PT Blog- The practice of yoga is more beneficial to your life than you think.

Yoga has been the movement for creating more flexibility and muscle strain release in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The health benefits however, are under-rated. There are other factors to consider when practicing yoga that does not only improve that split you are trying to get or pain relief you are searching for. There is so much more to it.

Digestion improvement is one of them. Aside from eating high-fiber and probiotic-rich foods, yoga can also have a positive effect on how your body breaks down food. Because of the many positions in yoga like twisting, turning, stretching and reaching, they are actually improving your internal organs by massaging them and creating a smooth path for food digestion.

As a result, the digestion improvement from yoga also decreases bad-food cravings we may have during the day. It is common to over-eat after a workout because your body is thirsting for food and drink. It may seem appropriate, but it can harm your results after a workout Yoga cancels out this craving because it is an activity that involves your mind and breathing pattern. This awareness of your body can eliminate the bad cravings because you are in-tune with your mind-body connection.

Improved brain functioning is also another surprising benefit. The use of your body and breathing techniques actually creates equanimity and clarity in your mind. This allows us to feel less stress and focus better on our bodies and life in general. What a relieving feeling it is.

Yoga can improve and boost immunity. I bet you didn’t know that. The motion of turning and stretching your body can have a positive effect on your cellular level which can prevent illnesses, colds and other body pains. The overall internal defense system of your body will perform better and help you fight off those bad germs.

Innovation and better ideas are also a life-changing benefit. That’s right. The use of yoga can make you better at your job. Because of the stillness and energy you gain by meditation in yoga, it can create new insights, better ideas and decisions, as well as tighter work relationships and more productivity.

Relaxation from yoga may be the most important of all, in this fast-paced world we live in. Yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system can reduce the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in our bodies. Excess cortisol can contribute to thyroid function, decrease muscle tissue, increase blood pressure, lower immunity, and increase inflammatory responses. Take a deep breath, and relax.

There are so many easy ways to ensure healthier bodies and clear minds. The benefits of practicing such activities should be a priority because it can have positive effects on the quality of life for as long as you live. Grab a mat and get to it!

Help Your Kids Eat Healthy This School Year

 

This school year, it is important to prepare your child to make healthy eating choices. Unhealthy food and snacks can lead to childhood obesity, which in turn can cause some serious health problems. By giving them a full breakfast, packing quality lunches or snacks, and teaching them how to make the best eating decisions, you can give them the opportunity to grow into confident, healthy adults.

Research has shown that a balanced breakfast can be essential in not only maintaining a child’s weight, but also when it comes to improving behavior and school performance. Protein-rich foods, such as eggs, cheese or yogurt, can help your child to stay focused until lunch-time. Whole grains provide long-lasting energy and can be found in oatmeal, muffins, waffles or pancakes. Lastly, fruits and vegetables are great breakfast options to help optimize your child’s health.

Breakfast may be an important part of your child’s day, but lunch can be equally as critical in helping school performance and overall health. While packing a lunch for your child can give you control over what food they are eating, it is important to involve them in the planning process. By going over their options with them, you can help to prevent them from skipping lunch by throwing it away, trading it or bringing it home with them. Try to follow the same tips for breakfast when planning your child’s lunch with them, including some protein, a fruit or vegetable, whole grains and a dairy product in their meal. If your child eats school lunch, make sure you review the menu together.

Whether your child has snacks after school or with lunch, you should make sure that these snacks are healthy options. Fresh fruit, unbuttered popcorn, baked chips or pretzels, and vegetables with low-calorie dressing or salsa are all good examples of healthy snacks. Avoid snacks such as processed goods, fried foods, and sugary drinks.
By following these tips for healthy eating, you can ensure that your child is getting the nutrition they need for their long days at school. In addition, you will be setting a strong example that will stick with them and lead to a strong, healthy adulthood.

 

Muscle Cramps: What they are and how to prevent them

Muscle cramps are extremely common. Almost everyone experiences muscle cramps at some point in their life. Muscles are capable of contracting and relaxing and designed to produce both voluntary and involuntary movements. A muscle cramp is a sudden, involuntary contraction of the muscle that does not relax. Cramps can happen in any type of muscle, but we’ll talk about skeletal muscles, which are muscles that are very elastic and ones we can voluntarily control.

