Monthly Archives: August 2018
Soft Tissue Therapy
Posted on August 31, 2018 by admin
Poor posture, traumatic injury, strain, or sprain can cause our muscles, ligaments, and tendons to have abnormal tension. This can cause pain, tenderness, and/or movement dysfunctions. Soft tissue therapies are a type of therapy where soft tissues, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons are pressed and kneaded with the hand or a mechanical device. This can be performed by chiropractors, occupational therapists, physical therapists, or massage therapists. Soft tissue therapy can help relieve pain and inflammation, reduce stiffness and movement dysfunction, reduce spasm, and increase the range of motion of the injured area. Moreover, it can improve circulation by increasing the local blood flow. It can also assist with tissue healing, fix abnormal postures, and help avoid further injury. Overall, soft tissue therapy can help with your pain and musculoskeletal health.
Nutrition Labels
Posted on August 22, 2018 by admin
Food and nutrition labels provide consumers with a lot of useful information. To start off, ingredient lists are sorted by weight. The first item shown on the ingredient list weighs the heaviest in the product and continues in descending order. This is helpful for consumers who are looking for a specific ingredient that they want more or less of. When we read a nutrition facts table, the information on it are based on serving sizes. Serving sizes allow us to compare nutritional values between similar products, know how much of a specific nutrient we are consuming, and give us a better idea of how much food we are eating.
Every nutrition label shows the serving size, the amount of calories, and 13 nutrients (fat, saturated and trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron). The percentage of your daily value or “%DV” is based on the suggested serving size. It is considered a large amount if it is more than 15% and it is a very small amount if it is less than 5%. Lastly, calories equal the amount of energy in food and fats, protein, and carbohydrates provide us the energy to complete our daily activities. Overall, it is important to look at the serving sizes before we look at calories or a certain nutrient.
Ankle Sprain
Posted on August 15, 2018 by admin
An ankle sprain occurs when the ligaments that help hold the ankle bones together are forced beyond their normal range of motion. The ligaments on the outer side of the ankle are usually stretched, teared partially, or teared completely. Rolling, twisting, or turning your ankle in an awkward way can lead to an ankle sprain. It can be caused from walking or exercising on an uneven surface or from falling. Someone who has injured their ankle before or wears improper shoes increases their chance of a sprained ankle. It is also a very common sports injury, especially in soccer, tennis, and basketball because these sports involve jumping, cutting action, or twisting of the foot.
Depending on how severe the sprain is, the signs and symptoms include tenderness when the ankle is palpated, pain when weight is applied on the affected foot, swelling, bruising, limited range of motion, ankle instability, or popping sound heard at the time of injury.
Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (R.I.C.E.) can be done to treat the sprained ankle for the first 2-3 days. Depending on the severity, sports tape or an ankle support brace can be used for stabilizing the ankle. In order to avoid an ankle sprain, one should warm up before exercising or playing sports, work on muscle strength and flexibility, and perform balancing exercises.
Stretching and Flexibility
Posted on August 7, 2018 by admin
As we get older our muscles become stiffer and we would start to notice our flexibility declining. The muscles will decrease in length if we don’t stretch our muscles. Shortened muscles could increase our risk for falling and one might find it difficult to perform activities that require flexibility, such as going up the stairs. In addition, using a shortened muscle for activity could also lead to muscle damage, strains, and joint pain.
Stretching can help us become more flexible and it is the key to preventing injury and disability. It can increase our range of motion and reduce joint and back pain. Moreover, it can decrease the risk of falling by improving our balance and can also improve our posture. Lastly, it can reduce the risk for muscle and joint injury.
It is important to warm up before we stretch the muscles. We can warm up by doing 2 to 5 minutes of dynamic stretching, such as lifting our knees and rolling our shoulders. This type of stretch involves moving a joint repeatedly through its available range of motion and does not involve holding a position. Static stretches can then be held for 10 to 30 seconds in order to regain flexibility and should be performed after a workout.