Health, Wellness & Fitness Should Go Together

Health, Wellness & Fitness Should Go Together- Not In Isolation

 

People are likely to experience a better overall lifestyle when they combine health, wellness and fitness. People are typically more conditioned to paying for fitness but not for healthcare until something more drastic happens. 

What do I mean? An epidemic is killing more and more Americans. According to the CDC, currently 80 million people are obese and close to 90% of American health care is spent on treating chronic diseases (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, etc.) most of which are lifestyle related diseases. Lets keep going. Arthritis is the single most common cause of disability. Seven of the top ten causes of death are chronic diseases and the number is rising.  More than half of US adults do not meet recommendations for physical activity. More than half of US adults have at least one major risk factor for heart disease or stroke. Diet and lifestyle are the major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many of the above listed diseases so lets address them both.

First, lets talk about diet. We believe it is imperative to understand the impacts of what we put into our bodies. If you have ever had blood work done it is typical to get tested for about 15 markers. Here we are able to have you tested for close to 75. This allows us to more clearly see deficiencies and come up with a personalized plan for you. Many people just don't know where to start. We are dedicated to empowering our patients to own and understand their bodies and how they work.

Moving on to fitness. There are alot of people either not moving much or moving incorrectly, both of which lead to problems. On the one hand, we need people to just get moving. On the other hand, we have people getting off the couch for a walk, people training for a 5K or incredible athletes but when they get hurt they either stop working out or more likely they continue to workout, fight through the pain and therefore develop more and more compensations to the most likely small original problem. 

The number one goal we should all have with an exercise program is to prevent injury. This has to come before fat loss or muscle building or performance enhancement. If you get hurt, you can't train the same (or you shouldn't be). Having good movement patterns does not mean you can't get hurt but the risk is much lower than someone continuing to move with dysfunctional movement patterns. Generally, people don't just move well without training. The coaches we have are bright trainers, are into injury prevention and are passionate about their jobs helping people. I encourage you to find a program that has coaches focused on keeping you injury free. Most orthopedic injuries are preventable and people just lack understanding of correct mechanics and tools to improve these mechanics.

Having both fitness and healthcare providers working together is a plus because it allows for constant communication between rehab and fitness staff. We all want you to return to an active and rewarding lifestyle after an illness, injury or surgery. Or better yet, remain free of these things in the first place. I can speak for the whole rehab team when I say one of our goals is to provide patients the tools to promote longevity in their sport or recreational activities. Our job should not only be limited to getting our patients out of pain but to figure out why they got hurt in the first place and to prevent it from happening again.

Unlike some fitness centers where only fit people come to work out, we provide a place where people of all levels can start and continue to make gains. We are about to launch our newest fitness class "Foundations". This class is targeted to people who are discharging from a therapy service and for people who want to begin to exercise but don't know where to start. Attention will be given to form and basic exercises will be provided. We also offer "Core" class. We believe that great technique and stabilizing the spine and core one of the best ways to stay injury free. Our "Circuit" and "CrossFit" classes are high intensity, constantly varied and offered 6 days a week. 

We emphasize mobility and self mobilization alot around here. If you lay your muscles on a foam roller or lacrosse ball it is not normal for you to feel pain! I suggest spending ten minutes a day working on your mobility. If you just don't know how to mobilize yourself please just ask us. 

You've probably been sitting for awhile. Lets mobilize something now. I frequently have patients lie on a SOFT ball (not softball!) and roll out their abdomen. We are sitting far too much, our posture is not the greatest and our fascia is typically not moving well. Roll around, find where it feels restricted and hang out there. You will notice you sleep better and you breathe deeper when this area is mobilized.  

Relax. Breathe. Take time for yourself this year. Join a gym where you enjoy the coaching and you are encouraged to constantly improve. Get blood work done and establish a program that works for you. Find a rehab team that you trust and find out what you need to work on this year.