There are a variety of causes associated with these spasms. Common causes of muscle cramps include muscle fatigue, dehydration, low levels of electrolytes, poor circulation, inadequate nutrition, injury and even some medications. The contracted muscle may produce a “lump” that may be visible. Gently massaging or kneading the area and slowly stretching the muscle can help relieve the tension. Most muscle cramps can be stopped if the muscle can be stretched. Applying heat and/or ice can help relax the muscle quicker.

Tired muscles are more likely to cramp. Cramps can occur at the end of intense workouts or during endurance training. Spasms can also occur while we are sleeping or just sitting when muscles are in the same position for a prolonged period of time. Beginner athletes are more likely to have cramps because they fatigue quicker than experienced athletes.

There are steps that can be taken to help prevent muscle cramps from occurring. It is recommended that you maintain adequate hydration, proper nutrition, and attention to safety while exercising, including stretching.

Hydration is important to overall health as well as athletic performance. Fluids keep cells hydrated and happy allowing to contract and release. Drink plenty of water or non-sugary sports drinks, especially before any exercise or strenuous activity. Electrolytes regulate the shift of fluids in and out of cells. The most important electrolyte is sodium, which is in sweat more than any other electrolyte. Be sure to replenish your sodium levels to avoid dangerously low blood sodium levels. Avoid caffeinated beverages because caffeine acts as a diuretic and will deplete your fluid supply quickly.

Proper nutrition is also important to your overall health. Consuming the appropriate vitamins and minerals, particularly B vitamins, can help prevent muscle cramps. Not having enough potassium, calcium and other minerals in your blood can also lead to muscle cramps. Eating vitamin rich food or taking a multivitamin supplement can help.

Stretching before and after exercising is important along with a proper warm up and cool down routine. Tight muscles need to work harder during intense activity and are more likely to result in injury than muscles that have been warmed up and stretched beforehand. Muscles that are fatigued due to overuse are most likely to have muscle cramps. Ask your doctor or physical therapist for suggestions of exercises to perform to both prevent and relieve muscle cramps.

The Risks of Wearing Heavy Backpacks

Now that the school season is upon us again, it is crucial for parents to realize the risks of their children carrying heavy backpacks. With the amount of binders, textbooks and school supplies that are loaded into a student’s backpack, it’s likely that the weight is putting them at danger of developing health issues. In addition, wearing a backpack improperly can increase this risk, even if the weight load is within recommended parameters. Thus, it is important to know what can be done to help solve these problems.

If you are wondering whether the weight of your child’s backpack is too much for them, there are some symptoms that you can keep an eye out for. If you notice red marks from the straps of the backpack on their shoulders, or if your child grunts and exerts severe effort when putting it on or taking it off, then the odds are it’s too heavy. Also, if your child’s arms, shoulders or fingers often fall asleep, this could be another indicator of an excessive load.

It’s important to note how your child carries their backpack as well as its weight. If a backpack is worn improperly, it pulls on the shoulders and rests on the pelvis, which can cause shoulder or lower back pain. The straps of the backpack should be worn over both shoulders and tightened so that they feel snug, with the top of the backpack reaching shoulder level. Chest or waist straps are also recommended to help distribute the load evenly.

When buying a backpack for your child, size is an important factor in preventing injuries. An oversized backpack can be easy to fill up with more than your child is safely able to carry. A good rule to follow is that when the backpack is worn, the bottom of it should not be below the top of the hips. In addition, it is helpful to have padding on the back of the backpack and the straps.
Going back to school can be a stressful time, and it is easy for students to feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. While this is not something to be taken lightly, it is just as important to manage the literal weight on their shoulders too. By ensuring that your child is not lugging around an excessive amount of weight and making sure that they are carrying themselves properly, you can help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle free of backpack-related injuries.

How to Design a Workout Based on Your Needs

Whenever people want to “get in shape” they typically join a gym and start working out. However, there are many different ways which we can workout. In order to get the most from our training we must make sure that we tailor our routine to meet our individual needs. Someone who wishes to gain a lot of muscle mass may have a very different workout program than someone who wants to increase endurance.

For people who want to build muscle mass, the use of free weights is crucial. People who want to develop muscle tone and definition but are not overly concerned with muscle size should use weight machines instead of free weights. Free weight exercises should consist of heavy weights and few repetitions while weight machine exercises should involve less weight and more reps.

