Interactive Kinesio Taping Clinic Tonight

Stop by Fleet Feet tonight. I'll be teaching an interactive Kinesio Taping clinic.

Danny Cahill in BA this weekend

We are sponsoring Danny Cahill for the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce Beating the Odds conference this weekend. Come out and here about his amazing transformation!

Chris Klug and Winter Olympics

Excited that Winter Olympics are coming up. I just read an article on Chris Klug's quick recovery from a liver transplant to snowboarding champ again. Imagine the core stability needed for snowboard slalom especially after abdominal surgery. It was interesting to learn that a lot of his basic core rehabilitation work is what we use in the office for low back problems. Awesome!

http://www.chrisklug.com/

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

The Hip Connection

Most people that walk into our office have tight hips. This is one of the downsides of modern life spent sitting in a chair or car all day.

Some people think of the hip as the back near the tailbone or the sides of their pelvis. What I'm referring to is the true hip: the ball and socket joint anchoring your femur into the pelvis.

With the hip joints tight, the body has to use other joints such as the low back or knee to make up for the lack of movement. We see this in the flared up sacroiliac (SI) joint in the pickup game softball player or the achy knee in the weekend runner. I have witnessed significant decreases in pain in low back and knees by just loosening up the hips.

To test your hip flexibility, try these (Note: Do not attempt on your own if experiencing any pain or limitations at this time): 1. Sit on a bench or bed so that your feet are not touching the floor. Rotate your feet inward. This tests hip external rotation. See how far you can go. Most people do OK with this test. 2. While still sitting on the bench, rotate so your feet are going outward. This tests hip internal rotation. Most people are limited with this range of motion. 3. Sit crosslegged and put both feet together and lean forward with a straight back. How far could you go down? 4. Stand and try to touch your toes with your knees straight. Were you able to go down? 5. Lunge forward and try to bring your upper body with your elbows touching the ground. Were you able to stretch forward? 6. Can you perform a deep body weight squat with your heels on the floor and your back straight?

I have really enjoyed seeing patients improve with their low back, knees, and ankles this year by improving their hip mobility. A program of chiropractic sports adjusting for the hip, stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, kinesio taping, and foam rolling really seems to improve these quickly.

Michael K. Van Antwerp, DC, CPed, CCSP

Blackberry

No, not the phone. We went to Toomey's Blackberry Farm this weekend and picked bucketfuls of blackberries. If you've never been blueberry, raspberry, or blackberry picking, I highly recommend it! Just go early in the morning, and spray some natural bug spray on.

Here's some nutritional info from their site:

Blackberries Nutritional Values:

One cupful raw:

Calcium 46 mg
Calories 84
Carbohydrate 18 gm
Cholesterol 0 gm
Fiber 7 gm
Magnesium 28 mg
Manganese 2 mg
Potassium 282 mg
Protein 1gm
Vitamin A 290 iu
Vitamin C 30 mg
Vitamin E 1.5 iu

The blackberry is very low in calories. One cup contains approximately one half the Vitamin C Recommended Dietary Allowance for one day.

Blackberries have no fat, are sodium free, cholesterol free, high in fiber and have been attributed to helping reduce cancer.

Phytochemical and Antioxidants Characteristics:

Blackberries are rich in antioxidants, such as anthocyanin pigments, vitamin C, E, and ellagic acid; all may provide protection against cancer and chronic disease.

Blackberries contain significant amounts of Ellagic Acid which is reputed to prevent unwanted damage to cell membranes and other structures in the body by neutralizing overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules called free radicals.

Blackberries are a natural source of salicylate, an active substance found in aspirin.

Blackberries are considered to be an astringent due to their high tannin content. Tannins
tighten tissue, reduce bleeding, and alleviate diarrhea and intestinal inflammation.

Cure-All Juices

Doug Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN gave another great talk at our sports symposium this year. He always covers the newest updates in nutrition and performance. He gave a great run down on all the miracle juices hawked through various MLMs and media.

