Many people have never been educated on how to properly care for a soft tissue injury.

The next time you bruise, sprain, or strain be ready with these four steps.

RICE
When it comes to a soft tissue injury the most common medical advice is R.I.C.E.

Rest
Immediately following an injury, avoid using the affected area. The injury needs time to heal, both immediately, and over the next few hours/days

Ice
Apply ice, not heat. Cold will decrease swelling and pain sensitivity. Apply Ice for 20 minutes at a time with 30 minutes between each application. Make sure not to apply ice directly to the skin. Use a towel as a buffer.

Compression
Using an elastic bandage on the area will also help with swelling. A little swelling is ok, but to much will slow recovery and negatively affect the surrounding area. Make sure the bandage is firm, but not cutting off circulation. If your extremity becomes tingly or you lose sensation remove it immediately.

Elevation
Elevating the affected area will limit excess fluid from pooling around the injury. This is another way to help limit excess swelling.

Medical Attention
If an injury is serious go straight to the ER. If you’re not sure call your Physician.

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Compression · elevation · Ice · Injury · rest · rice · swelling

Training is all about experimentation and learning your body. You do everything you can to avoid an injury but it’s going to happen at some point.

It Happens
An injury isn’t an excuse to stop training, you just have to work around it. Right now I’m working around a calf strain, that means no jumping or running. Each week I still need to do my speed work, tempo work, endurance work, and strength work.

Endurance Work
Normally I’d do my endurance work on the rower, but I’m focusing on cycling. Since my first race of the season is a 10k that’s what I’m training for. A 10K is 6.2 miles, at my bodyweight that roughly translates to 100 calories per mile (620 calories). The caloric equivalent of that run on the bike is 620 calories for time. Remember on endurance day pacing is crucial.

Speed Work
To keep my VO2 Max from slipping I interval train. I mix up my intervals  ranging from Tabata Intervals to 6 minutes at Max Sustainable Effort with 3-6 minutes active rest. This I can do on any of our cardio equipment. I prefer the SkiErg or Rower over the Airdyne, but thats just personal preference.

Tempo Work
This is the caloric equivalent of a 5k on the Airdyne. I ride at 10k pace for the 5K. Once again, doesn’t matter which piece of wind resistance equipment you use. Just don’t use an elliptical or recumbent bike.

Strength Training
I find that I can use the prowler without any pain in my calf. This simulates running best without actually running. Today I warmed up with 5 sets of 100ft Prowler push with a minute rest between each round. Then Squats, Deadlifts, and Lunges per usual.

Photo Credit:http://oymtraining.com/when-to-end-a-run-to-avoid-injury-runners-change-form-when-running-exhausted/

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Injury · prowler · Running · Training

This is a question I get asked a lot. It just feels so good to apply heat to an injury. It soothes aching muscles, has a positive effect on the plasticity of muscle fibers, and will loosen stiff joints in cold weather. The only time to use heat is to loosen stiff muscles and joints pre-workout. Never after.

Heat has a Dark and Destructive Side – Inflammation.
Heat increases blood flow and swelling to an affected area. If you have a sprain or strain you need ice. 10 to 20 minutes on with 20 to 30 minutes off. Repeat as often as necessary, but make sure not to apply ice directly to the skin. Use a towel to avoid direct contact.

Applying an ice pack will constrict blood vessels, reduce swelling, and has a numbing effect on nerves. Ice works great on both muscles and joints to reduce swelling and pain.

There is a third option: Cycling hot and cold. This can be done with a contrast shower to flush out byproducts of an intense activity. Hop in the shower with a timer. Aim the water towards your center mass and legs. Spend five minutes with the shower as warm as you can handle, then five minutes as cold as it goes, follow with two more minutes of hot, then two minutes of cold. End on cold and dry off. The first couple times you do this it will be hard to bear, but in time you will actually look forward to it.

Ice Baths, Contrast Showers, and Ice Packs are all important Cryotherapy tools. Find out from a qualified Strength and Conditioning coach how and when to implement these tools.

Expertise
At Solid Body our Strength and Conditioning coaches have years of experience helping athletes. Let us help you reach your goals whether it’s a marathon or losing five pounds, we can get you there.

