For The 50+ People...Do It Because You Can

Here;s Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I treat all types of athletes in my practice - from the professional players to the weekend warrriors.  There is one demographic that I particularly enjoy working with...these are my 50+ year old athletes that play competitive lacrosse, ice hockey, basketball and many other aggressive sports at least three times weekly.  These men and women  have their histories of various injuries - 'bad' knees, 'bad' shoulders, 'bad' hips.  Many of these patients have very responsible and stressful jobs, families to support, and elderly parents to take care of.  Playing their sport is their way to destress and have FUN in their lives.  They lose themselves in their activity and when they're finished playing hard, they've got a smile on their faces and ready to face life's many challenges...but they've got aches and pains.  They tell me that their allopathic physicians have advised them to stop playing their sport of choice. This translates to 'stop doing what you love in life'.   I don't believe in this philosophy and that's why these folks come to me for treatment.  Together, we develop a strategy so that they can continue to play their sport with minimum to no pain post game.
I believe you should participate in whatever sport you love to play.  The combination of acupuncture, chinese herbal therapy, diet and supportive exercises such as yoga and pilates can make the difference between living life fully or becoming a bystander.  My patients come to see me for weekly treatments.  They are all enjoying their sport of choice - post 50+ years of age and excited because since commencing treatments, they can run faster, play harder, and jump higher.  They are living life fully and participating in what they love to do in life.  They're playing sports because they CAN! 

The Overtraining Drain

Are you extremely fatigued for up to 72 hours after your workout?  Just can't seem to put some 'juice' into your sporting activity?  Do you become dizzy or confused after exercise?  You might be experiencing 'workout burnout'.  Overtraining results in diminished results over the longterm.  The rest and recovery phase in the exercise cycle is crucial to your overall wellbeing.  Without proper recovery and rest, the 'Mighty Mitochondra' or your cellular batteries cannot recharge; giving you muscular energy.  Without the 'recharging' of the mitochondria of muscle cells, you will be constantly operating on a 'low battery charge'.   Signs of overtraining include:  constant fatigue, confusion, dizziness, chronic muscle fatigue and weakness, and inability to concentrate or perform your usual workout at a normal intensity.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are experiencing workout burnout, take a rest between sets, maintain more than adequate nutrition and hydration, stop when you experience any type of pain, and make a workout schedule that is sensible, not insane.  Above all, come in for a few treatments to boost back your battery, ease muscle soreness, eliminate fatigue and rebuild striated muscle tissue!

Weight Training For Health

Did you know that stronger people live longer healthier lives?  Strong muscle mass is a leading factor in regulating your blood sugar.  The energy spent during weight training burns beaucoup calories, which leads to overall weight loss.  Weight training is also beneficial to building stronger bone mass, which will help you during your senior silver years.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you're enrolled in a weight training program, stick with it!  If you're not doing any type of exercise, join a gym, purchase a few sessions with a qualified trainer and get yourself going with circuit training.  You'll feel better, look better and you'll longer and healthier.

You Can Never Learn Enough

I recently went for advanced training for orthopedic pathologies/sports injuries.  I've done hundreds of treatments over the years to treat various orthopedic conditions/sports injuries, but my philosophy is...you can never learn enough, you can never know everything.  I returned from a grueling week of intensive training and learning and was able to successfully begin to repair a torn tendinous tear in a patient's rotator cuff yesterday.  The patient is so happy that his pain is relieved by over 60% and his range of motion improved by over 40% with just one treatment, he is referring me to other potential clients just one day after treatment.  I'm delighted....I learned something new, I applied my craft and made the quality of life for another person more complete.  This is what excites me; puts a smile on my face; completes my day.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  You can never know everything.  Get yourselves enrolled in a class or seminar and learn something new.  You will enrich your lives, broaden your spectrum of thinking and knowledge and at the end of the day, you just might light up someone else's life with your new found learning!

Swimming is Good For You

Ok!  Everybody into the pool!!!  Swimming can be the gentler and kinder workout for your knees, but you can really kick butt and get a better butt while playing around in the water.  Every time you kick in the water, you are increasing your muscle strength, burning calories and increasing your overall flexibility.  The strokes and form of swimming enable you to lengthen your body to its max, thereby elongating your muscles and stretching your tight and shortened muscles.  The forgiveness of the anti-gravity feeling of the water gives you that 'feel good' and happiness of being a kid in the water.  Your lungs will get a great workout through rhythmic breathing and your heart will love you for the overall increase in blood circulation.  After several weeks of pretending you are a fish, you'll notice toner, firmer muscles and a 'lifeted' butt.  Swimming is one exercise that uses all the muscles groups, so you just can't go wrong.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Can't swim?  Shame on you!!!  You might have to save your own life one day just by knowing how to swim to safety.  Take this perspective and go take some swimming lessons.  If you know how to swim, check out your local community or health club pool and join a refresher class, a water polo class or some fun weekly group swim.  If you're a loner, just jump in and do your thing.  For the readers here in Manhattan:  the Reebok Club, Chelsea Piers and Asphalt Green all have wonderful facilities, multitudes of classes and lessons for all levels.  You'll feel great and look great at the end of the day and what better way to impress someone at the beach with that new butt!