Why is chiropractic utilized by athletes?

Quite simply, it is the best and most natural way to maximize performance.
Chiropractic uses spinal adjustments to free "locked" vertebral segments. A vertebral segment is comprised of 2 vertebrae, the disc in between, and the spinal cord and nerve roots at that level (see pic below)

When the vertebrae "lock", an obvious decrease in range of motion is present within that vertebral segment. This decrease in range of motion creates an environment in which pressure builds around the nerve root. This pressure creates any myriad of issues, some slight like a decrease in reflexes (hardly perceptible), some major like decrease in muscle strength (very perceptible), and everything in between.

Chiropractors call this "locking" a subluxation, and we strive to locate and remove them in athletes, infants, adults and the elderly (basically everyone).

So now that the lesson is out of the way, why DO athletes use chiropractors for maximizing performance? First, the decrease in range of motion of the vertebral segment is in itself detrimental to performance. If the athlete does not have a full range of motion, even in something as seemingly slight as a vertebral segment, then the athlete can not move efficiently. This inefficiency of movement hinders athletic performance.
Second, a "locked" vertebral segment can be uncomfortable or even painful. Discomfort and/or pain absolutely slows performance. This is the clearest and most utilized reason for chiropractors in sports performance, and real life as well.
Third, the interruption of nerve signals, or communication, to and from the body slows the speed at which an athlete can react to an ever changing in-game environment. Without a nervous system in clear and unencumbered communication with the body, we find a significant decrease in performance. This is, in my opinion, the most important reason for athletes, or anyone, to get adjusted.

The nervous system is the "master controller" of the entire body. Of all 11 body systems ( immune, integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive), only the nervous system runs the show. As long as the nervous system has full communication with the body, a person can perform or live to their full potential.

A subluxation alters nerve communication, chiropractors remove subluxations.

My recommendation: If you don't have a chiropractor, get one. If you do, go and get adjusted.

Thank you for reading.
Regards,
docBdc

A blog in the making...

In my previous blog, "My criticism with "the Scientology of Fitness"," I set my sites on CrossFit and present my criticisms. My next blog about "the Scientology of Fitness" will be a collaboration with Brian Barry. We are reading and ripping through the CrossFit certification manual. This is the manual they are being taught and tested on before they can become and advertise being a CrossFit gym... I'm sorry, "box."

Looking forward to presenting my argument.

Regards,
docBdc

GMO's bad

O.k. I've been told that my post on wheat was a bit confusing and possibly a little vague. Well, I understood everything I wrote - ha (alas I self amuse), but I digress.

I'm going to address wheat by addressing genetics and genetic modification. It is my opinion that GMO's create a physiological environment in the human body that create various disease processes. While I will not go into specific diseases, you can take a minute to think about certain disease processes that seem to be on the rise and come to your own conclusion.

Here's why I am avidly against genetic modification, in the most simple way I know: DNA and RNA are the blueprint of life. They are made of nucleic acids (adenine, cytosine, and guanine are found in both RNA and DNA, while thymine occurs in DNA and uracil occurs in RNA). These nucleic acids are the same in both plants and animals.

Genetic modification is, over-simply put, injecting a substance into a plant to initiate a desired change. The plant is changed, grows, blooms or sprouts or etc., is harvested and processed, then sold and consumed by you. Said substance has changed the genetic coding and now you are eating a food that your body has not prepared for... in some cases the substance persists in the plant and you consume it. My point is, a substance that changes genetic coding in plants, which is made up of the same nucleic acid base pairs as you, has a strong potential to affect you... and it probably does.

So how does this relate to wheat... Wheat was changed before genetic modification became the go to method for altering plants. Hybridization was used to create modern wheat. Humans decided to alter wheat, which nature took tens of thousands of years to create AND our bodies had tens of thousands of years from which to adapt, and accelerate the process into just a few decades. Essentially, our bodies cannot fully  utilize the wheat which we consume, and we have no idea on the side effects this modern wheat has on us.

Unregulated hybridization is bad, and genetic modification is way worse. Be careful what you put in your mouth. Become disciplined about learning the in's & out's of your foods. Remain diligent and keep learning for yourself. Protect you and your family... This is my recommendation for you.

Thank you for reading and
Regards,
Doc B

My criticism with "the Scientology of Fitness"

It may come as no surprise, but I do not like CrossFit, which is interesting because I do like the premise: “... fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive”, their specialty is in not specializing. CrossFit breaks down fitness into 10 general physical skills, and “...they are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. You are as fit as you are competent in each of these ten skills.”

So, why do I criticize?

