Healthy to the Core

Most of us have heard the buzz words, “strong core.” Is it worth all the hype? Yes! A strong core is beneficial for everyone not just athletes; it can help prevent pain and injury in any lifestyle. Ring a bell from the trifecta articles in October?

• Mobility: A Key to Pain-Free Functional Movement and Injury Prevention

• Stability: Another Key to Pain-Free Function and Injury

• Completing the Trifecta to Pain-Free Function and Injury Prevention: Proprioception

We can prevent injury with a strong core; it improves our stability, agility, balance, posture, and coordination creating a foundation for a stronger and healthier body. It also improves efficiency with movement; we gain more power and function from our upper and lower extremities. For endurance athletes, this translates to more power in arm and leg movements while running, swimming, and cycling. For non-athletes this translates into preventing back pain from overuse strains doing household or work related tasks.

Contrary to popular belief, a strong core isn’t limited to strong abs. Our core encompasses the entire cylindrical column of muscles ranging from above the shoulders to below the hips. The proper way to engage and strengthen this range of muscles is with slow, intentional and controlled, quality movement patterns.

Coach Amy has designed a core strengthening class for both beginners and advanced athletes. These classes incorporate a combination of progressively challenging dynamic and functional exercises to build control for activities of daily living and sport.

Our Phoenix Core Winter session is 8- weeks long and begins January 7th. Classes are held at CoachAmyPT on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. Commit to feeling stronger, moving better, and preventing injury in the New Year. Spots are limited!

Inflammation Part One: Aid and Control Early Inflammation

Most of us believe inflammation is detrimental. But the truth is, inflammation is the body’s healthy reaction to injury and disease. The body releases critical substances that stimulate the body to repair, heal and fight off disease.

Inflammation is a natural defense mechanism that increases blood flow to the injured area. Blood flow carries in white blood cells for repair and transports dead, injured cells away. This process usually take 8-10 days once the stimulus for injury is eliminated. Sometimes the source of injury is obvious, like a sprained ankle, but some sources can be elusive. It could be poor posture, repetitive motions or dysfunctional mechanics in the workplace, hobby or sport. Coach Amy helps identify tricky sources of injury and modifies activity to prevent additional tissue damage.

Patients can initiate early control with ice in the first 24 hours of injury. Moist heat after the first 24 hours with compression and elevation can help the blood flow. The benefits of NSAID's and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories are controversial. While they can help control pain, they can also interfere with the powerful early healing process associated with inflammation.

Coach Amy uses dry needling techniques to enhance and control the early inflammatory process. While acute (early) inflammation benefits the body, lingering inflammation can be harmful. Check out next week's post to learn more about identifying and combating harmful, persistent inflammation.

Run Lit 2019 Next Thursday Dec. 12th at 6:30 p.m.

Ready for a holiday stress reliever? Join Roadrunners of Kansas City for our favorite annual tradition and see the magic of the holidays from the street view. Adorn yourself with Christmas lights and holiday cheer and run the plaza area with our vetted running group. As we light up the streets and have some fun, this will be an event that you (and everyone else at the plaza Thursday evening) will always remember! The run is FREE. Pace is EASY. Bring your friends and family. The more the merrier!

Meet in the parking lot near Station Coffee in Westport: 1010 Westport Rd, Kansas City, MO 64111. Run course is approximately 3 miles.

Our Winner Jessica Watkins Conquered Injury to Complete 100 Mile Ultra Marathon!

Thank you to all of our patients who entered the #igotmyfixcapt competition during October and November on social media. We were inspired by each and every story filled with strong willed spirits and amazing feats! The common thread through each testimony was that by fighting to overcome limitations and injuries, each and every person grew stronger, faster, tougher, and better. Our winner of the Scheels gift card and this year’s “title” is Jesica Watkins. We share her story:

“In 2016 I pulled my hamstring but the stubborn runner in me ignored the injury and continued on training and running, only causing other problems that I wasn't aware of yet. In 2017, a year later, I decided it was time to heal the injury and I went to 2 physical therapists and 1 chiropractor trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. Nothing they did helped me. I finally found Coach Amy somehow while searching online, and thought that I would give it a try. Within the first 5 minutes of seeing her, I had hope. She said "Oh I know exactly what this is and how to fix it!” I was ready to do anything and everything she told me to do to get better, including stopping running.

I followed her plan to a ‘T’ and within just two weeks of seeing her I was already noticing a difference. I was ecstatic! Months of hard work later, we started to gradually build into running. About 5 months into seeing her, I ran a half marathon followed by a full marathon a few weeks after that PAIN FREE! It was amazing. Fast forward to now, I just completed my first 100 mile ultra marathon, injury free. I have remained injury free since the day I started seeing her. She is so full of knowledge and experience. I can wholeheartedly recommend anyone and everyone looking for a physical therapist to see Coach Amy because she will help you if you just follow the plan! I can't thank you enough, Amy!” #igotmyfixcapt

Running While Sick, When You're Not Sick of Running!

