Author Archive for: ‘Kristen’
Don’t Just Sit There
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS ONE lesson I’ve learned while writing about fitness is that few things impinge on an active life as much as writing about fitness — all that time spent hunched before a computer or puzzling over scientific journals, the countless hours of feckless, seated procrastination. While writing about the benefits of exercise, my muscles slackened. Fat seeped insidiously …
Myofascial Release. Is it for me?
Kristen Pitts, MSPT May 7, 2012 Have you asked yourself the following questions? “Why do my muscles still feel tight after I have stretched? Why does my massage only provide temporary relief from my pain and tightness?” While the human body is a very complex system with many factors contributing to pain and stiffness, one area of soft tissue restriction …
Post-Traumatic Stress’s Surprisingly Positive Flip Side
By JIM RENDON Published: March 22, 2012 Sgt. Jeffrey Beltran pulled a heavily creased Post-it note from the pocket of his fatigues, unfolded it and looked over a list he jotted down earlier that day: pick up an order of beef lo mein, take his dress uniform to work (jacket, pants and boots), do schoolwork. Beltran’s Army-issue organizer is …
Pain management is tricky business
Salt Lake Tribune By michael jaffe First published Jan 07 2012 01:01AM Updated Jan 7, 2012 01:01AM The conviction and 20-year prison sentence of Dr. Dewey MacKay for illegal distribution of opioids (pain pills) provides us all with an opportunity for reflection. He is an orthopedic physician who developed a pain medicine practice with suboptimal oversight. He was convicted of …
How Massage Heals Sore Muscles
HEALTH | February 06, 2012 By NICHOLAS BAKALAR A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage …
Tai Chi Shown to Ease Back Pain
After 10 weeks, the tai chi group reported that, on a 10-point scale, their pain was reduced by 1 point and they found the pain 1.3 points less bothersome. By comparison, the control group experienced an increase in both pain and how bothersome the pain was. The tai chi group also reported greater improvements in their disability levels than the …
Why Ice May Be Bad for Sore Muscles
Already, the benches in gym locker rooms and beside basketball courts are filling with 2012’s early casualties, those of us who, goaded by New Year’s resolutions, are exercising a bit too enthusiastically and developing sore muscles. Many of us will then drape ice packs over our aching muscles. But a new review article published this month in the journal Sports …
For Older Runners, Good News and Bad
Sometimes it’s good news when a study’s hypothesis is not proved. That was the case, certainly, with a new study of older runners, in which researchers assumed that athletes over 60 would be noticeably less efficient than their younger counterparts. For the experiment, published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers at the University of New Hampshire and …
Disparities: In the E.R., the Elderly Get Less Pain Relief
Older people who go to an emergency room in pain are less likely to get medication for it than younger people with similar levels of distress, a new analysis has found. A seven-year nationwide study of emergency room patient data has found that 49 percent of patients over age 75 were given pain medication, compared with slightly more than 65 …
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
By GINA KOLATA Published: November 15, 2011 It is one of the most popular operations in sports medicine. It comes in various forms, all with the same name: Hip impingement or bone shaving surgery. World-renowned athletes have had the operation — the Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez had it about two years ago and the sprinter Tyson Gay had it …