Revalesco Chiropractic

Information may not be reliable

It’s that time of year again. The days are getting noticeably shorter, and summer is quickly giving way to fall. Those of us with school-age kids are figuring out teachers, classes, and schedules. As you prepare your children for school, I’d encourage you to include a chat about how to properly carry their backpack.
It is important, especially with the weight of books and gear that many kids carry, to spread the load across both shoulders using the two straps. Then cinch the straps to raise the load so it is not swinging free but is held closely against the body. Last, if the backpack has a waist strap, use it to bring the load closer to their center of gravity. You can try to convince them that this is what all of the “cool” kids are doing (but we know that parents advising kids on what is “cool” doesn’t usually go over very well), or you can present them with truth. They will be minimizing aches and pains now, and preventing future complications from postural adaptations due to carrying heavy uneven loads.

I spent the day a few days ago at the “Get Motivated” seminar at the Spokane Arena. While it was a pretty cool experience; with an impressive group of speakers that included Zig Ziglar, Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and several others; it was something else that caught my attention. Throughout the day, many of the 10,000+ people in attendance made trips to the various concession stands around the building. Each time returning to their seats with typical concession fare: Pretzels with processed cheese, fried doughnuts, hot dogs, and copious amounts of soda.
As they had their minds filled with nuggets of wisdom intended to motivate and spur them on towards new levels of achievement, they filled their bodies with refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, sodium, and processed meats. It seemed like a very literal illustration of the saying “the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.” How many of you would feel like conquering new worlds after a meal like that?
While most of us are not high level athletes looking to fuel our bodies for performance, we are, if I can be so bold to speak for everyone, wanting to find some kind of success, whether it be at work, personal finances, in our relationships, etc. Won’t a lack of energy and feeling of sluggishness translate to that performance as well? I would challenge you to begin to view healthy eating; not so much as a means to an ideal figure, or as a way to improve just physical health; but as a fuel source for optimum performance in all areas of your life.

First a little information about fish oil. Fish oil contains both docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). It is these omega-3 fatty acids that have been studied for their role in promoting various health benefits. So it is important to read the small print on the label to see how much of each of these is contained in a suggested serving. For example, if you are taking a fish oil capsule, it might say one capsule contains 1000 mg of fish oil. However, when you read the small print you might see that within the one capsule there is maybe 200 mg of DHA and 100 mg of EPA. Most studies derive benefits with somewhere in the ballpark of 1-3 gms of omega-3 fatty acids. This means that in the example I gave, you would want to take at least three capsules per day before deciding whether or not you thought they were helping.
So back to the question. First, it can contribute to brain health. Deficiencies in omega-3 fats have been linked to depression, mood swings, anxiety, and ADHD. So it would make sense that making up for that deficiency might have some benefit. Other studies have shown that fish oil can help improve memory and focus with consistent supplementation. And along the lines of brain health, DHA and EPA have been thoroughly researched as they contribute to brain development of babies in utero and after birth. DHA also plays a role in eye development of a growing baby. This is a strong argument for expectant mothers and nursing mothers to supplement their diet with fish oil. The caution here is to make sure your supplement is molecularly distilled and is free of mercury. This caution also applies to those of you trying to get your fish oil through a diet consisting of fish.
Second, omega-3 fatty acids contribute to heart health. They can reduce triglycerides, which are a marker for heart disease. They also can make platelets in the blood less sticky, preventing them from clumping, which helps to avoid heart attacks and strokes. Another caution here, however, for anyone on a blood thinning medication. Consult your doctor before adding fish oil to the mix.
Third (and this is a big one), omega-3 fatty acids have potent anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation has been implicated in many disease processes of the body. These include, but are not limited to, joint inflammations (gout, rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis); organ inflammations such as myocarditis (heart), nephritis (kidneys), colitis (colon), and even asthma.

Today I was at my local YMCA and I sat and watched person after person take their position on the abdominal oblique machine and perform cringe-inducing repetition after repetition. This is fine if your goal is to place unnecessary stress on the discs of your low back, but I imagine that most folks believe they are performing an action that is beneficial to them and not detrimental.
First off, your obliques are located laterally to your rectus abdominus, or the elusive “six pack” muscle. The job of the obliques is to twist and transfer power during throws, punches, ski turns, etc. So logic tells us that using the machine is doing exactly that right? However there are a number of problems with it, and I will touch on the most obvious:
1) Coupling flexion with rotation is a no-no when performing multiple repetitions of a movement. Especially under a load. In a perfect world, you could use this machine without inducing flexion of the low back, but that implies that the user will be using picture perfect form, and being honest, I have yet to see this in all the times I’ve witnessed it’s use. People throw the weight on and then flex forward from the pad in order to get the stack moving. This is basically like trying to test out the rupture point of your own discs each time you use the machine.
2) From a functional sense, your obliques do help you to twist and transfer power. However, they are never acting alone. At the same time, the rest of your core musculature are acting to stabilize the spine and its components. When seated on the machine to begin a set of exercises, the act of sitting down encourages relaxation of the supporting core musculature.
So what should someone do as an alternative? First it must be noted that if you are performing basic exercises using free weights and standing, then your core musculature will be activated to keep your body in line throughout the exercise. Pretty cool huh? You worked your abs without even being aware of it. A couple of other specific moves to consider are: 1) A basic prone plank. This is done face down on the ground, keeping your body in a straight line and coming up on your toes and elbows. You will work at performing this for longer and longer each time. 2) A side plank. Similar to the prone plank but up on one elbow and again, keeping your body in a straight line. For video demonstrations of these exercises, plus many more, I like Craig Ballantyne, an extremely bright fitness expert up in the great white north. You can find him on Youtube breaking down these movements.
Ask a knowledgeable trainer, or your chiropractor if you want ideas beyond what I offer here.

I figured that I occasionally have an original thought that I would like to share with you, so this forum will allow me to make that happen.
Thanks for reading!