PUSH-as-Rx ®™ Wellness Exercise & Fitness

Around a half-million high school students in the U.S. play volleyball. Whether the parent of a volleyball player or part of a recreational league, the goal is to be ready for the season, which means preventing and addressing volleyball injuries. It is a highly demanding sport with quick movements, jumping, twisting, diving, spiking, etc. Despite being fit and healthy, extensive training along with match play takes a toll on the body. Chiropractic can benefit volleyball players.

Why Chiropractic Works

Chiropractic treatment and rehabilitation, especially by a sports chiropractor, is recommended for volleyball injuries because it addresses acute and chronic injuries to all body areas. Chiropractic treats the entire musculoskeletal system. Proper joint alignment from chiropractic adjustments in the spine and throughout the body maintains the biomechanic integrity. This reduces high-impact forces in the joints. Soft tissue treatments like instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization can help resolve injuries by providing the tissues with more blood flow into the affected area allowing for faster healing. Most volleyball injuries result from overuse to the joints and muscles, resulting in repetitive strain. In volleyball, repetitive/overuse injuries are common in the knees, ankles, and shoulders. This comes from all the jumping, serving, and spiking.

Player Benefits

Body Soreness Is Reduced/Alleviated

Many athletes, including volleyball players, do not get the proper recovery time from training or playing.

• Reduced recovery periods cause body soreness and stiffness that can overlap into an injury.
• Chiropractic can reduce and alleviate body soreness.
• Chiropractic promotes faster recovery.

Optimal Performance

Studies show that athletes that receive regular chiropractic care found speed and mobility performance enhanced.

• Athletes require fast reflexes and optimal hand-eye coordination.
• Speed, mobility, reflexes, and coordination depend on a healthy nervous system.
• 90% of the central nervous system travels through the spine.
• Spinal alignment can either allow for proper nerve flow or disrupt nerve flow.
• The nervous system can impact reflexes, speed, mobility, and hand-eye coordination even when just one spinal segment is misaligned and out of place.
• A properly functioning spine and nervous system will ensure the player is at their best.

Faster Injury Recovery Time

Healing the body properly takes time. Just like the body needs sleep/rest to function properly, so it is with injuries.

• The issue for athletes is how much time healing takes.
• Individual athletes receiving chiropractic care have been shown to heal faster.

Mobility and Strength

A chiropractic doctor can reduce the pressure around the nerve roots that exit the spine, which will help improve player performance. This includes:

• Range of motion
• Mobility and flexibility
• Strength
• Endurance

To find out how chiropractic can help, contact Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic. We will perform a thorough musculoskeletal and nervous system examination.

Sports Chiropractic Injury Treatment

How Many Calories Over 24 hours

Myths that offer strategies that avoid the hard work and commitment that diet and exercise demand should be avoided. Individuals cannot expect to experience healthy body composition changes by increasing/decreasing meal frequency if they are living a sedentary lifestyle. It is not important how often an individual takes in calories (has a meal). What is important is how many calories an individual has over a 24-hour period. A study looked at healthy individuals that ate one large meal a day for two weeks and then later ate the same meal but spread out over five smaller meals for another two weeks. It was concluded that there was no statistical difference in body weight gain or loss between the two eating methods. 2000 calories over 3 meals is the same 2000 calories consumed over 5 meals. There is no substitute for proper diet and exercise. The focus should be on what and how much you eat.

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Eerkes, Kevin. “Volleyball injuries.” Current sports medicine reports vol. 11,5 (2012): 251-6. doi:10.1249/JSR.0b013e3182699037

Gouttebarge, Vincent et al. “Preventing musculoskeletal injuries among recreational adult volleyball players: design of a randomized prospective controlled trial.” BMC musculoskeletal disorders vol. 18,1 333. 2 Aug. 2017, doi:10.1186/s12891-017-1699-6

Kilic, O et al. “Incidence, etiology, and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in volleyball: A systematic review of the literature.” European journal of sports science vol. 17,6 (2017): 765-793. doi:10.1080/17461391.2017.1306114

Seminati, Elena, and Alberto Enrico Minetti. “Overuse in volleyball training/practice: A review on the shoulder and spine-related injuries.” European journal of sports science vol. 13,6 (2013): 732-43. doi:10.1080/17461391.2013.773090

Wolfram, G et al. “Thermogenese des menschen bei unterschiedlicher mahlzeitenhäufigkeit” [Thermogenesis in humans after varying meal time frequency]. Annals of nutrition & metabolism vol. 31,2 (1987): 88-97. doi:10.1159/000177255

Stretching out for everyday wear and tear. The body was designed for movement, mobility, and physicality. When discomfort, aches, and pain present in the neck, shoulders, back, and joints, it is often from a decrease of natural body movement. Many think that sitting still and resting is the best solution to alleviate the pain. While it is important to rest, it is the type of rest that helps the body. Sitting still with no movement is not recommended. The muscles, ligaments, and tendons need to flex and stretch out to help reduce pain and prevent injury. Safe, chiropractic-approved stretches can increase mobility and fluidity, helping the body stay flexible and loose.

