Sports.

Whether you love them or hate them, played them or play them, watch them, hear them, or talk about them, sports have become one of the most defining parts of our culture and all cultures around the world. Fun on all levels, whether competitive or non competitive, sports are a great way to keep active and stay fit at any age.

As we age, the importance of actually participating in sports tends to diminish. School, work, family, and all of life's other responsibilities tend to become what we focus on more than scoring that game winning goal, and rightfully so. Fitness and health however, should still be something that we place an importance in. Studies show that now more than ever people who no longer or never have participated in competitive sports still see the value in staying active, and try to keep that as a focal point in their day to day schedule. There are more gyms and adult recreational sports leagues than there ever has been before. These leagues range in talent level and often emphasize the fitness and social benefits more so than the competitive aspect. People who have never played a sport before now have the opportunity to do so and be part of a team and community.

Although the goals may change, sports can still aid in our overall health and well being, while stimulating our minds and helping to maintain and develop social skills we will use forever. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says that most adults should get 2 1/2 hours of moderate physical activity a week, and a couple hours of muscle strengthening activities as well. Common goals for most adults are of course being healthy, feeling fit, and the most popular, losing weight. So what team sports are best for the everyday adult to burn the most calories?  

Golf: I know what you're thinking.....golf? Yes, that's right. Although it's not exactly a team sport, it's most often played in groups. It's not the most strenuous of sports, but if you walk and pull your own clubs, you can burn upwards of approximately 400 calories playing. Golf is a great sport for those not looking to run up and down a court somewhere. It's also very challenging and improves mental focus, accuracy, and awareness.   

Softball/Baseball: Great team sport that is easy to learn and keep up with if you’re not an avid player. Adult recreational softball players burn on average 400 calories a game, while improving eye hand coordination as well as developing strength in the legs, arms, and shoulders. 

Basketball: Ball is life, and is another great team sport option to burn calories. With all of the changes in tempo and direction, basketball is great for improving body control, speed, agility, and explosive power. In a full court game you can burn anywhere from 450 to 650 calories.

                                                                                                              

Football: No, not professional football. Touch and Flag football leagues have become widely popular in North America with the amount of leagues almost doubling in the past five years. There are even co-ed leagues in most cities. You may not be winning the Super Bowl, but a high intensity game of touch football is said to burn from 500 to 700 calories depending on the length of game. 

 

                                                                                                                                                 

Ultimate Frisbee: Ultimate Frisbee is the most popular of amateur team sports outside of the major sports. It has become a worldwide phenomenon with even amateur teams competing in global tournaments. Since its inception in the 1970's, it has grown and it’s simplicity and accessibility have helped it to grow past just recreation. We've all ran. We've all thrown a frisbee. So we can all play ultimate! Indoor and outdoor leagues make it a year round sport, and with so much running, a game of Ultimate can help you to burn excess of 700 calories. Not to mention it's a TON of fun. 

Boxing, Tennis, Racquetball, and Squash are great individual sports that are fun to play and help to burn calories as well. If you're looking for something easier on the joints, swimming is a great alternative activity that you can do on your own. 

The key is to get your heart rate up. Basically, the harder you play, the more calories you will burn. The sport of choice makes a slight difference, but the effort you put in makes a huge one. Whether you are burning a lot of calories while working hard playing, or getting to know people and enjoying your time on a team, the benefits of sports as an adult are endless. So get out there and join a team! It's never too late to hit that game winning shot.

 
 

          Running is one of the most common forms of physical activity that we engage in, and it is frequently prescribed in exercise programs. As runners increase the number of miles under their feet, they often forget that their activity of choice places high demands on the biomechanics of the foot, including the foot's stability of the arches. Once the demand exceeds the capacity, we can experience an injury or a dysfunction, which can either sideline a runner or increase their risk for injury in the future.

Fig. 1 Medial view of the foot and medial longitudinal arch

 A recent journal article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine outlines the importance of foot stability to normal foot and lower extremity function. This article draws parallels between the concept of core stabilization around the lumbar spine and pelvis to stabilization of the foot. Similarly to the spine, stabilization of the foot requires functional integration between 3 subsystems: passive, active, and neural subsystems.

Passive Subsystem – Consists of bones, ligaments, and joint capsules that maintain the various arches of the foot. The arches unite into a functional half dome responsible for adapting to loads during dynamic activities (e.g., running and jumping).