First and foremost: education. It has been this doctor’s experience that the level of education for CrossFit instructors leaves much to be desired. (Let me also say one thing, I KNOW!!! Everyone has an instructor or has a friend who’s instructor is well educated, but I have not met them. I understand that they are out there; I also understand that most CrossFit instructors that are well educated don’t actually do CrossFit, technically.) The education of your trainer/coach is extremely important. You can, and will, get hurt if your trainer/coach doesn’t understand why or how exercising is done. It may seem simple, and it can be, but coaching someone to do a workout correctly actually requires a well rounded education.
Second: People get hurt doing CrossFit. If you talk to a crossfitter that hasn’t been hurt yet, you’ll hear about how tough and extreme the workouts are, as well as how safe. However, I know a few dozen people who have participated in the “safe extreme exercises” and they have hurt themselves. The only argument from CrossFit that I have read is: “this is not for everyone, do it at your own risk.” I find this to be absurd, and a cop-out..
Third: No matter how crossfitters try and spin it, Crossfit is very random, there is very little, if any, periodization. (Periodization is in the design of a workout over the course of weeks even months, and it is usually done in phases (ie strength phase, agility phase, cardio phase, etc). Phases focus intensely on a specific areas of performance.) While it is good to use randomization every so often, using it as the mainstay of the workout scheme means that the fitness enthusiast will prematurely plateau and not achieve full gains.
And fourth: Combining strength training with cardio training in the same workout (the same 30, 45, 60, or 90 minute workout) slows the potential for muscle growth. Without getting into too much detail, there are 3 different types of muscle fibers : slow twitch (for posture and endurance), fast twitch (for strength and speed), and a newly found fiber that is both and neither (it actually acquires the properties of one fiber or the other based on the demand placed on the muscle over time). If both fibers are being worked, and most CrossFit workouts do both, then strength takes a backseat to endurance. This is an evolutionary trait that developed because you live longer running away from predators then trying to fight them.

I don’t recommend anyone do CrossFit. However, if you are looking for a workout that is different from the gym I strongly suggest looking to sport conditioning. Strength and Conditioning Coaches are usually very well educated and they make a living on building on people’s strengths while filling the gaps of their weaknesses.

To Wheat, or Not to Wheat

Greetings all and anyone who ventures out to read this. I hope this summer is finding you and yours in happy and healthy times.
My topic is a going to be a running topic throughout this blog, touching of this topic from time to time, and that is: Wheat - what up with that?
Wheat is, and has been, a staple in our culture as well as many others. It has its roots in human existence for thousands of years and is one of the most harvested crops today. Wheat remains at the center of the "whole grains" movement, in which we are to eat more of... But I am not so sure:
Wheat began as a grain named einkorn, thousands of years ago, and at some point bred with a goat grass to become emmer. Emmer is the wheat that was most likely referred to by Moses as mentioned in the bible. It was used by Egyptians, Summarians, and many other ancient cultures. As an approximation, sometime at about a millennium before more modern biblical times, emmer crossbred to become the more modern wheat known as 'Triticum aestivum', and this remained the wheat of humankind for centuries.

Now, before I go on with this riveting history of the origin of wheat it is important to have a very basic and limited understanding of plant breeding. When humans mate, our chromosomes un-pair and then repair with our mate's un-paired chromosomes to create new life. This means that as humans we will always have the same number of chromosomes. Plant chromosomes DO NOT un-pair, they instead accumulate to create new plants. For instance, einkorn had 14 chromosomes and when in bred with the goat grass it then became emmer which has 28 chromosomes. Emmer then mated with Triticum tauschii to become triticum aestivum, a 42 chromosome wheat.

Needless to say, a VERY different wheat from its predecessor... and as the genetics changed, so does the gluten and its interaction with the body - a story for another time...

OK! Fast forward to modern times, we humans are constantly trying to increase crop yields and we are using crossbreeding to try and promote 'more desirable' traits (not a bad idea in theory). By 1980, the efforts of humankind had produced THOUSANDS of new strains of wheat, and it was simply assumed that because the new strains remained essentially 'wheat,' human beings would be able to tolerate it.

Just so we are clear: even though we had hybridized and crossbred thousands of new strains of wheat, the first decade of genetic modification had NO ANIMAL OR HUMAN SAFETY TESTING CONDUCTED. It was assumed as the benign practice of hybridization.

A little unsettled? I hope so. If not, I recommend you do some reading up on genetics. Future entries will go into wheat and glycemic index, sugar breakdown, conversion to fat, types of fat, wheat on the psyche, addiction to wheat, etc and so on.

Thanks for your time,
Brendan Malloy, D.C.

Just the beginning...

Welcome to Doc B's health and fitness blog. Here I will discuss topics, research and findings (both laboratory and clinical) pertaining to health and fitness. If I am into it, I am blogging about it. I hope you read it, enjoy it, and perhaps get some useful information.

I want end this first entry with a question: What role does your brain play in your life?

More importantly, What is the perception you have of your brain and its role in your life?

Do you view the brain as sitting in its ivory tower, commanding the body?

Does your brain function much like an interface with your computer?

Or is there a separation? Does your perception of the brain include a brain-body connection that is inseparable? What happens to one happens to the other, without exception?

What role does your brain play in your life?

Doc B