This weekend we had the privilege of teaching our 5 most important foam rolling areas to GoTime Training family. It was a gorgeous morning with their huge, glass-style garage doors (seen below) opened overlooking the Stryker Soccer Complex. The weather was perfect and so was the class engagement! GoTime training is over 10,000 square feet, offering bootcamp classes, semi-private classes, and nutritional consultations.
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Guest blog by Sara Skiles, owner of Wichita Doula:
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Many individuals lose awareness of how to move their bodies properly. I was one of them. A couple years ago during chiropractic school, I was goofing around on a buddy’s longboard trying tricks I had no business trying. This buddy is now owner of High Country Muscle & Joint Clinic in Golden, Colorado. He is a functional chiro trying to spread a similar message about proper movement strategies. But long story short, I ended up falling off and dislocating my elbow. I find myself very fortunate to not have broken anything. During the rehab phase, I spent time thinking through my fitness goals and expectations. I was a very active individual going to the gym lifting weights and focused on programming “functional” exercises; it was therapy for all the school work. But this incident changed me. Thinking about my programming after the accident, I realized I had no idea how to fall properly; such a silly thing. How does someone not know how to fall properly? Especially someone who viewed themself as “functionally” fit.
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The holiday weekend was a rainy one, to put it lightly. Some of that humidity hung around Monday morning, but that did not stop over 530 runners from participating in the 5K race. The course began inside Cessna Stadium and then ventured out around the Wichita State Campus. Many were festive in red, white and blue and everyone received a t-shirt and a finishers' medal.
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Humans are most comfortable with their eyes level with and on the horizon. When babies are lying on their tummies, they do not leave their foreheads on the ground to stare at the floor! Instead, each will upright the head in order to take in the world around him or her; this is precisely how the spinal curve of the neck begins to develop. Of course, infants will not be able to achieve full head uprighting at first, as this in itself is a 'skill' to develop. But even from a young age, the baby will look from side to side. Once a baby masters the ability to support the head, he or she easily will progress to a more difficult movement pattern - requiring head control - such as crawling or walking.
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Many parents feel pressure from outside sources to rush their child through stages of development. They hear stories of how a friend’s kid walked at only 10 months old and wonder if their own baby is behind because they are not reaching the same milestones as quickly.
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Toe functionality can be a powerful insight into how the body is stabilizing itself through different tasks such as: walking, long distance running, sprinting, and even weight lifting. Imagine yourself getting up on a nice cool morning and deciding to go for a run. You put on your new sneakers you bought at the local running store. This local store did a fanstatic job identifying your foot structure (supinator, pronator, neutral), gave you the jist of trends in heel-toe drops, and helped pick the right running shoe for you.
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The big toe is often a forgotten and neglected component of the human body. Proper range of motion in the big toe is vital to creating stability as running speeds increase. Ideally, the big toe needs to dorsiflex (i.e. the toe bends toward the face) at least 45 degrees. However, as speeds increase from walking to running, 65 or more degrees of dorsiflexion is ideal. Lack of big toe range of motion can cause problems local to the foot such as plantar fasciitis,¹ and is even noted with over head athletes such as baseball pitchers and cricket bowlers.²
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Over the past few years, the "core" has become a hot phrase in the fitness industry much the way the avocado has in the nutritional world. Catchy phrases such as 'core strength,' 'functional core,' or 'abdominal bracing' have all been thrown around haphazardly, with an inordinate number of core exercises to match.
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If you look back at your last meal, do you know where your food came from? If the answer is 'no', you are not alone and Mikel Bowyer with ICT Food Circle wants to help the Wichita community change this status quo!
... This past weekend I was fortunate to attend a seminar hosted by another chiropractor in the Wichita area. The education was focused on better treating athletes, and weightlifters in particular, based on a technique named Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (for more information, stay turned for an upcoming blog OR come in and visit us so we can show you firsthand). The class consisted of chiropractors, personal trainers and strength coaches; it was great to see professionals from varying disciplines being able to work together.
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The waiter walk is a wonderful exercise to add to your upper body workout regiment, but I rarely see it utilized within the health & wellness community or at local gyms. As a strength coach, physical therapist, chiropractor, average gym goer, or anything-in-between, this exercise is a must add, especially if you are training for any overhead tasks.
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Headaches are a common experience for many individuals. 50% of people will experience headaches in any given year, while 90% of individuals will report having a headache sometime within their life. Unless you are the lucky 10%, headaches can be a debilitating and often preventable experience through lifestyle and postural modifications. One common type, that I see here in our clinic at ICT Muscle & Joint Clinic, is suboccipital tension headaches.
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In their own words, "1 Million Cups is a free, weekly national program designed to educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs. Developed by the Kauffman Foundation, 1MC is based on the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and network over a million cups of coffee."*
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When looking at your shoes, have you ever wondered what the purpose of the nearest eyelet to your ankle is? Many individuals, using this eyelet, state they feel added support. In order to get the maximum amount of support, utilizing this eyelet, there is a specific lacing pattern called the “high 7-eyelet lacing pattern.” According to Hagen and Hennig (1), this pattern for tying your shoes, with a moderate amount of tension, significantly reduces pressure underneath the heel and outer forefoot, as well as reducing the loading rate and the velocity of pronation associated with walking and running. Depending on the running mechanics and strain experienced with walking or running, this technique may reduce the risk of related injuries. Below is a picture series to help guide you through lacing with the high 7-eyelet.
