Month: August 2016

Hydration and Performance…Every Sip Counts!

Posted on by drockefeller
Female drinking Water

Since our bodies are about 70% water, it’s only logical that dehydration can impact athletic performance.   Several studies, performed in healthy individuals, looked at the effects of induced hydration on cognitive performance and motor function such as fatigue, reaction times, mood, and mental focus. It appears that even 2% dehydration in our bodies is enough to impair performance. Some studies even suggest that even 1% dehydration has the same negative impact.

Simply put, if you’re sweating you’re losing water.

The general rule of thumb for most people is 8 glasses of water a day. However, if you exercise or play sports you should be drinking more water. Most athletes have been conditioned to hydrate before a competition, during training, and after training. That’s usually not the problem. What sometimes IS the challenge is how to properly MAINTAIN hydration.

To help you get a better handle on your Hydration, here are a couple of tips.

  • Rise and Shine. Start your day off with a glass of water. Do it first thing when you get up in the morning. Since you don’t drink water in your sleep, you wake up at a loss. While you are at it, end your day with a one too!
  • Sip water. If you drink it too quickly, then the water will go straight through your body. Just like training…hydration is a process.
  • Bathroom Breaks. Water fountains are usually next to most restrooms. Take a few sips before and after each trip.
  • Be Aware. The amounts you require can vary depending on your personal response, heat index, and type of activity being performed. Drink more when needed.
  • Set an Alarm. There’s a new use for the timer on your smart phone!
  • Don’t Stop. When you’re not exercising you should sip on water throughout your day. Keep a bottle of water ate your desk and refill it often.
  • Water Logged. There’s an APP for that too! Just like exercise apps, there are now hydration apps to help you keep on track.

Hydration is very important on so many levels when it comes to athletic performance. I’ve already stated the obvious ones, but have you stopped to think about how hydration influences recovery?   When your body is not receiving the fluids it needs, several abnormalities can arise that can negatively affect your performance. These can include poor oxygen perfusion, essential nutrients not being delivered to your muscles and draining inefficiency.

Water is the primary way that oxygen and nutrients are delivered directly to any injury. Lack of fluids creates delays in just about every aspect of sport recovery, and if your body doesn’t maintain proper moisture, cells that work to migrate over repaired tissue will not be able to repair tissues strained in sports at a normal pace…leaving you more susceptible to re-injury.

Water in Body

I’m always telling my clients, “integrated manual therapy is a lot like passive exercise for your body” and that what I do to correct tissue imbalances creates similar micro-tears in their muscles. Like with exercise, when these tissues repair, they then become stronger.

So how much water have you had today?  Whew!  my 2-liter bottle is sitting right next to me almost empty!

OMG! What are those marks on his skin!

Posted on by drockefeller
phelps cupping.png

I’m sure by now that you’ve seen this photo or at least heard about it from a friend. Yes, that’s Michael Phelps with cupping marks on his body. This somewhat underground treatment has been gaining in popularity in recent years, as word of mouth spreads and the benefits of Cupping Therapy continue to be discovered. Now, with such high profile athletes such as Michael Phelps, utilizing Cupping Therapy as a way to gain a competitive edge, this ancient practice is seeing a massive spike in interest.

Like Dry Needling, cupping or myofascial decompression is merely an implement in a highly trained therapist’s toolbox. Too bad the media has to hype this wonderful ancient modality into being some kind of “hokey” trick that athletes are using to try and get an edge in sport performance.

Here’s how it works…By creating vacuum (suction) pressure, the cup is used to soften hypertonic muscles and attachments, loosen adhesions and lift connective tissue, bring hydration and blood flow to body tissues, move deep inflammation to the skin surface for release, as well as drain excess fluids and toxins by opening lymphatic pathways.

Myofascial Decompression therapy is an incredibly helpful therapy tool and can be used to address a wide variety of things like assisting in lymphatic drainage and help with reducing scar tissue. It complements many health modalities ranging from medical massage to chiropractic, physical and occupational therapies.

As an integrated muscle therapist, I’m extremely knowledgeable in the area of neuromusculoskeletal function. When I use a technique —myofascial decompression, joint mobilization, myoskeletal alignment techniques or whatever — I’m utilizing my therapy with a strong foundation in anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. Additionally, I’m also using my clinical assessment skills to apply my knowledge to the optimal restoration of function based on that individual’s current injury.

This is what the media so conveniently doesn’t talk about on TV. So don’t go on line to Amazon.com to purchase that handy little kit thinking its going to be the “Holy Grail” to all your aches and pains.