Active Subsystem – Consists of the muscles and tendons that act on the foot (intrinsic and extrinsic foot musculature). The local stabilizers are the plantar intrinsic musculature that originate and insert on the foot. These muscles are primarily responsible for stability within the foot during dynamic tasks. The global movers are the muscles that originate in the lower leg, cross the ankle and insert on the foot. They are responsible for general foot motion and modulate the structures within the passive subsystem. This modulation is important for key events in foot mechanics, such as transitioning from a mobile to a rigid body during gait.

Neural Subsystem – Consists of sensory receptors in the plantar fascia, ligaments, joint capsules, muscles and tendons involved in the active and passive subsystems. Intrinsic foot musculature is responsible for providing immediate sensory information about changes in the foot dome posture and may be modulated through training to alter their sensitivity to foot dome deformation.

What does this matter to runners?

The intrinsic foot musculature (local stabilizers) has been shown to be more active in dynamic tasks and when additional loads are added to the participant, as with running. With each footstep, the four layers of intrinsic muscles act to control the degree and velocity of arch deformation. When they are not functioning properly, the foundation becomes unstable and misaligned, leading to abnormal movement of the foot. This may manifest in foot related problems such as plantar fasciitis, posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, and medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints), all of which are common pathologies in runners.

Anthropologically, the foot has evolved in response to the increased demand of load carriage due to bipedalism. Bipedalism requires a foot that is reasonably mobile, able to accommodate uneven surfaces (stable), and is actively controlled. With bipedalism came the need for the human foot to operate as a compact, rigid lever system during the latter half of stance. One of the major adaptations of this demand was a well-defined medial longitudinal arch defended by strong plantar tensile elements. This becomes especially important in running because we need to be able to deform the arch to take advantage of the spring-like characteristics of the foot, as it stores and releases elastic energy with each foot strike.

Training the “Foot Core”

Traditional training strategies for increasing plantar intrinsic foot muscle endurance and control have been based around exercises that induce to flexion, such as towel curls or marble pick-ups. However, these exercises have been shown to involve substantial activation of the global movers (extrinsic musculature) of the foot.

Recently, the “short foot exercise” or “foot doming” has been shown to isolate contraction of the plantar intrinsic muscles. The foot is shortened by using the intrinsic muscles to pull the first metatarsophalangeal joint towards the heel (calcaneus), as the medial longitudinal arch is elevated. It is important to establish control of intrinsic foot muscle function before increasing capacity. Foot doming is a foundational exercise for foot and ankle rehabilitation. Evidence has shown that 4 weeks of daily foot-doming training reduces arch collapse in running and improves dynamic balance (15-20 reps x 2 sets, 2x/day).

            The “Short-Foot”/”Foot Doming” Exercise

Take Home Points

Runners require requisite stability and mobility of the foot to reach optimal levels of performance and to avoid increases in injury risk. Just as with other sports, we cannot forget the loads placed on our body by running and, thus, must increase our capacity to meet the demand.  

• The interaction between the active, passive and neural subsystems is essential for foot control and stability during static and dynamic tasks
• The plantar intrinsic foot musculature play a critical role within the active and neural subsystems, acting as local stabilizers and direct sensors of arch deformation
• Foot core training begins with targeting the plantar intrinsic muscles via foot doming/the short-foot exercise

Protect your feet runners. You only have one pair.

References

1.     McKeon P, Hertel J, Bramble D, Davis I. The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2014; 49(5): 290-290.

2.     Janda V, Vavrova M, Hervenova A, et al. Sensory motor stimulation. In: Liebenson C. ed Rehabilitation of the spine: a practitioner’s manual. 2nd edn. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006.

3.     Sauer LD, Beazell J, Hertel J. Considering the intrinsic foot musculature in evaluation and rehabilitation for lower extremity injuries. Athl Train Sports Health Care 2011;3:43–7.

Danny Dulay

Strength and Conditioning Specialist 

Doctor of Chiropractic Candidate

danny@catalyst-health.ca

I get a lot of questions from clients regarding which sports or activities are best to enroll their kids in if they want to raise mini athletes. The answer is more complex than you would think -- many factors come into play when deciding which sports a child should embark in.

I’ve coached 1000’s of kid’s from all over the world in a variety of settings and I often see the same practices among parents. Below is a list of guidelines I use to counsel parents on their kid’s involvement in physical activities.

