Increase Your Concentration and Immune Function
April 5, 2024
Increase Your Concentration and Immune Function
Karishma Patel, DC
Your body will age quicker when there is a lack of physical activity. Staying inactive accelerates the loss of muscle tissue, a process called atrophy, leading to weakness, increased risks of injury, and reduced coordination. Lack of exercise also ages your brain by contributing to memory loss and brain fog.
Most researchers say you need just 30 minutes exercise or vigorous movement a day to reap the benefits of:
increased bone density, increased immune function, a firmer body, and increased energy. Here are two of most important body functions exercises helps:
Concentration and Focus - Do you want to be more productive? Less fatigued? More capable of accomplishing tasks through each day? When Bill Gates was asked, “What factor do you feel has been the most important in getting to where you’ve gotten in life?” His response to was: “FOCUS.” Exercise increases circulation of blood and oxygen to deeper parts of the brain where executive decision-making processes occur allowing for better concentration and focus. High Intensity Interval Training, Endurance Training, or any activity that increases your heart rate over 150bpm for over 10-20 minutes for 4 days/week will allow you to tap into more productivity and less fatigue.
Immune Function – Moderate daily exercise supports your body’s production of antibodies and white blood cells which also fights off viruses and other pathogens more efficiently, significantly boosting your immune response and ability to fight disease. Exercise also helps flush out stagnant fluid/inflammation in and around organs, muscles, and joints; more importantly exercise cleanses the blood. Older red blood cells are flushed out by the kidney so that the liver and spleen can make more red blood cells. Red blood cells have a lifetime of 26 days, therefore every 26 days your body needs to produce new red blood cells. If older/dead red blood cells cannot be flushed out then your immune function tanks putting you at more risk for diseases and infections. Exercise is the natural blood cleanser prompting the immune system to be able to do its job of fighting any intruders.
At Thrive Sports & Spine, patient education is a vital part of the care we provide. We want to share some important information about a topic that affects many individuals: nerve compression and the pathway to recovery.
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Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down over time. Studies now show that this may be prevented or even reversed with weight loss! It is estimated that a force of three to six times one’s body weight is exerted across the knee while walking. This means that a person who is only 10lbs overweight can increase the force across their knee joint by 30-60lbs with each step! 1 In fact, in one study it was found that obese women had 4 times the risk of knee osteoarthritis compared with non-obese women. For obese men the risk was nearly 5 times greater! 2 It makes sense that the more pressure you put on a joint the more likely that joint is going to develop arthritis, but the story goes deeper. Being overweight has also been associated with higher rates of hand osteoarthritis suggesting a second factor in overweight individuals as well. 3 Studies show that engorged fat cells increase the release of pro-inflammatory chemicals which may cause increased inflammation arthritis in joints all over the body, not just those that are weight bearing. People who are overweight experience more joint pain than those with a normal weight. But there is hope. If obesity increases the development and progression of systemic joint osteoarthritis can losing does weight reverse the effects? One study noted that in “overweight” women (BMI greater than or equal to 25) there was a significantly lower risk of osteoarthritis when these women lost weight. 4 They concluded that for every 11lbs of weight loss, the risk of knee osteoarthritis decreased by over 50%! Weight loss substantially reduced reports of overall pain as well. You may not have to live the rest of your life with knee and joint pain. A safe and effective weight loss program will help you to stop the progression or even eliminate your joint pain all together. 1 Felson DT: Weight and osteoarthritis. J.Rheumatol. 1995;43:7-9. 2 Anderson J, Felson DT: Factors associated with osteoarthritis of the knee in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination (HANES I). 3 Carman WJ, Sowers M, Hawthorne VM, Weissfeld LA: Obesity as a risk factor for osteoarthritis of the hand and wrist: a prospective study. 4 Felson DT, Zhang Y, Hannan MT, et al: Risk factors for incident radiographic
How Chronic Neck Pain Affects Balance, Reaction Time & Strength
Are you an athlete, fitness enthusiast, or someone struggling with chronic pain or mobility issues? In Atlantic County, NJ, sports chiropractic care is revolutionizing how individuals recover from injuries and enhance their performance.