Stretching Out For Everyday Wear and Tear Is Important

Whether experiencing pain or are getting ready for the day, there are many reasons why stretching is important. One, stretching is essential to optimal joint health. When muscles surrounding the joints become tight/tense, this significantly reduces mobility in the joint. Regular stretching lengthens the muscles, relaxing the joints to move without discomfort/awkwardness. Stretching optimizes blood circulation to flow smoothly through the body. Routine stretching helps reduce stress and improves energy. Other benefits include:

• Post-workout/exercise/physical activity soreness and pain relief
• Improves athletic performance
• Prevents injury/s
• Helps heal existing injuries
• Improves posture

Stretching Safe at Home

Chiropractors often recommend stretches for patients to follow to help improve their progress between appointments. If persistent pain is presenting, consult with a qualified chiropractic doctor before performing any stretches. If done incorrectly, they can exacerbate pain and cause further damage. No matter an individual's lifestyle, the wear and tear of everyday life can cause tightness, inflammation, or generalized pain. Developing a regular stretching routine can address any tense, tight, sore areas that will help keep the body pain-free.

Tailbone Stretch

Most individuals feel tailbone pain from sitting for long periods of time. Reasons for tailbone pain can result from:

• Falling backward
• Sitting in the wrong position
• Childbirth
• Hypermobility
• All can injure the tailbone and/or the surrounding muscles and tissue.

Tailbone stretching improves movement and flexibility in these muscles and tissue, maintaining the tailbone's health. One recommended stretch is the piriformis cross leg stretch.

• Lie flat on the back.
• Bring both knees toward the hips.
• Rest the right ankle across the left knee.
• Wrap both hands around the left thigh
• Pull toward the chest.
• Hold for 20-30 seconds.
• Slowly bring down both legs and return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side.

Wrist and Hand Stretch

For those that are constantly writing, typing, or lifting regularly, wrist and hand pain can begin to present. Stretches for the hands and wrists can:

• Increase flexibility
• Alleviate pain
• Reduce the risk of injury

The prayer stretch for the wrists and hands is specifically designed to strengthen the muscles and tendons in the wrists.

• Standing with the back straight and feet shoulder-width apart.
• Place hands together in a prayer position.
• Hands in front of the face.
• Pressing both palms together, slowly spread the elbows apart.
• Begin to lower the hands to waist height
• Stop once the hands become level with the belly button or when the stretch is felt.
• Hold the position for 10-30 seconds.
• Return to the original position.
• Repeat as needed.

Knee Stretch

When tightness or soreness presents in the knee, stretching the hamstrings can help. The hamstrings go through a great deal of wear and tear, supporting the hips and knees, maintaining mobility and flexibility.

• Standing with the back straight.
• Step forward with the left foot.
• Flex the left foot and keep the right foot flat.
• Loosen the hips and bend the right knee.
• As the right leg is bent, keep the left leg completely straight with the heel pressing into the ground.
• If maintaining balance is difficult, use a wall for support.
• Hold the position for 10-15 seconds.
• Return to starting position.
• Repeat on the other side.

Body Composition Health

The Gut's Hormones

When a meal enters the stomach and intestines, it triggers the digestive tract to release hormones that create the full feeling. These are the gut's hormones, with each having a specific set of actions and effects. Examples include PYY, GLP-1, and GIP. Gut hormones are essential because they signal the body to slow down or stop eating. Therefore, the size of a meal influences the number of gut hormones that get released. The body releases larger quantities of gut hormones in response to meals with a higher caloric density. This is because larger meals usually contain more calories. This is one reason the body feels more satisfied after a large meal. Smaller meals are less satisfying, which means an individual will want to eat again after the meal.

After eating comes the digestion and absorption of macronutrients. This is known as the postprandial state. The body is in storage mode during the postprandial state. Even though the metabolic rate increases after a meal, the contents of that meal get broken down and stored for fuel. Four hours after a meal, the body goes back to its baseline state, which primarily burns through the stored fuel. Eating frequent, small meals throughout the day means the body spends more of the day in the postprandial storage state.