-       Ask your child which sport they would like to start with. Many kids will have a natural affinity towards a sport, either because it comes naturally to them or because it looks fun.

-       Choose to put your child in multiple sports if they are under 10-12 years of age. Specializing in a particular sport too early could be detrimental to their development, leading to physical burnout, repetitive strain injuries and loss of interest in the sport.

-        The skills and stimuli involved in playing multiple sports at the same time or in opposite seasons are crucial for building athleticism. Choose sports that develop all assets of athleticism: speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, strength etc. The abilities a child develops from an accessory sport can lead to gains in sports that may be their main focus in the future.

-       Choose team sports as well as individual sports. Half of the benefit a child gets from playing sports is learning to become a teammate and all that goes into winning and losing as a team. Contrarily, some kids can tend to hide in the shadows in a team setting. Allowing them to compete as an individual will create an environment that challenges them to express themselves physically and ultimately lead to a more mature young athlete.

-       Don’t choose sports that are all “one-sided”. Repetitively using only one side of the body for a sport (ie: tennis and golf) can lead to muscular imbalances and discrepancies in strength while the child is developing.

-       Promote your child to be ambidextrous. If your kid picks up a golf club and naturally swings left handed but wants to bat right handed in baseball, so be it. This will help even out the muscular imbalances mentioned above as well as create a mutual coordination from side to side.

-       Choose at least one sport that involves developing speed. Speed is known as the most important factor when it comes to excelling and dominating at many sports. Allow your child to participate in track and field if possible. Track will set the foundation of physical assets needed for all sports including aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, speed, power development and strength.

Dr. Adam Reynolds

Co-founder/Chiropractor 

Active Release Techniques Provider

Strength & Conditioning Coach

Certified Golf Fitness Instructor

adam@catalyst-health.ca

While much attention is given to the negative impact of sitting as it relates to posture through the upper back, neck and head, the posture of the low back and pelvis can also be greatly affected by prolonged sitting. This can cause muscle imbalances that greatly influence both pain and athletic performance.

Postural problems at the hip and pelvis most commonly present as an anterior pelvic tilt (APT). As the name suggests, this posture involves a forward rotation of the pelvis which results in tightening and loosening in select muscle groups surrounding the hips.

WHAT CAUSES APT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The compressed position of the hip while sitting causes the hip flexors (mainly iliopsoas) to become tight and overactive. This causes the pelvis to rotate forward, resulting in the increased curve through the lumbar spine and “pushing” of the belly seen in the above diagram.

Forward rotation of the pelvis changes the mechanics of muscle contraction around the hip, resulting in certain muscles becoming overactive and some becoming underactive, or inhibited.

                  Tight and overactive muscles

·       Paraspinal lumbar back extensors

·        Hip Flexors

Weakened and inhibited muscles

·       Abdominals and core

·       Glutes and hamstrings

This arrangement increases the curve in the low back (known as lordosis), placing increased strain on the low back structures. Conversely, our core muscles which should be tight and strong, become lengthened and weak.

The effects of this change in muscle tone and activity are two-fold:

1)     The increased strain on the lumbar spine and weakening of the core muscles is a major contributor to back pain. Additionally, weakening of the glutes along with overactive hip flexors can contribute to a number of overuse injuries like IT band syndrome and runner’s knee.

2)     The weakening of the glutes and core muscles can greatly decrease the quality and performance of functional movements like squats, deadlifts, and lunges.

CORRECTING APT

APT can be addressed during both workouts and day-to-day activities.

Workouts should focus on movements and exercises that strengthen the glutes and core muscle while minimizing strain on the hip flexors. Of most importance is any variation of squat, lunge, and plank exercises. Additionally, adding a warm-up routine of “lunge and holds”, where you perform a regular walking lunge while pausing for 5 seconds at the bottom of the lunge, can help open up the hips.

Caution should be used while performing ab exercises on your back when the legs are up in the air. Unless the core muscles are strong enough to stabilize the spine (this should be assessed by a professional) these exercises engage mainly the hip flexors and place excessive load on the lumbar spine while pulling the pelvis into APT.

Given how much time we spend sitting throughout a given day, one 30 or 60 minute workout is not enough to reverse the negative effects of sitting. Making an effort to open up the hips throughout the day through light stretching and lunging can greatly complement an effective workout routine. You might get a few looks while stretching in the office, but your hips and low back will thank you!