Solid Body Fitness
617-365-0905
Jason@SolidBodyFit.com

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Heat · Ice · Injury · Recovery

Lorenzo Vismara

In 2001 an Italian national champion swimmer, Lorenzo Vismara was in constant screaming pain from inflammatory injuries. His coaches looked for help from Europe’s top sports medicine specialists. Unable to find an effective treatment it looked as though Lorenzo’s career may be finished. In a final act of desperation his coaches tried one last doctor, Dr Riccardo Pina. This physician immediately recognized the culprit. Lorenzo’s wassuffering from silent inflammation due to excessive carbohydrates. He was prescribed the Zone Diet and a high dose of a fish oil supplement (Omega3). A year later Lorenzo set seven national records in a single swim meet and has been the unchallenged Italian champion in sprint freestyle fornearly a decade.

Thousands of years ago human’s diets had a proper balance, but today most people consume twenty times more Omega 6 than Omega 3 which is overloading our bodies with inflammatory chemicals and is the cause of many diseases. The best way to balance out the equation is with a pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplement. The first published article on the benefits of a fish oil supplement was published back in 1775. Patients who took unrefined cod liver oil saw a huge reduction in joint pain.

Injuries

If you’ve ever twisted your ankle or had a bruise you’ve witnessed inflammation. Inflammation helps your body protect and repair an injury. Prolonged or excessive inflammation causes damage. Inflammation in the lungs causes Asthma, Inflammation in the joints causes Arthritis. Inflammation in back and neck muscles can put pressure on sensitive nerves and drive unbearable pain shooting down your body. For short term immediate relief Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Ice are all great treatments. If the pain lasts more than a few weeks your problem could be your diet.

Food Is a Drug

Everything you ingest has purpose and a reaction. Carbohydrates give you energy and can be stored as fat. Protein helps rebuild muscles, and skin, hair, and your immune system. Vitamins and Minerals play their part keeping your body strong and healthy. Many of today’s drugs trick your body into responding the same way it would from certain foods. Potassium from kale and Bananas will lower blood pressure. Omega 6 in egg yolks will help with blood clotting, while Omega 3 from Brazil nuts will act as a pain reliever. Beta-Carotene from Apricots will boost your immune system and help protect you from cancer. For this reason it’s important to consult your physician before changing your diet. If you’re on blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder it’s important not to get as much Omega 3 as a normal healthy person. If you have a neurological disorder it’s important to take many times the Omega 3 as a person without the disorder.

IF Ratings from NutritionData.com

Nutrition Data provides IF Ratings for most foods in its database. IF Ratings appear on Nutrition Facts pages and have a format similar to the example:

Nutritional data and images courtesy of www.NutritionData.com

A negative IF Rating means that the food is considered to be inflammatory (i.e. increases inflammation), and a positive IF Rating™ indicates that the food is considered to be anti-inflammatory (i.e. reduces inflammation). There is no upper or lower limit for the IF Ratings, so you’ll see a wide range of values reported. IF Ratings are also dependent on serving size, so you’ll see the IF Rating value change if you change the serving size in the Serving Size drop-down at the top of the Nutrition Facts page.
About the Author
Jason Zagami is the owner of Solid Body Fitness. He has over a decade experience in the fitness industry as a strength and conditioning coach.
For more information, refer to:
Sears, Dr. Barry. The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the silent epidemic that’s destroying our health. www.zonediet.comReinagel, Monica. The Inflammation Free Diet Plan: The Scientific Way to Lose Weight, Banish Pain, Prevent Diesase, and Slow AgingNutritionData.com Nutrition Facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis.InflammationFactor.com News on the health effects of silent, systemic inflammation and ways to reduce inflammation with diet.

Expertise
At Solid Body our Strength and Conditioning coaches have years of experience helping athletes. Let us help you reach your goals whether it’s a marathon or losing five pounds, we can get you there.

Solid Body Fitness
617-365-0905
Jason@SolidBodyFit.com

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Disease · Fish Oil · Inflammation · Injury · Omega 3 · Omega 6 · Weight Loss · Zone