One day last Fall, I knew I was getting sick. I had body aches all over and pushed through the work day. And I'm ashamed to admit, I rushed home to squeeze in a quick 3-mile run before I got "too sick." This was not a smart move. That night I was wrapped in chills and body aches which progressed to an illness that lasted over a week.

Stress, whether it's emotional or physical, can prolong an illness or injury. Our very own, Dr. Jeff Waters, weighs in on the topic, "Running when ill does produces stress to your body. If you’re already cranking out immune cells, antibodies, and cortisol to get rid of some pesky germ and you already have a fever, you will not be able to accommodate the buildup of core body temperature while exercising. You put yourself at risk for heat related illness and are impairing your body’s immune reactions."

So what do we do about training when we get sick? Do we keep training, modify or rest? I know you love this answer, but...it depends.

Here is a "rule of thumb”:

If your symptoms are neck and up: headache, sore throat, sniffles, sneezing...then it's OK to run. But listen to your body. If you have significant fatigue with these symptoms then you may want to modify your distance and speed or intensity. Rest, hydrate and properly recover between workouts.

If the above symptoms are accompanied with a fever, nausea or you have any symptoms below the neck like chest congestion, a severe cough, or vomiting then you should NOT run. Take the week to stay hydrated, rest, get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and practice good nutrition.

If you have severe symptoms like chest pain, breathing problems, an extremely high fever, or a fever that lasts more than a couple days, then you need to take a trip to the doc!

Depending on the severity of your illness, a walk may be a good alternative. Again, listen to your body. You probably aren't going to feel like walking with a 101 degree fever and a nasty, bronchial cough. But once the fever subsides and you start to regain a little bit of energy, a walk is a good thing! In the cold, wear a light layer over your mouth - like a bandanna, neck gator, or equivalent to add humidity and keep the cold out that constricts the airways a bit.

If you tolerate a walk, try a shorter distance run at an easy pace and see how you feel. If that goes well, then you can resume your training plan distances with easy effort. For your first long run back, I suggest cutting the out and back distance in half and doing it twice if you feel good. If it doesn't go well, you won't be stuck far from home base.  If you stopped training for more than two weeks then you might need some coaching advice to get you back on track.

Don't try to go back and "make up" what you didn't do while you were sick. If you have any questions about returning to your running plan after illness, contact Coach Amy. I’m happy to help modify your schedule to keep you on target for your goals.

The best way to keep yourself on the road and out of your sick bed is to wash your hands, eat well, get adequate sleep/rest, do not kiss your barfing spouse, and when someone is coughing near you without covering their mouth, hold your breath and run away (don't forget to give them a nasty look).

Listen to your body during cold and flu season, be kind to it and run happy!

Bundle Up, It’s Cold Outside!

All of a sudden, it’s freaking cold out! It’s tempting to run indoors on the treadmill this time of year, but Coach Amy recommends running outdoors unless conditions are icy or the “feels like” temperature is below 0 degrees taking into account the wind chill. Stepping out the door and running the first mile in really cold temps is tough, but if you are dressed properly you will feel much better once you’ve warmed up.

Dressing properly makes running outdoors in the winter safer and more tolerable. The key is to layer with water wicking, water resistant, wind breaking materials. Keep in mind visibility - choose reflective and brightly colored materials.

Here are some recommendations:

Head and Face: Trap in heat with a beanie and protect ears from frostbite with ear warmers. A fleece neck warmer is a must. And when the freezing wind is all up in your face, try a baklava underneath your beanie and neck warmer.

Trunk and arms: Wear multiple breathable layers with the innermost layers water wicking and the outer one wind and water resistant. A vest over the top is a great way to keep core temperature up, plus they usually have handy pockets! 

Hands: In the cold, blood rushes away from your extremities to protect your vital organs so you must protect your fingers and toes! Wear two layers with the outer layer in a wind and water resistant mitten as opposed to gloves. Add hand warmers when it is really cold. As soon as you open the package they start working so don't open them up the night before! I store some in the glove compartment of my car. 

Feet: Wear slightly thicker run socks than you usually wear. Avoid socks that are bulky and don't double up as you will find your shoes are suddenly too tight and that is a no-no. In the event of snow, try yak tracks over your shoes. 

Legs: Keep leg muscles warm with running tights. For added protection, wear compression shorts underneath those tights. Fleece lined tights are too hot for me no matter the temperature, but many runners swear by them. 

Embrace the cold people. You CAN do it!