Written by: Andrew Courchene, Msc. PT

Andrew@catalyst-health.ca

You’ve heard of sayings such as “you can do anything you set your mind to”, “you have to believe in yourself”, and “mind over matter”. How much of this is true? How much power is the human mind capable of? How do we exploit this potential to maximize our health and exercise performance? Is it truly all in our heads?

Optimal health is holistic health, which includes many aspects: physical, social, emotional, spiritual and mental well being.  While raising my own awareness on mental health, I have recently become interested in the practice of meditation. The most important thing I have learned about meditation is that it does not have to be done in a spiritual or religious context for one to benefit. One general type of meditation that I have researched and implemented in my own health routine is 'mindfulness meditation'. 

This involves paying precise, nonjudgmental attention to the details of our experiences as they come and go, without rejecting these thoughts. Being mindful allows us to live in the 'now', controlling emotions related to past experiences and, in turn, mentally preparing us for future situations. Work, school, the 'challenge of the week' and visits with your in laws are stressful only if you perceive them to be that way. There is hard evidence supporting this!

In 2011, Zeidan and colleagues looked at the neurological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation and its effectiveness in controlling pain. Participants in this study were exposed to both hot and neutral temperature devices on their lower legs and were asked to rate the intensity of pain and unpleasantness. After just 4 days of mindfulness meditation training (20min/day), the subjects reported reduced unpleasantness by 57% and reduced pain intensity by 40% in comparison to the pre-training period. MRI scans showed increased brain activity in the areas involved in the cognitive regulation of pain processing and the reframing of the contextual evaluation of sensory events. Even with minimal training, meditation engages specific areas of the brain that alter the experience of pain.

Delving deeper into the topic of various brain functions, one area of the brain I want to highlight is the hippocampus.  The hippocampus is a part of the brain that helps regulate emotion through the “limbic system”. This portion of the brain also plays an important role in developing long-term memory and spatial (or navigational) memory. Research has shown that aerobic exercise increases the production of new neurons in the hippocampus, while dedicated and successful learning helps these new neurons survive. In one particular study, participants practiced mindful meditation, which was mentally challenging to learn. After this mental training, subjects completed 30 minutes of aerobic exercise with challenging movements and routines. These people increased their aerobic exercise capacity and decreased depression and anxiety greater than those who only did the aerobic exercise. Supplementing your aerobic routine with challenging cognitive exercises can help manage stress while improving performance at work or during your daily life activities!

When it comes to your exercise regimen, you can use your mind to help train your body, too!

Mentally imagining a muscle maximally contracting can facilitate strength gains in high-intensity resistance/strength training. This can be done through motor imagery    the mental process of rehearsing a specific physical action.  The neurological processes underlying motor imagery are similar to those activated during physical movement. Mentally imagining motor patterns has a positive influence on acquiring new motor skills as well. These same principles can be applied to your flexibility routine. Imagery has been shown to increase joint flexibility during both active and passive stretching. Applying this idea to new exercises in the gym will help you progress quicker, and in turn, help you reach your fitness goals sooner!

So, back to our original question: is it “all in your head”?  No, but keeping these facts and concepts in mind can help you take your physical exercise to the next level. Mental training can increase your physical potential, while improving all areas of your health. Be the best that you can be, because the only thing holding you back is YOU!

Written By:

Mitch Broser

Strength and Conditioning Specialist

mitch@catalyst-health.ca

647-351-0101

Resources

1.     https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-courage-be-present/201001/how-practice-mindfulness-meditation

2.     Zeidan F, et al. Brain mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation. J neurosci. 2011. 32(14):5540-5548

3.     Shors TJ, Olson RL, Bates ME, Selby EA, Alderman BL. Mental and physical (map) training: a neurogenesis-inspired intervention that enhances health in humans. Neurobiology of learning and memory. 2014. 115;3-9

4.     Reiser M, Busch D, Munzert K. Strength gains by motor imagery with different ratios of physical to mental practice. Front psychology. 2011. 2;194:1-8.

5.     Anwar MN, Tomi N, Ito K. Motor imagery facilitates force field learning.  Brain Res. 2011;1395:21-9

6.     Guillot A, Tolleron C, Collet C. Does motor imagery enhance stretching and flexibility. J Sports Sci. 2010;28(3):291-298