/or post-injury
neurocognitive testing. According to
ImPACT, 'Such evaluation can help to objectively evaluate the concussed
athlete's post-injury condition and track recovery for safe return to play,
thus preventing the cumulative effects of concussion.' It is my hope that use
of this testing will grow - as will the preventative measures discussed below.
Athletes can suffer concussion from either a direct blow to
the head, or a blow to the body that forces the head to move violently side to
side or front to back (i.e., whiplash).
Since an injury is the result of soft tissues being unable to withstand
the forces imposed upon it, it is reasonable to state that a strong neck will
lessen the risk of concussion if such an impact occurs.
According to Dr.
Mickey Collins, assistant director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center's Sports Medicine Concussion Program:
One of the best ways
to prevent concussions is through neck strength. Having a strong neck actually
allows the forces of the blow to be taken from the head down through the neck
and into the torso. We really find that athletes with strong necks [can
help prevent concussions].(1)
According to the Journal of Athletic Training (2),
female soccer players are 68% more likely than males to suffer a concussion -
while in basketball the risk is almost three times higher. Most researchers think this is a result of
females having weaker necks than males (3). Besides possessing less strength in the
muscles that support the cervical spine, females typically have smaller neck
circumference, and smaller heads.
With regard to the neck circumference having an effect, this
makes sense. Consider both a sapling and
a 100-year old oak tree. Then consider
the same model car crashing into each of them.
It should be apparent which one will not bend and snap from the force of
impact.
When it comes to strengthening the neck, various tools exist
from neck harnesses attached to weight-stack/free weights, manual resistance,
or variable/direct resistance machines.
Due to the care that must be observed during neck training, a well
designed machine capable of isolating the neck musculature is optimal as it
will allow the user to train hard without fear of injury. Because of its design, the MedX 4-Way Neck
Machine is unsurpassed in its ability to strengthen the neck (4). When positioned properly, various restraint
mechanisms remove the torso from assisting the weaker neck muscles. Additionally, an adjustable movement arm
coupled w ith a free-pivoting head/face pad allows the user to move comfortably
through his or her range of motion without any 'binding' of the pad due to
misalignment from the axis of rotation.
Finally, a low-friction and low-inertia weight stack very unique to this
machine allow for extremely smooth movement within a very short stroke.
Such equipment can certainly be used post-concussion, once
medical clearance has been given, to lessen the risk of additional injury upon
return to play. It is most often used in
a preventative manner, to make the structure as strong as possible in order to
withstand any forces encountered. During
exercise performance, muscular fatigue may be reached by some, but the majority
of users will terminate a set once things become 'hard' due to the perceived
delicate nature of the neck. As a
result, many will note better training results from either increased volume or
frequency when compared to other body parts (e.g., multiple short sets vs. one longer set; twice weekly vs. once weekly).
Back2Health is proud to present a Concussion Prevention program, aimed at the student athlete. This entails one session per week utilizing multi-angle neck exercise on our MedX 4-Way Neck Machine, and upper back exercise via a Nautilus Neck and Shoulder Machine. The cost is $30/session, $100/4 sessions. Please help us spread the word about this program to anyone who may benefit from it.
1: http://magazine.stack.com/TheIssue/Article/5824/Comprehending_Concussions.aspx
2: http://www.nata.org/jat/readers/archives/42.4/i1062-6050-42-4-495.pdf
3: 'Gender difference in head-neck segment dynamic
stabilization during head acceleration', Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise 2005; 37(2):272-279)
4: http://arthurjonesexercise.com/Merchandise/Ahead%20by%20a%20Neck.pdf
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Plan for Success
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By Adam Reid
The month of March is where many start their 'get in shape
for summer' routine. The goal is often
to be in good enough shape from July 4th through Labor Day that
wearing a bathing suit isn't an embarrassment.
Depending on how one looked the previous summer, where one stands
currently, and a host of other factors and variables, the amount of work needed
to be done will vary between people. Regardless, most find 3-4 months sufficient to get into 'peak' condition.
But what usually sets apart those that succeed from those
that don't is planning - or the lack thereof.
For most of you reading this, the planning will be diet related; you're
already working out regularly - and your trainer is doing that planning for you.
So you need to do some thinking. The first steps are easy: identify where you
currently stand, and where you wish to be.
This could be based on the scale, on body composition, or on reflection
in the mirror/fit of clothing. The next steps are a bit
harder, but still won't take more than an hour or two to come up with a
coherent plan, complete with back up plans if/when necessary.
The depth and breadth of the plan will vary amongst readers;
as discussed before, we're all starting from different places. You aren't me, and I'm not a professional bodybuilder. When I first started my 'Spring Clean Up' as
I've called it since its inception 8 years ago, 5-10 notebook pages were filled
up. This work - analyzing patterns,
looking for specific responses - has made things much easier in later
years. I now know what to expect, and
can recognize if I'm on the right path.
As specific as my initial plans were regarding diet, the
following is all the work I've done to date this year:
Goals:
-
Achieve summer/bathing suit body fat level of
years past
-
Try not to get so lean that loss of size
occurs
- Loss of fullness seems to occur when holding ~5% body fat for too long without some 'carb up' or cheat meal(s)
-
Looked/felt
pretty good just before Xmas after 5-6 weeks of Nano products with a big
dinner and occasional breakfast
Plan:
-
Do not use any stimulants
-
Coincide eating with staggered workout plan
(Feb-June)
-
March
-
Cut
beer, pizza, and junk (chips w/ chili, etc.)
-
Can
still include pancakes/waffles, etc., on occasion
-
Should
still include pasta, chili at night
- April
-
Cut
chili, pasta
-
Move to sweet potato for 'carb' at night
-
Utilize
carbs on workout days and 1 day after (Friday) with more volume (i.e., 2nd
breakfast, carb w/ dinner vs. veggies)
-
Cut
pancakes/waffles, unless need 'cheat' for glycogen
-
Assess
at month's end...
- May
-
??
- See April results...adjust cal's, carbs, etc.
-
If
not looking 'good' by now, be prepared to drop carbs entirely from all but 1
meal - then randomly 'shock' system by implementing large/junky meals...
As you can see, goals have been identified, and the plan
is ready to be put into action. Again, after years of doing this, I don't need to
be as specific as I was in my earlier years, i.e., no calorie counting. I can tell when I'm on the right track, and if
off track I know that something needs to change - and that if something isn't working
it won't magically start working down the road.
Tip: One thing that really helps is to only call upon
what you need to get results. I've shown this above by leaving pasta, chili, and pancakes in my meal planning until
April. Leave something in reserve to use when you become stuck - in my case, 'cleaner' sources of carbs will come
into play down the road. Don't just drop
to 1200 calories/day and expect body fat to continually melt off.
We'll touch on some more tips next issue. In the meantime, check out the B2H blog for updates on my progress over these ensuing months.
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That's all for this month. Hopefully NO ONE will have to touch a snow shovel between now and next issue...
Sincerely,
Craig and Adam
Back2Health |
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