Try to guess this first one. I'll tell you the answer at the end:

• Grown on trees, named after its color.
• 17 vitamins and minerals.
• 18 amino acids.
• 20 carotenoids.
• Over 150 phytochemicals.
• One medium-sized fruit contains 100 mg vitamin C, 75 mg calcium, 325 mg potassium, 3 g fiber, and 12.5 mg omega-3 fatty acids.
• Taste is delicious.

Indian Gooseberry:

• From a tree native to foothills of India.
• AKA Amalaki.
• Fruit is cherry-sized, lime-green, with 6 furrows.
• Very high in vitamin C (125-475 mg/oz).
• Also contains quercitin.
• Low in other vitamins and minerals.
• Fibrous with bitter/sour taste; often dipped in salt when consumed in India.

Noni:

• Fruit from South Pacific evergreen tree.
• Pale yellow, oval with bumpy skin, around 2" long.
• When ripe has a foul smell.
• Around 20 vitamins and minerals and over 120 phytochemicals.
• Taste is bitter; juice is dark brown; grape and other juices are added to commercial products.

Mangosteen:

• Fruit from an Asian evergreen tree.
• A thick dark purple skin with juicy white tangerine-sized wedges in the center.
• Low in vitamin and minerals.
• Has 40 of the known 200 xanthones which are antioxidants in the polyphenol family.
• Tastes like a grape/strawberry mix.

Acai:

• From a palm tree in the Amazon.
• Purple/black berries the size of a grape.
• 12-15 vitamins and minerals; 15-20 amino and fatty acids.
• High anthocyanin content (class of flavonoids known for red/purple/blue pigment and antioxidant properties).
• High ORAC score but cannot quench hydroxyl radical.
• Tastes like unsweetened dark chocolate.

Goji:

• Berries from a vine-like bush in Tibet, West China, and Mongolia.
• AKA Wolfberry.
• When dried looks like red/orange raisin.
• Around 20 vitamins and minerals; 15 amino acids; 12 fatty acids.
• High ORAC score from carotenoids and vitamin C.
• Has bitter/sour taste.

Did you guess the first one?

Yes, that's right. It's orange juice.

Don't forget we have a lot of great fruits and vegetables that are easily attainable in the continental U.S. let alone Oklahoma. How about blueberries and blackberries? They are a phenomenal source of antioxidants. Blackberries grow in Oklahoma almost like weeds. Strawberries grow wild as well and have some of the highest vitamin C contents around, superceding even oranges. Cranberry and pomegranate juice are also both amazingly good for you.

My point is that you don't have to go to the farthest corners of South America or Tibet to have an excellent arrangement of great-tasting, nutritious fruit or berries. Just eat the local ones everyday, and you'll be doing better than most people.

Here's to your health,

Michael K. Van Antwerp, DC, CPed, CCSP

Crossfit Southwest Regionals 2009

Just for fun, I packed up the weekend of May 2-3, 2009 and drove down to Fort Worth, TX for the Crossfit Southwest Regionals 2009 aka Hell's Half Acre.

For those of you who have never seen a Crossfit workout, it's a combination of gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting, and sprint type exercises all combined with a functional approach and timed. You compete against each other in the gym for time.

I have done some work with one of the local Crossfit centers here in Tulsa, Next Generation Crossfit, and Eric and Luila Barber, the owners, invited me down to watch the competition...and, I think secretly for me to tape them up or adjust them as needed :)

The competition was just crazy fun. The sky had opened up and was dumping rain. This was the same weekend that the Dallas Cowboys' practice bubble blew down from a microburst. Competitors were soaked and pumping out reps. People literally left flesh behind on the bars from trying to tape and stay on.

I got a chance to try out my new Osprey bag as a Kinesio Taping supply bag. It worked great. I also had the chance to meet some of the people from Trigger Point Therapy and Airrosti Rehab. It was great talking to them, but I'll keep my foam rollers and tennis balls for home myofascial and trigger point work for patients and keep my Therapy Edge and Vibrocussor for in-office myofascial work because they work even better than my thumbs. Anyone who has performed a lot of ART then Graston will know what I'm talking about.

After this intense weekend, I realize I need to work out more!

Michael K. Van Antwerp, DC, CPed, CCSP