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GOLF FITNESS MADE EASY
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STRENGTH TRAINING AND STRETCHING FOR RUNNERS
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OSTEOARTHRITS: IS IT REALLY CAUSED BY WEAR AND TEAR?
Many of you have been told by different doctors that you have arthritis (more properly called
osteoarthritis) due to a lifetime of wear and tear causing degeneration to the spine or other
joints. A fascinating article was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine entitled
"Muscle dysfunction versus wear and tear as a cause of exercise related osteoarthritis: an
epidemiological update" [2004;38 (5):526-535]. The author looked at what is called primary
osteoarthritis, i.e., arthritis not due to genetic disease, fractures, bone deformities, or
any of the rheumatoid types of arthritis. The study was limited to the knee and hip. The
question the author asked was whether "exercise related osteoarthritis" was due to "wear
and tear" or muscle dysfunction.
The muscle dysfunction theory says that contracting muscles are the main force absorbers of the
joints and since regular exercise improves muscle function (strength and flexibility), exercise
would not increase the incidence or worsen osteoarthritis. Previous studies have shown that
strengthening exercise has helped patients with mild or moderate osteoarthritis and that tired
muscles allow greater forces to the joints. The theory concludes that the bone spurs seen on
X-rays of arthritic joints may be the body's attempt to increase the stability of the joint to
make up for the poorly functioning (weak and inflexible) muscles.
If the "wear and tear" theory is true, exercise should worsen the arthritis. For example,
the greater the distance someone runs the worse the wear and tear on the joints. According
to the literature, recreational running and soccer did not increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
Even subjects older than 50 were not affected by the amount of mileage they ran. There was,
however, increased osteoarthritis in elite athletes. This makes sense because elite athletes
typically push their bodies to the limit and play with injuries, both of which cause muscle
dysfunction.
The author hypothesizes that when muscles are unable to contract adequately due to age,
fatigue, lack of use, or prior injury more force is transmitted to the bones of the joint
causing the arthritic changes. Even more interesting and pertinent, if there is muscle
dysfunction one area, say the thigh, the arthritis might not necessarily occur in the joint
adjacent (hip) to the injured muscle. Knee injuries may be the cause of hip arthritis and vice
versa, since the muscles of the thigh should absorb the forces across both joints. Even when
discussing the relationship of obesity to arthritis, muscle dysfunction rather than wear and
tear may make more sense. Increased body weight requires the muscles to attempt to absorb more
force. If the obese person is not fit (has a loss of strength, flexibility and endurance in
his/her muscles) then the greater the bodyweight the more the stress at each weight-bearing
joint (lower back, hips, knees, ankles).
The bottom line is (and I think you may have heard this from me before) a regularly performed
exercise program (with the right exercises and correct exercise technique) may not only help
arthritic patients, but may be the best way to prevent arthritis in the first place. WHAT A
THOUGHT!
LAURA'A CORNER: "Put your mind on the muscle and the muscle will mind."
There is much talk lately in the fields of fitness and health about "Mind/Body" exercises,
such as yoga, pilates, etc. Yes, it's true that those types of classes or disciplines emphasize
the integration of the physical body with the spiritual or intellectual mind, but ALL exercise
should be mindful. By that I mean that every time you pick up or push or pull a tube, kettlebell,
weight, medicine ball, suitcase, briefcase, etc., you should be aware of what you are doing and
how you are doing it. Many studies have been conducted on muscle contraction and the focus on the
muscle being contracted. The results are that when you think about what muscle or group of muscles
that you are working at the time you are working them, the contraction is greater. Also, when you
are pulling luggage or placing it in the overhead compartment in an airplane or lugging the
groceries in from the car, you should be aware of the biomechanics that are involved to prevent
injury to yourself. No, not every physiological detail, but bracing though your core muscles
when you lift and breathing when you push/pull/lift heavy things can go a long way towards
preventing accidents.
Think about what and why you are exercising in the first place. Body awareness is a
Major result of regular exercise . Chatting, watching TV, reading, zoning out, thinking
about what came before and what will come after takes you out of the present moment and
away from your focus. When you are "in the moment", you can achieve Maximum benefits from
your efforts.
Think about it...!
HEALTH, FITNESS AND NUTRITION BRIEFS
OSTEOPOROSIS
Osteoporosis literally means porous bone. For women, the decline in estrogen levels that
accompanies the menopausal years also permit calcium to leak out of bone into the bloodstream,
where it will eventually become filtered by the kidneys and exit the body in the urine. Here is
a simple lifestyle recipe to help prevent osteoporosis:
1. Ingest 1500mg per day of calcium and 750mg per day of magnesium. Attempt to get most of
this from food and the remainder from supplements.
2. Ingest 600 I.U. of vitamin D. Again, attempt to get most of this from food and the remainder
from supplements.
3. Perform weight-bearing resistance exercise at least 3 times per week. Walking is a start,
but additional resistance exercise (body weight, tubing, weights) must be done.
A Tufts University study published by JAMA in 1994 showed that postmenopausal women can increase
their bone density without using hormone replacement therapy by just increasing calcium intake
and performing weight training exercise.
BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)
BMI gauges your weight in relation to your height and is frequently used to rate body fat. It is really a disease risk indicator: the greater your BMI, the greater your risk of diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, and uterine cancer. The risk starts to climb with a BMI above 23. However, BMI should not be used to evaluate the weight of children, the frail elderly, bodybuilders, or pregnant or breastfeeding women.
A large waist as compared to one's hips is a better indicator of body fat than BMI. What's the bottom line? If you have to keep loosening the belt around your waist you are gaining too much fat!
Nutrition Action Newsletter, October 2005, pp.3-7
TRANS FAT LABELING BEGINS
On January 1, 2006 an FDA ruling that makes it mandatory for food manufacturers to list the
amount of trans fat on nutrition labels went into effect. Unfortunately, under these new rules a
product can claim it has no trans fat even though the ingredient list includes partially
hydrogenated oil or vegetable shortening, The FDA allows products with less than half a
gram of trans fat per serving to be considered trans fat free, meaning that amount of
trans fat does not have to be listed separately on the label. The bottom line: avoid
margarine; vegetable shortening and all products made with partially hydrogenated oils
of any kind. Foods served in restaurants are not affected by the FDA ruling.
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Maryland Sports Injury Center