In a word, YES.  But like most things in life, flexibility is a relative term and its importance really depends upon what activities you are performing.  Different activities have very different demands and our bodies respond to our training by improving in the areas that we stress them.  This is called specific adaptation to imposed demands and is really why when we lift weights we get stronger, when we run we get in better cardiovascular and aerobic condition, etc.  Our bodies respond by getting bigger, looser, stronger and more efficient.  Likewise, when we stop training our bodies respond by getting smaller, tighter, weaker and terribly inefficient!

Remember when you were a kid and you heard that old song…”The knee bone’s connected to the leg bone…the leg bone’s connected to the hip bone…”?  Well, guess what?  It’s true!  The body really is a series of bones that are connected and inter-dependent.  That means that the movement of one bone or joint often depends upon the movement or position of another.

Being injured is NOT fun!  Your immediate concerns are usually, “How can I get the pain to go away?” or “When will I be able to get back to normal?”  These are great questions and we address them in separate articles.  But you also need to be thinking more actively (and proactively) about what you can do to help the process along as quickly as possible.

Does a day of yard work, a tennis game or a quick house project leave your shoulder aching for days?  Shoulder pain can range from a constant, dull ache to a sudden sharp pain with movement.  Whatever symptoms you are experiencing and no-matter how short-lived they are, they are a warning sign and you should pay attention to them.

The ‘shoulder’ is actually made up of four joints.  The shoulder joint itself is made up from the ‘ball’ of the upper arm (humerus) fitting into the shallow ‘socket’ of the shoulder blade (scapula).  The shallow socket is more properly known as the glenoid fossa and this joint is called the gleno-humeral joint.

Breathing.  We all do it but rarely think about it.  Breathing, or known by its more medical term, respiration, happens automatically as the diaphragm (muscle across the bottom of the rib cage) contracts and expands the lungs downward.  This is like stretching a rubber band and it creates a negative pressure (vacuum) within the lungs, causing outside air to rush in and fill the spaces called alveoli (small air sacs).  This is the first part of respiration, called inspiration or inhalation, and it occurs actively through muscle contraction.  The alveoli are covered with tiny little blood vessels called capillaries and this is where the ‘exchange’ takes place. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to care for an injury.  You might be asking yourself, “Should I use ice or heat?”  It can be especially conflicting in the middle of winter when you feel cold to even think about putting an ice pack on your skin.  Knowing the basics of hot and cold therapy will help you make the right decision.  Read on…

So, you feel hungry.  What does it mean and what is the best way to feed your hunger?  What should you eat?  Is it OK to ‘cheat’ now and then?  Understanding what your body needs and how to eat in a way to fill those needs.  Different types of exercise require changes in your diet.  As your body heals and repairs itself after injury or surgery, nutrition will play a crucial role.   

To move or not to move…that is the question!  It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Muscles produce a force that is transmitted to the bones to produce movement.  This can only happen when all the pieces are working properly and the joints between the bones are intact.  But basically, muscles are the key to movement so we need to know how they work and what we can do to make them work better.

So, how do you prevent repeated ankle sprains? If you are like most people, you initially use the ICE (ice, compression and elevation) treatment. Once the swelling and pain go away, you limp around for a few more days and then gradually your walk is normal and you can get back to your typical routine. The problem with this treatment is that you haven’t done anything to address the damage that was done by the injury. 

It might be true that you can’t live without oxygen and food but it’s also true that you need a way to deliver oxygen and food to the cells of the body and then take away the waste products and get rid of them. The cardiovascular system takes care of this transportation function in our bodies and training it can make it more efficient.

Cardio (heart) Vascular (vessels) refers to the heart and blood vessel system in the human body. The cardiovascular system’s primary function is to transport blood throughout the body. We all know what blood is but do you know why it is important? Let’s start by looking at what is in ‘blood’ and then we’ll see why it is so important.