Medical Exercise Training - The Future of HealthCare

It's no secret that our healthcare system has room for improvement. There is a huge gap between the medical and fitness world. Medical professionals look at the human body one way, and fitness professionals look at it completely differently.

Bridging the Gap Between HealthCare and Fitness

Dr. Michael Jones developed the Medical Exercise Training Institute to bridge the gap between the medical and fitness world. He teaches personal trainers how to work with various medical conditions and shows the medical community how to use fitness that creates measurable results. He developed protocols for over 60 different medical conditions, and created a foundation unlike any I have ever seen.

Changing Personal Training Forever

For those who are wanting to do more than just personal training, the Medical Exercise Training Institute takes fitness to the next level. With the aging Baby Boomer population, this information is a game changer. It allows you to help clients with knee injuries, back injuries, shoulder injuries, and Diabetes. There are many certifications that claim to help with this, but there is one major difference. This certification will tell you the difference in working with someone with a herniated disc vs spinal stenosis. It will show you how to create a program for an ACL injury vs a total knee replacement. If you are working with someone with Diabetes, this program will show you every precaution you need to know before you start their program.

Connecting with the Medical Community

One of the most important things about this program is the confidence it gives you to connect to the medical community. You will learn how to contact physicians and write progress reports. This is crucial for clients with a medical condition and will separate you from other fitness professionals in the area. It's not easy work, but you will quickly rise to the top by following the guidelines Dr. Jones has established.

Cybex Trazer

I just recently watched a video on Traq 3-D, a clinic that uses a 3-D system to rehabilitate patients. They use the Cybex Trazer, a new system that makes video games where you are the joystick. It tracks your movement and records your heart rate as you play. Some clinics are using it for rehabilitation on patients. It's a great idea, especially for athletes, that gets the person moving in a controlled clinical environment. It is designed for the young to the elderly and has levels that can be varied by the clinician.

I don't know of any place around Katy that has this in their clinics, but maybe we will see this in the near future. This does seem to be the future of video gaming and maybe rehabilitation and sports training as well. Video systems like the Nintendo Wii and the Cybex Trazer will probably be the first of many more systems to come.

Tracy McGrady's Back Pain

I just read an article about Tracy McGrady's Back Pain and how he is sidelined now indefinitely. I know that around 80 - 90% of the population end up with back pain sometime in their life, but it amazes me that no one has been able to help Tracy McGrady out. I specialize primarily in reducing or eliminating back pain, and I rarely find it hard to figure out the cause of the problem. If doctors can't find anything from the X-Rays or MRIs, then often it's simply some posture deviations that are causing the nerves to be pinched. Once the posture deviations are eliminated, 99% of the time the pain is either eliminated or greatly reduced. You then just have to find the right things to do to get the posture lined back up. Some people go to chiropractors who will adjust the spine and get the alignment straight again. Physical therapist will work on the muscles and stretch and strengthen individual muscles until the pelvis and back are in alignment. Sometimes people need both types of treatment. Honestly, both treatments have advantages and disadvantages, and they aren't both guaranteed to work. Personal trainers have a very simple posture assesment analysis that they are able to do that works pretty well as well. It's based off physical therapy principles and posture alignment, and I have seen it really change some people's lives.

I wish I had a chance to evaluate Tracy McGrady and see if something as simple as a posture deviation is causing his aches and pains. I'm sure he's recieving top care though, and hopefully whatever the problem is, they will find it and get him back on the court soon.

Back Surgery vs Physical Therapy for Herniated Disk

I don't like back surgery, actually I hate back surgery. I don't use that word often, but I get so irritated with the amount of back surgeries that happen. There was an article that I remember that stated that only 1% of back pain surgeries are actually necessary. 1% Did you get that? That's frightening to me. Why are so many people having surgery, and if surgery isn't the answer, what is?

Let me cover some concrete data first. In an article recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. James Weinstein, a researcher at Dartmouth College and recipient of the Wiltse Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine in 2006 watched 1,000 people over two years who ever had surgery or chose physical therapy. Over the 2 years time they found only a slight improvement in those who opted for the surgery for those who did not have it.

