If the Shoe Fits....

I decided to dust off my tennis racquet and hit some balls this past weekend.  It's been about 6 or 7 years since I've played tennis and I was feeling a bit intimidated - not only was I pretty good at the game at one time, but this was the first sport I would be playing since my knee surgery that would involve lateral stop-n-go motion.  Malheuresement (loosely translates to 'unfortunately'), I presently do not possess tennis shoes.  So, I stupidly decided to play in my running shoes.  I would have been better off to have played in 2 inch high heels.  My feet were squiggling like slippery fish within the shoes.  I ran back for a ball and nearly landed on my head, and what was worse...the stop/go lateral moves made my feet feel like they were going to just leave the shoes behind and keep going.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Yesterday, I went out and purchased a pair of tennis shoes.  They're not the state-of-the-art, but they're good enough for the lateral stop/go moves essential for the sport.  I'll walk around in them at some point during the week and break them in.  You wouldn't carve a side of beef with a wooden spoon, so why play tennis in running shoes?  The correct shoe for the appropriate sport is not a fashion statement, it's a rule you should stick by.  Stability, flexibility, support and comfort is what makes a running shoe different from a walking shoe, different from a soccer shoe, from a golf shoe, from a 4" strappy sandal.  Be smart and prevent a sports injury....it's all about the shoes!
....so how was my game????  Uhhhh.....now that I have the right shoes, I won't have the excuse for poor performance.  The good news was that my knee feels pretty good and all that physical therapy to strengthen my legs paid off...even though I coulda played better if I had the right shoes!!! :)

Acupuncture Improves Exercise Tolerance

Acupuncture can ‘remarkably’ improve exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure say German cardiology researchers.  Their study included 17 patients with congestive heart failure with mild or marked limitation to their activity- all on optimised medication. They were randomised to receive acupuncture or placebo – a needle that simulates the procedure without piercing the skin.  No improvement in cardiac ejection fraction or peak oxygen uptake was seen.  But the six minute walk distance was ‘remarkably increased’ in the acupuncture group by 32m on average, compared to a drop of 1m in the placebo group.
Post-exercise recovery and ventilatory efficiency were both improved in the acupuncture group but not in the placebo group.
Study leader Dr Johannes Backs, head of the research group at the department of cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital said: ‘This is the first indication that acupuncture may improve exercise tolerance in CHF patients- when given in addition to optimised standard heart failure medication.’
By Lilian Anekwe, Heart, online 15 June

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Both professional and amateur athletes come to my office on a regular basis to both increase and maintain their fitness level and recover from competition.  Whether you are a weekend warrior or superhero, try acupuncture once per week for 12 weeks and see how your 'game' improves!