Personally, I haven’t ever used myofascial decompression as a stand alone in my practice EVER (and in my opinion…no qualified therapist would). “Cupping” is just something a trained therapist might use in conjunction with other things like range of motion, joint capsule work, fascial release, balancing muscle length tension relationships, exercise, and posture corrections in their practice.

Olympic Swimmer

OK, so Michael Phelps’ “Cup Kisses” (that’s what the marks are commonly referred to as) has exposed Cupping Therapy to the masses now. However, there are countless professional and amateur athletes that have been using cupping to improve their body and to optimize their athletic performance for many years. AND it’s not just athletes using myofascial decompression either, many celebs like Justin Bieber, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Aniston, and Gwyneth Paltrow have all been photographed with these marks on their bodies for all to see.

I use myofascial decompression almost every day in my practice and my results have been incredible!   Personally, I like it better than Dry Needling (I’ll blog on that subject later).  The purpose of THIS blog entry is to fill in where our media has so conveniently left off.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the story of a when a professor asked his class…Is This Jar Full?  Well, now I think THIS CUP IS FULL!   

Cheers, drock

Jar is full.png

Staying Healthy Can Be as Easy as Childs Play

Posted on by drockefeller
Silly Putty

When I discuss with my clients why their backs, hips, knees or shoulders hurt, I often use the example of when Silly Putty (for those of us who remember this stuff) is accidentally left out of it’s “egg shell” shaped container overnight on the table.  Admit it…if you are over the age of 40, you know what happens next. Thanks to gravity, you wake up to a flat pancake blob that has to be reshaped to fit inside its container.

It’s actually quite as simple when it comes to our bodies and gravity as we age. We don’t move enough and we don’t move in the varied ways we did as when we were kids. When we do move, we move in the same repetitive ways, never utilizing our full range of motion and RARELY requiring strength from our muscles. When we exercise, we tend to stimulate the same muscles in the same ways. Because certain muscles get strong and certain muscles get weak, we begin loose correct alignment and our bodies begin to flatten and compress.

Sure, there is a lot going on in our lives and we are “busy people” always trying to do more. It isn’t entirely our fault. I mean today’s world doesn’t exactly require us to move too much. Advances in technology have made it easier and easier for us to move less and less. The ergonomic movement seems to have contributed too. We don’t have to lean or stretch to reach anything these days. Now, I’m not knocking ergonomics as a whole. It does have its place in life. Used correctly, it saves many people every day in their workplaces from repetitive motion injuries.

I just want to point out that we don’t do all the physical things we used to do as a kid and that this loss of functional movement is the primary reason for many of our aches and pains. Despite what you might think, your low back pain is not the result of lifting that last box of holiday decorations in the garage, “but rather from cumulative viscoelatic creep due to lack of rest between loading cycles” (Erik Dalton).

Now take a moment, close your eyes and think of the ways you used to move when you were a kid. Remember when you used to swing upside down from Monkey Bars or swing across horizontally? What about playing Hop Scotch?

Hop Scotch

Playing Hop Scotch was one of my favorite games as a child and it proves one of my theories that what was fun and good for you as a child, still is good today. Hoping on one foot is one of the most complex movements the human body can perform. Technically its called homolateral movement. Games like Hop Scotch not only develop movement skills but are some of the foundations found in performance training. Things like:

  • Neural Pathway Brain Development – Left and right brain way of thinking tasks
  • Proprioception and Body Control – Don’t hop or step on a line!
  • Starting and Stopping Rhythm – In order to be good at it, you gotta have rhythm
  • Muscle Strength – Leaping on one foot takes a lot of strength
  • Balance – Throw, stand, hop, hop, bend, pick up, straighten up, leap, jump, hop, hop, land turn…Need I say more?
  • Eye Hand Coordination and Fine Motor Control – Pitch that pebble in the right box or you loose your turn!
  • Sequencing & Strategy – Prioritizing the game plan
  • Discipline & Tenacity – Human drive to succeed and win incentivizes you to try harder

Hanging upside down and swinging on monkey bars decompresses our spines and joints.  Its that simple.  Now, we just need to get moving again and remember a few things. Those who move tend to keep moving. Those who move less and less tend to come to a stop. Those who move in varied ways retain the ability to move in varied ways.

Performance Ladder.png

Okay, I think I’m going to go pull out my ladder now and work on a few skills!

Cheers, DROCK

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