Holiday weight

If you're anything like me you'll put on some extra weight during the holidays. For me it's 5-10lbs, but it may be 15-20lbs for you. Regardless of the actual weight gain, there is a certain level of malaise that the body feels with an increase in unhealthy calories. It can manifest itself in all forms from decreased mental acuity, disruption in sleep cycles and low sexual desire and/or abilities. And of course...ill fitting clothes!! As the holiday season turns into the new year the gyms will be packed with resolution holding new comers hoping to lose their extra baggage as quickly as they put it on. My goal is for this post is to offer some advice from a physical therapist to aid in safe and permanent weight loss.
1)Running-- Now I will fully admit I am not a proponent of running as a form of exercise. Obviously the cardio vascular benefits are large, but in my opinion they are outweighed by the orthopedic consequences. Foot, ankle, knee, hip and upper back pain are common amongst runners. They vary in intensities but are usually present in some form. Those entirely new to running should take to mind some suggestions before beginning. 1) start slow.

4mph on a treadmill without holding on is a brisk work out for the new exerciser. 2) no incline. With even a 1.0 incline on a treadmill the dynamics of the foot, ankle and knee are altered making an otherwise safe exercise much more deleterious. 3) roll the IT band. A tight IT band can cause lateral tracking of the patella and begin the cascade of poor knee mechanics, pain, arthritis and dysfunction. 4) proper sneaker selection. Seeing a physical therapist or running professional can help determine what type of sneaker would work best for the way your foot is shaped and how it moves. 5) keep track of your intensities. Time, distance, frequency and intensity are vital in tracking your progress. For weight loss 3-4 times a week a cardio workout of 30-45 minutes at 60-75% max heart rate is ideal. To determine your max heart rate simply subtract your age from 220 ( 220 - 40yrs old = 180, 60-75% x 180= 108-135 beats per minute). It's important to note that these intensities are GOALS and you may need a couple weeks to build up to them.
2) Dieting-- anyone with a medical condition should consult their physician or dietician before undergoing a diet of any form. That said, I do offer some simple suggestions to my patients looking for weight loss suggestions. Keep it simple. If you're capable of determining 500-1000 empty calories a day in your diet and elminate them. Carbonated drinks, snacks and sweets are usually the easiest to identify. A very healthy tips to simply substitute all beverages with water. That alone will save you several hundred calories a day in some cases.
3) Resistance exercises-- resistance exercises are another great strategy to increase your heart rate and help shed pounds. Circuit training is particularly good if the goal is to firm up muscle tone while getting a cardio workout. Any resistance exercises whether done with weight, kettle bells or bands should short lever as opposed to long lever exercises. This means keeping the resistance close to your body and not far from your center of gravity. An example of a long lever exercise is holding a weight in your hand and while keeping the elbow straight lifting up from your side to overhead. This puts a lot of strain on your shoulder joint and can lead to a number of shoulder injuries.
A combination of these 3 are ideal in any weight loss program. Consult a physical therapist or physician before starting any exercising if you have any preexisting health conditions.

Migraines?

Having just evaluated a new patient with "migraine headaches'' I thought I'd write more about them.  Firstly, migraine headaches are commonly misdiagnosed.  Physicians used to believe that migraines had a vascular component to them (meaning the blood vessles to the head were involved).  Newer research is pointing in the direction of genetic involvment, not suprisingly.  These headaches are debilitating to most sufferers. They are often associated with a "trigger" that starts the cycle of nausea, throbbing pressure in the head, light/sound sensitivity etc.  Determining and avoiging the trigger is really the best approach in reducing their frequency.  Common triggers include: caffeine, lights or stress.  Headaches.org has a great site that discusses migraines more in depth. 
If you suffer from headaches I'd suggest seeing a headache specialist, or a physical therapist who can help with cervicogenic or tension headaches.  These types of headaches originate in the cervical spine, which can be malaligned, or are the result of tight upper back and neck muscles.

Mind - Body balance

Most of us are so busy and caught up in the minutia of our day that we rarely pause to reflect on our path, status and our mind/body balance.  My hope is that readers of this blog can get some advice on mental and physical well-being in their otherwise hectic lives.
Being a physical therapist, the majority of this blog will relate to issues of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.  But I, along with guest writers, also intend to offer suggestions on mental wellness.  Readers should expect topics ranging from postural advice and exercises, to mental decompression and stress reduction suggestions.  All posts will have one common goal:  helping restore physical and mental balance to all readers.