Some people are more concerned with cardiovascular conditioning than with muscle building. By participating in activities that raise your heart rate for an extended period of time such as running, biking, jumping rope, or swimming you can increase your stamina and improve the health of your heart. If you are just beginning a cardiovascular conditioning program you should start slowly by first walking and then progressing to more strenuous activities.

No matter what your goals are it is important to give your body time to rest and recover in between workouts. While you workout, you are breaking down muscle fibers and weakening tendons. After a day or two your tendons regain strength and your muscle fibers repair themselves and build on top of one another, building muscle mass in the process. To aid in the recovery process, you should eat protein after your workout. Proteins are the building blocks of muscles and can help muscle fibers repair. The faster you recover the faster you can start your next workout!

How to Avoid Cramps in Football Season

Muscle cramps are a frequent and serious issue for athletes who return to the football field during the sweltering month of August. In order to avoid injuries and ensure a safe season, there are certain nutritional precautions that should be observed while practicing in the summer heat. Nutrition is just as valuable to an athlete’s health as aerobic exercise or strength training. In addition, it is an essential factor in avoiding muscle cramps.

One of the most important nutritional areas to observe is fluid intake, especially during periods of extreme heat. In order to avoid cramps and dehydration, athletes should ensure that they are drinking six to ten glasses of water per day. It is especially important to consume water before, during and after practice, since exercise can cause the loss of up to two liters of water an hour. According to experts in the field, athletes should avoid drinking only when they feel thirsty, since this can seriously affect their performance.

Another factor that can contribute to muscle cramps is the imbalance of electrolytes in the body. These electrolytes, commonly found in sodium and potassium, trigger your muscles to contract and relax by carrying an electric charge. The balance between sodium and potassium can be disrupted due to dehydration, so it is important for an athlete to stay hydrated in order to maintain their electrolytes.

Lastly, mineral deficiency can also increase an athlete’s chances of suffering muscle cramps. Aside from sodium and potassium, there are other minerals such as calcium or magnesium that are important for your body. Too much or too little of these minerals can easily cause cramping and as such, it is important to obtain sufficient amounts in your diet.

In the unfortunate event of a muscle cramp, there are temporary treatments that can be practiced. Gently stretching the muscle in question, although painful, can help the muscle to relax and cause immediate relief. In addition, it is a good idea to apply ice or massage the muscle while stretching.

If all of the factors previously described are not properly observed, especially during the month of August, they can easily lead to muscle cramps and other serious injuries. Thus, maintaining proper levels of hydration, keeping a sound diet and getting proper exercise are all important for an athlete’s well-being and overall success.

Football and the Prevention of Concussions.

As much as we hate to say it, summer will be coming to an end and Fall will be approaching soon. But that’s alright because it means leaves, cool weather, sweaters and most importantly, football, are underway. Something we look forward to all year. Watching the sport is one thing, but when you have a child involved in the activity you want to be sure they are going to play and stay safe.

Concussions are an extremely common injury in football and those who are “rookies” may be more prone to them. A concussion is defined as “a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth,” according to the Centers for Disease Control. You want your child to have a great time, but make sure they are safe. The Centers for Disease Control has reported that concussions among children and adolescents have grown to about 60 percent in the last decade. The most common sports associated with this statistic include bicycling, playground activities,basketball, soccer and of course, football.

Here is how to help your child prevent concussions:

• Always, always, always wear a helmet. The brain is a delicate part of the body and needs to be protected in any contact sport to prevent serious injuries. Make sure it fits correctly and is well-maintained for the best effect.
• Practice the “Heads Up” technique in Football, which refers to not lowering your head during a hit.
• Use the proper techniques and fundamentals of blocking and tackling. Practice makes perfect.
• Follow the rules of the game and always practice good sportsmanship. Getting worked up and violent during a game can cause injury by contact with others and just put the team in a bad place all together.
• Understand that helmets do help prevent concussions, but are not always 100 percent effective.

If your child does seem to be suffering from a concussion here are the symptoms to look out for:

• Headache or “pressure” in the head
• Nausea or vomiting
• Unsteady balance or dizziness
• Double or blurry vision
• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Feeling sluggish or groggy
• Concentration problems
• Confusion

If your child does suffer from a concussion, make sure they are removed from the sport and seek professional help to address the injury. There are ways to heal a concussion and get your child back to outstanding health, just be sure to pay attention and teach them to play safely.