"In back surgery for this particular condition, there's actually a choice," said
lead author Dr. James Weinstein of Dartmouth Medical School. "If you don't
want the risk of surgery, you can do watchful waiting" and still get well.

I really like this surgeon. He seems to have a good handle on the benefits of surgery, but also the limitations of it. I know that surgery is sometimes crucial, but it's been abused and often just ends up hurting the patient in the long run, physically and emotionally. I cannot imagine going under the knife with the chance that I could wake up paralyzed.

Dr, Weinstein did a Q&A recently about different back pain issues that covers degenerative disks, back pain and jogging, and even the size of kids backpacks. Scroll down a little bit on the article and you can view it. It's a great read!

I'm a big believer in physical therapy. I saw my dad suffer for years after a botched surgery on a herniated disk, and the surgery should have never been performed. For 10 years my dad could not live a normal life, and as his, I couldn't have a normal dad. I know surgeries can change a life for the better as well, but I can't help but let out a big sigh of relief after seeing a surgeon state that there is little benefit after two years. I hope everyone wakes up and realizes there are other options besides surgery. You'd be amazed at how much a little physical therapy could do for you.

Mirror Muscles

A recent article entitled Back to the Future: Get Cracking on Improving Your Vertebrae is so random it is hard to follow, but it made enough important points that I had to post it. They use one of my favorite phrases of all time, "Mirror Muscles". Mirror Muscles are those muscles that you can see when you look in the mirror. Everyone is obsessed with their chest, abs, sometimes shoulders, biceps, and quadriceps (front of the leg). They usually neglect their back, glutes (butt), triceps, and hamstrings (back of the leg). So you have someone that is very well developed in the front and the back of them is way behind. Why do people do this?

Well vanity is the number one reason I would say people do it. They want to look good, so they work on what they see. The danger in this is that it creates some serious problems long term. You eventually get to the point where you are slumping forward because of an improper balance of muscle strength throughout the body. The picture to the left isn't the best picture, but it shows what happens over time when you do have bad posture. Forward heard, rounded back, and anterior pelvic tilt. The more you sit and stand incorrectly, the more you begin looking like the picture. Once you start slumping you may experience lower back pain, upper back pain, neck pain, and/or headaches. Dealing with this condition has become a huge part of my personal training. It seems that almost everyone has a problem with this, and the more we sit in cars, or work in front of the computer with bad posture, the worse it gets. So it's not just the gym that causes it, it's also our lifestyle.

One great resource I found was an article done by the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association). They made a informational pdf resource on proper posture. Chiropractic Care can also be beneficial for posture correction. I don't have an information sheet like I had for the APTA, but Dr. Barnwell, in Katy, TX has some information on his website about posture.

To revisit the article I first mentioned, in the article they mentioned doing 'Supermans'. I'm going to improve on that a little bit and instead mention Floor Cobras. It's a much better exercise and is easier to do correctly. (It also mentions some plyometric movements, but I don't even want to start on that topic right now.) Let me include some information on the floor cobra to help you out.

Floor Cobra (Info from ptonthenet.com)

Difficulty Level : Beginner
Muscle Group(s) : Core Back and Neck
Modality : Stability
Benefits : Core, Glutes, Middle and lower traps.
Pre-Requisites :

1. Clients should have education in core and glute activation.



2. Clients should be able to activate glutes, erectors and hamstrings in correct sequence.

Preparation :

1. Laying face down on the floor-in prone position, have arms beside your hips.



2. Activate core by drawing in navel towards spine and squeezing glutes.
   
   

Movement :

1. With core and glutes activated, lift chest off the floor, lift arms up and back towards the hips rotating thumbs towards the ceiling.



2. Pause momentarily at the top of the lift then return to starting position; at all times keeping the chin tucked into the chest.



3. Upon completion of the movement, repeat.



4. Don't over emphasize arching of the back to lift the chest off the floor. Only lift to where the client is comfortable-no lower back pain should be felt. If so check sequencing of glute, erectors and hamstrings.