INTRODUCTING MI SEITELMAN: DIRECTOR OF FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

We start this month's newsletter with the introduction of Mr. Mi Seitelman as our new Director of Functional Training. Mi's experience with chiropractic care and exercise for his back pain and exercise and proper nutrition for weight loss is quite inspirational. Here is Mi's letter to me about his wonderful transformation:

"Dear Steve,

From the “Fat Elvis” to your assistant and the Functional Training Director of your Maryland Sports Injury Center...The circle has come completely around!

Who would have guessed when 4 years ago when I was 45 lbs overweight and could barely walk ito your office (which I did thanks to a referral from our friend Jimmy G) that my life would be so changed. I was in such pain that just walking made me cry, my general health was a total mess, I was what you said...fat, had horrible posture and yes, I was getting old. You said you could fix my pain, and you did, you showed me how to get back into get back into shape and although my chronological age is 57, I feel 15 years younger...IT WORKED.

Over two years ago I made a decision that I needed to complete the change in my life, by doing something that would not only make me feel better about myself...It would help people too. So, I left a job I had been in for 10 years, to go back to school to become a health professional. Based on your recommendation, I enrolled in the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s (NASM) Personal Training program. After nearly a year of intense study I passed the final exam, and then found work in a local gym as a personal trainer. For over a year I was able to work with a broad range of clients from 87 year old seniors to 11 year old overweight children, all the while thinking about what I should do next.

Then you made me the offer to come into your office as a trainer and I new that I had really arrived! I feel as though I have been given the opportunity of lifetime and look forward to helping you, help your patients to atain better health...Thanks for everything!

Mi Seitelman NASM-CPT

Mi and I will perform a functional movement assessment on each patient to deternine their specific corrrective exercise needs. Based on the fitness evaluation, Mi will use his experience to -
*Help you lower your percentage of body fat
*Gain strength, flexibility and balance
*Train you in sport specific exercises
*Give you practical nutrition tips that really work, instead of the latest "fad" diet

Call us today to get started!

FITNESS CORNER: Exercise Won't Make It Worse
"The Problem: For those with older or injured knees, it hasn't been clear if weight-bearing exercise helps or hurts. Some small studies have suggested it might protect against osteoarthritis (OA), perhaps by building cartilage; others have found the opposite. "There has been a lot of discordance and confusion in the literature about 'Can you?/Can't you?' " says David Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Washington Hospital Center. Until now. According to a study in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, moderate exercise has no effect -- positive or negative -- on the development of OA in the knee, even for people who are overweight or obese."

"The Study : The study, led by Boston University School of Medicine professor of medicine and epidemiology David T. Felson, involved nearly 1,300 participants who were examined once, when their age averaged 53, and again nine years later. Each time, they were asked how much they exercised and whether they had knee pain, and X-rays were taken of their knees. The data showed no link between exercise and arthritis. Concluded the researchers, "Physical exercise can be done safely without concerns that persons will develop knee OA as a consequence."

Osteoarthritis wears away cartilage, a protective tissue that eases the movement of joint bones, causing those bones to rub together painfully. Two major risk factors for OA are injury and family history. ("My father had it," Johnson says, "and now I do.") It usually develops after age 45.

The Reaction: Johnson says the findings will immediately change what he tells his patients. "I am beset by patients who need to be active but who are afraid they are going to develop OA if they exercise," he says. "This article gives us the green light to tell patients they can and should" exercise." [bold added]

From the Washington Post Tuesday, February 13, 2007; HE02

NUTRITION CORNER: A Poor Diet Can Lead To Bigger Problems
"Like any other hard-working athlete, success seduced Casey Smith. In the fall of 2004, the Arlington resident was on a roll when she won a slew of local races, including the Army Ten-Miler. That November, Smith finished third at the Philadelphia Marathon in a personal best of 2 hours 45 minutes 23 seconds.
Shortly thereafter, Smith began to lose weight. "This shouldn't be happening," she told herself. But in the world of elite racing, particularly for women, fast times are often a function of body weight, and racers tread a fine line between competition and self-destruction. By the spring, Smith had shed 15 pounds from her 5-foot, 100-pound frame. At the St. Patrick's Day 10K, Smith dropped out of a race for the first time.

"At first, I was worried," said Smith, 27. "But then, I said I'm feeling good, my workouts were good, and I started running pretty well again. It's hard to describe what was happening. Lots of runners watch what they eat."

Smith began to work with a nutritionist and sought professional assistance. She didn't regain the lost weight, but she realized she had a problem and resolved to adopt "a healthy attitude."

"Eating disorders, that's crazy," she says now. "How does that ever happen? But keeping the weight off becomes a subconscious thing; you don't want to put it back on. It's like an addiction."

Smith continued to train at a high level, logging around 60 miles a week. Her efforts paid off with impressive results in April when she ran personal bests of 57:14 to finish 11th at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and 35:04, good for fifth place, at the Pike's Peek 10K in Rockville. But her body started breaking down. First, pain in her knee hampered her training. Then, what she thought was tendinitis above her ankle forced her to stop running completely in May.

After battling the pain for months with physical therapy, Smith had the ankle examined two weeks ago and learned she has a complete fracture of her fibula. "It's absolutely related" to her eating problems, Smith said. "If you don't eat correctly, your body starts to eat itself."

Maintaining a regular diet continues to be a struggle for Smith. "It's still not easy," she said. "I find myself trying to talk myself into eating something still. It's part of being a driven, Type A personality."

Which of necessity is on hold for six to eight weeks until her leg heals. Smith's plan to run the Chicago Marathon in October is canceled. "Right now," Smith said. "I don't have any goals other than to get myself able to run again."

From The Washington Post Sunday, August 13, 2006; E03