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Bandy, WD et al. “The effect of time and frequency of static stretching on flexibility of the hamstring muscles.” Physical therapy vol. 77,10 (1997): 1090-6. doi:10.1093/ptj/77.10.1090

Freitas, SR et al. “Stretching Effects: High-intensity & Moderate-duration vs. Low-intensity & Long-duration.” International journal of sports medicine vol. 37,3 (2016): 239-44. doi:10.1055/s-0035-1548946

Hotta, Kazuki et al. “Daily muscle stretching enhance blood flow, endothelial function, capillarity, vascular volume and connectivity in aged skeletal muscle.” The Journal of physiology vol. 596,10 (2018): 1903-1917. doi:10.1113/JP275459

le Roux, C W et al. “Attenuated peptide YY release in obese subjects is associated with reduced satiety.” Endocrinology vol. 147,1 (2006): 3-8. doi:10.1210/en.2005-0972

A non-invasive method of treating scoliosis. Yoga Has Been Shown To Help Reverse Scoliosis. Scoliosis is the lateral curvature of the spine. The spine bends inward toward the front of the body at the neck region and lower back region. This curve is known as lordosis and bows outward in the middle-back region. This is known as kyphosis. If the spine curves to the side, this could indicate curvature that could be scoliosis. It can be painful and often can affect an individual's appearance once the measurement goes beyond 25 - 30 degrees. One shoulder is usually higher than the other, and clothing cannot fit properly. If the curve goes beyond 60 degrees, it can affect breathing and cardiac function.

Idiopathic Causes Unknown

This condition can consist of various components, especially with more intense curves. The ribs can shift backward on the side where the curve bulges. Most cases consist of adolescent idiopathic (without a known cause) scoliosis. Because the cause is unknown, there are not a variety of effective treatment besides surgery. Physicians carefully keep an eye for:

• Curves under 25 degrees.
• Bracing between 25 and 45 degrees.
• Consider surgery for intense curvature.

Curves in individuals typically appear between 12 and 20 years old.

Yoga Shown To Reverse Scoliosis

Individuals are recommended to do just one yoga pose daily. However, depending on the type and severity of the curves, it could be more than one. They are asked to perform the pose for 5 minutes or less, depending on the condition. A yoga therapist, chiropractor, and physical therapist can generate significant spinal improvement. This could mean that a curve of 30 degrees could be reduced to around 18 degrees in 10-12 months. Individuals that do the poses at least 4 times a week have shown 80-90% improvement. The pose can be done at work during breaks, etc.

The biggest advantage of this technique is that it is non-invasive; it can help individuals with developing curves, reversing the curvature early. Most curves do not reach the point of surgery. In late adolescence and teen years, the spine is still quite flexible. This can help accelerate the effectiveness of the yoga pose to straighten the spine. The technique reduces the curve from worsening. X-rays will show if the curvature has improved or not. Patients could be asked to do the pose/s twice or more daily depending on the direction the condition is taking.

Body Composition

Gluten Effects

Gluten causes digestive issues for individuals that have celiac disease or autoimmune thyroid disease. Individuals with these conditions could experience a variety of uncomfortable and/or painful effects. These symptoms can vary based on their presentation. They fall into classifications.

Classical Celiac Disease

With classical celiac disease, symptoms include:

• Diarrhea
• Discolored stools
• Constipation
• Abdominal bloating and pain
• Weight loss

However, these symptoms are more common in children than adults. In adults, symptoms are more similar to non-classical celiac disease.

Non-Classical Celiac Disease

With non-classical celiac disease, severe digestive symptoms may not present as classic celiac disease symptoms but develop other symptoms. These include:

• Abdominal distention
• Pain
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Fatigue
• Migraines
• Weak bones
• Depression

Silent Celiac Disease

Silent celiac disease is less visible. Individuals might not see any symptoms. However, damage to the intestines is still happening from gluten consumption.

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease or ATD. Autoimmune thyroid disease includes conditions like Hashimoto’s disease. This affects the thyroid gland and causes:

• Extreme fatigue
• Sensitivity to cold
• Hair loss
• Body aches
• Joint aches
• Negative health effects

Studies have shown that gluten-free helps alleviate symptoms.

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Loren M. Fishman, M.D., B.Phil. (oxon). Healing Yoga. (New York: W.W. Norton, 2014).

Loren M. Fishman, M.D., B.Phil. (oxon). “Isometric Yoga-Like Maneuvers Improve Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis—A Nonrandomized Control Trial.” Global Advances in Health and Medicine. February 24, 2021. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2164956120988259

Fishman LM, Groessl EJ, Sherman KJ, “Serial Case Reporting Yoga for Idiopathic and Degenerative Scoliosis.” Global Advances in Health and Medicine. September 1, 2014. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.7453/gahmj.2013.064