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Lately, I have overheard several individuals at the gym discussing their troubles with deep squatting: ranging from anterior hip pain, to knees caving in. Yes, I was eavesdropping, but kept my two cents to myself and decided to share it in this blog instead! There are 3 things I have found to hinder one’s deep squat potential: improper breathing strategies, not spending enough time in the “hole,” and lack of bodyweight exercises with the hips flexed greater than 90 degrees.
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Have you ever been told you have a short leg? Has a family member or friend ever mentioned having a short leg? Chances are, the answer is yes. What does this really mean? Is there truly a “short leg”, commonly referred as a LLD or leg length discrepancy? What is considered a significant difference?
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While on the Whole 30, we were not allowed to eat dairy products, grains (not even pseudo-ones), legumes, alcohol, or added sugar. The first time Keith & I visited the grocery store came as a bit of a shocker. It seems EVERYTHING has some form of sugar added to it, especially: milk, yogurt, bbq sauce, salad dressings, and all things “fat-free”. However, subsequent trips have gotten much easier by staying on the perimeter of the store; do not even tempt yourself with the products in the middle aisles. Confession: we should buy stock in the chicken they sell at Costco; that, along with eggs, onions, garlic, & herbs are pantry must-haves!
The biggest adjustment for me was setting aside time to assemble a menu of meals for the week. After I made those decisions, food preparation involved cutting up vegetables along with a protein, and then throwing them on the stove or in the oven. I must say, I did not cut myself while meal prepping, but I could not wash sharp objects without letting them slice a finger! And speaking of dishes, currently, my biggest sense of accomplishment is having them washed before going to bed.
My expectations were surpassed with our frequency of eating out. During the 30 days, we went out a total of one time; that’s right, ONCE. We had family in town and after working on business tasks, my appetite set in pretty hard. This meal was the hardest couple hours of the whole month; every dish in the restaurant smelled delicious! I ordered a salad and was pleasantly surprised with how much I like balsamic vinegar and the feeling of victory for choosing to stick with the program!
Overall, I am impressed with how well The Whole30 Program went for us. I do not mean to downplay the effort and time we put into our diets, but the return on our investment was so far over and above that. Something I unintentionally gained from this, is an obsession with mixed nuts. I was upset to find out that the nut mix we had contains peanut oil and was a no-go during the program, so we made our own instead. I was excited to see that my new craving was not all bad for me, even though it might not be completely 'in line' with the preferences of the program. According to Science Daily, ‘nut consumption is associated with a decreased risk of certain types of cancer’.* Who does not want to hear that?!
Below, I have listed a few of Keith and my favorite recipes, along with a handful of our non-scale victories. Also, I have linked The Whole30 Program website and also places you can buy the The Whole30 book or It Starts With Food, which contains the details of the science upon which the program is based. I could blab for much longer about the ins and outs of what we have experienced throughout the last 30 days, but I will refrain. My hope is that you have caught some of the excitement I have displayed because of the new diet that will enhance my daily life and my ability to give 100% to my patients!
30 Whole Days of eating food, doesn’t sound too difficult does it? Well, Keith and I decided to take on this challenge last month. Up to this point, we had made an effort to eat well (most days) and keep up with the latest in food education. Through that research, we came across this diet,“The Whole30 Program,” mentioned by many different authors whom we greatly respect.
Now, diet may seem like a scary word, but do not let it be. Diet commonly comes with a negative connotation, involving words such as: counting calories and restriction; not to mention, all those gimmicky pills. With this shoved in our faces daily, why would anyone ever want to start a diet? Certainly doesn’t sound enjoyable to me! Instead, diet should be associated with the habits & choices we make regarding the food we consume, throughout our daily lives. Diet is what you & I decide to sustain or nourish our bodies with and it is life-long! It illustrates a good and necessary aspect of life.
There are countless plans and recipes to choose from when looking to change your eating habits. We chose The Whole30 because it is an elimination diet (there is that scary word again); but let me explain. We probably know someone who is lactose-intolerant, allergic to peanuts, or has Celiac disease right? These individuals are unable to process certain food ingredients. If they do ingest that component, the body reacts, usually by means of inflammation, and the person is made aware by means of an upset stomach, skin rash, or even trouble breathing. But, tangible reactions are not always felt, and seemingly healthy people may be unaware of the damage being done beneath the surface. For instance, generalized joint pain seems to have become a more frequent complaint among patients recently. People may chalk this up to a consequence of aging, but at 40 years old, you should not be limited in your daily life because all of your joints ache with no obvious cause. This system-wide pain is a 'hidden' symptom of that person’s dietary choices because it is not something directly associated with the food they eat.
Remember the word 'elimination' from earlier? Well, in the case of The Whole30, this word is good because it aims to cleanse your system of all the potential irritants you consume and then allow you to be made aware of which particular foods may be causing those undesirable symptoms. The daily headaches you experience, difficulty sleeping at night, or the constipation you’ve always dealt with are not things you just have to accept.
This diet has had difficult days, yes, but the difficulty level depends on your mental outlook too. That is why you are encouraged to create goals before beginning the program. My goals going into the 30 days were: 1) to have more energy, 2) to learn new recipes, and 3) to eat out less frequently. Stay tuned for results, favorite recipes and the advice I have upon finishing!