Written by Charlie Annunziata, DC Low back pain (LBP) is the second most common symptom-related reason for clinician visits in the United States (skin disorders was number one) and is THE most common indication for Chiropractic care. In fact, up to 84% of the US population has been found to report LBP symptoms at some point during their lifetime. However, the etiology of LBP is not well understood considering the evidence that people without LBP have structural changes and many LBP patients have no structural changes on imaging studies of the lumbar spine. Long and colleagues performed a standardized mechanical assessment on 312 patients with LBP, with and without sciatica. They were able to successfully subgroup 230 (74%) of these patients, however 26% of the patients did not fit into a subgroup (Long A, 2004). So, the question remains: how do health care providers best assess people with LBP in order to develop a specific and successful treatment recommendation? Might we look beyond the spinal column for the source of, or contributor to, pain and loss of function? Research now shows that limited hip internal rotation can significantly contribute to low back pain. This may be caused by hip joint variants but more commonly by trauma causing adhesion of the hip joint capsule or even prolonged sitting which over activates the hip flexors and abductors and under activates the hip extensors and adductors. This article explores the relationship between hip mobility and lower back health, highlighting how restricted hip internal rotation can lead to various issues in the lumbar spine. Biomechanics Hip internal rotation plays a crucial role in normal gait, balance, and functional movement. When this range of motion becomes restricted, it forces compensation in other parts of the body, particularly the lumbar spine (Sadhegisani, 2015). This compensation can lead to several problems: Lumbar Over-rotation: Reduced hip mobility causes the lumbar spine to over-rotate during everyday movements, increasing pressure on intervertebral discs, muscles, and ligaments. Pelvic Dysfunction: Limited internal rotation, especially when asymmetrical, can cause pelvic imbalances that pull the lower spine into abnormal positions. Altered Biomechanics: The lack of hip internal rotation changes overall movement patterns, altering the natural biomechanics of the spine and pelvis. What Does the Research Say? The correlation between limited hip internal rotation and low back pain is elucidated in many recent studies. Sadhegisani reported that asymmetrical and limited hip internal rotation ROM were common findings in patients with LBP. Reduced and asymmetrical total hip rotation was also observed in patients with LBP. However, none of the studies explicitly reported limited hip external rotation ROM. Proving that not all hip rotation ROM affects low back pain, just internal rotation. Ellison et al. reported that deficits in hip internal rotation are related to both LBP and sacroiliac joint pain (JB, 1990). Another study found that patients with low back pain and positive hip findings such as a positive anterior hip impingement test, FABER test, and/or log-roll test, have more pain and worse function compared to those without positive hip findings. Research has also demonstrated that a loss of hip internal rotation can prevent the pelvis from rotating properly over the stance limb during gait, affecting the coupling mechanics of the sacrum and lumbar spine (Yoon, 2024). What Causes Hip-related Low Back Pain? The development of low back pain due to limited hip internal rotation can occur through several mechanisms such as compensatory spinal motion, pelvic and lumbar muscle imbalances, and repetitive stress syndrome (Sadhegisani, 2015). When hip rotation is limited, the spine may compensate by rotating, extending, or flexing more than it should. Restricted hip mobility can lead to muscle imbalances through overactivity and tightness related muscles such as the piriformis, potentially compressing the sciatic nerve. Repetitive stress injuries also come into play. Even small amounts of repeated rotation in the spine, compensating for lack of hip mobility, can produce microscopic injuries to spinal structures over time. How to Make the Diagnosis Limitations in hip internal rotation can be diagnosed through several assessments such as: Seated Test: The patient sits on the edge of a treatment table with feet dangling, knees and hips flexed to 90 degrees. They are asked to keep their knees together while moving their ankles apart. The Chiropractor may apply overpressure to add a passive component. Prone Test: With knees together and flexed to 90 degrees, the ankles are allowed to fall apart. Overpressure can be applied for a passive component. Gait Observation: While assessing gait you may notice movement compensations such as overpronation of feet, knee valgus, reduced step length, external rotation of the foot during stance phase, increased lumbar and knee extension.
Don’t wait for discomfort to set in—call us today at (609) 365-8881 or (856) 691-6055 or reply to this email to schedule an appointment.
If you're unsure which therapy is best for your specific condition, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office. We’re here to help guide you toward the most effective treatment for your pain.
