August - Kansas City Sports & Fitness Magazine

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THE HEALTH & FITNESS REPORT T his is the time of year many begin practicing for the fall sports season. This is exciting as long as you are careful with how hot it is outside. Football gets the most attention about heat exhaustion injuries, but there are plenty of other sports teams out there practicing. All athletes need to be mindful of their condition of their body in the heat. The intense temperatures of the past month or so can have a drastic effect on you and usually this extreme heat lasts through August. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are two serious conditions that can occur if you over-do it in this weather. Either of these conditions can happen when your body gets too hot. Of the two, heat stroke is by far more serious and can lead to death if not treated immediately. The symptoms can come on so suddenly, that preventative measures are important. A smart athlete takes care of their body in order to perform well at all times. This includes drinking plenty of fluids before exercising, maintaining a nutritious diet that includes vegetables, fruit and plenty of protein, taking multi-vitamin supplements, getting plenty of rest and knowing your body well enough to pay attention to signs that something isn’t quite right. Keep in mind medications, both prescription and over the counter, could effect dehydrating as well. Some allergy, blood pressure and seizure medications are just a few that can affect how your body reacts to heat. It’s easier to prevent heat exhaustion than to treat it. Wear appropriate clothing when exercising and don’t try to work out in extreme heat conditions. Appropriate clothing is light weight, light colored and ventilates well. Warm up your muscles correctly before The National Stroke Association reports that there are nearly 4 million people in the United States who have survived a stroke and are living with the after-effects. These numbers do not reflect the scope of the problem and do not count the millions of husbands, wives and children who live with, and care for stroke survivors, and who are, because of their own altered lifestyle, greatly affected by stroke. A stroke, or cerebral vascular accident (CVA), occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel or artery, or when a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. When a patient survives a stroke, all but a small percentage of them suffer from limitations in functional activities and subsequently do not become self-sufficient. In the United States, post-stroke patients normally receive physical therapy, occupational therapy and/or speech therapy for their rehabilitation. Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, stroke is caused by an imbalance of Yin and Yang of the inner organs and an imbalance of qi (vital energy) and blood. Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, a classic Chinese Medicine journal written by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous TCM doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty (300 A.D.), first described the symptoms and treatment method for post-stroke syndrome. During the past 2,500 years, many studies on post-stroke have been conducted to continuously improve rehabilitation. Recovery success The most useful of these studies show that TCM therapy, such as acupuncture and moxibustion, herbs, Tuina Anmo (Chinese Massage) and Qigong (energy healing), increased recovery success. Let me describe these therapies and present some of the study results. • Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy: In acupuncture, the TCM physician or acupuncturist inserts one or more fine needles into the patient’s body to adjust the energy flow. Thus, the treatment plan is accomplished according to the patient’s syndrome. Acupuncture points are like traffic lights on the city street. The TCM physician or acupuncturist utilizes the needles Hot, hot, hot! 6 AUGUST 2011 KANSAS CITY SPORTS & FITNESS www.kcsportspaper.com exercising, and don’t overexert yourself. Take frequent breaks to rehydrate. Sweating depletes the body of salt and moisture that muscles need and when it becomes too low, one can experience heat cramps. It is important to replace salt and moisture with water or pedialyte, and salty foods, such as peanuts. If cramping continues, seek medical attention. You should drink eight ounces of fluid for every 15 - 30 minutes of exercise outdoors in the heat. Some heat exhaustion symptoms include headache, dizziness, chills, nausea and weakness. The person should be moved to a cool shady area and use cold packs on the back of the neck, under the arm and in the groin area. This is the quickest way to cool the body down. To determine heat stroke, one can have all of the aforementioned symptoms and add to that a body temperature more than 104, seizures, breathing problems, cool and disorientation. The skin will be flushed and feel cool and clammy to touch. You can do just like traffic lights to control traffic flow. Moxibustion prevents and treats disease by applying heat to points or certain locations on the body. For centuries, moxibustion and acupuncture have been combined in clinic practice, thus they are usually termed together in Chinese Medicine. A study conducted by Chen YM,. Et al, shows that for 108 cases of hemiplegia caused by stroke, early treatment (first three weeks) with acupuncture produces better results, 90.9 percent, than the treatment initiated three weeks after stroke, 71.4 percent. • Herbal Therapy: In ancient China, TCM medical experts tasted and tried all the herbs on themselves before prescribing them to their patients. Raw herbs are usually in the form of bark, leaves, seeds or roots. Today hundreds of different herb formulas are used to treat different diseases. Several commonly used herbal formulas are manufactured based on Chinese Herb Medicine Classics, formulas which have been used for hundreds of years in China. A study conducted by Lin Faching, et al, Department of Neurology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai, China, reported that when herb formulas were used in treatment of a sample of 78 cases for which clinical signs were evaluated, 97 percent reported an improvement in some symptoms, No obvious side effects were noted as a result of treatment when using the herbs. • Tuina Anmo (Chinese Massage) Therapy: This is the Chinese term for bone setting, muscle and joint manipulation and massage. Tuina Anmo is used in all areas of trauma, internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and pediatrics. An article written by Li Yangao, et al, The Bethune International Peace Hospital, China, mentioned that 44 patients suffered from hemiplegia due to stroke. The average patient age was 54. The disease course lasted from one month to three years, with an average of 105 days. Each patient was treated by Tuina Anmo therapy from 10 to 60 times, with an average of 24 times. The results were: 18 out of 44 cases improved obviously, 18 improved, 8 cases failed and the overall effective rate was 81.82 percent. a test to determine if they are dehydrated by pinching the skin on their arm or back of the hand. If the skin stays a bit pinched after you let go, they need fluids and medical attention immediately. Remember, one can suffer from heat exhaustion at any time when spending a lot of time in Dr. Lynn McIntosh, DC Contributing Writer extreme heat. That includes hanging out at the local theme park or being a spectator at a sporting event. Stay hydrated and watch for the signs of heat exhaustion for yourself and for the people around you. Dr. Lynn McIntosh is a board certified Chiropractor, licensed in Kansas and Missouri. In addition to being licensed to provide general chiropractic care, she is also a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, working with athletes from multiple disciplines on specific sports-related problems and a Certified Acupuncturist. She can be found on the internet at KansasCityChiropractic.com. Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: Effective with Traditional Chinese Medicine • Qigong Therapy: Qigong is a method to exercise the body’s vital energy. It combines body movement, breath exercise and mind concentration. Qigong uses body movement to conduct the Qi to the place in which the mind is concentrated. At the same time, different breath techniques are applied depending on the exercise purpose. The Fourth World Conference on Medical Qigong reported in their 1998 publication that of 147 cases of hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body) due to cerebrovascular accident that were treated by Qigong, a total effective rate of 93 percent during the 12-week treatment period was observed. • Integrated therapy using Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine: Integrated therapy combines the best of Chinese treatments with conventional Western care. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, herbal therapy, Tuina Anmo therapy, qigong therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech training are all used as appropriate to patient needs. Wang Shaoqin, et al, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, China, conducted a study on 100 cases of post-stroke patients treated by an integrated therapy of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. After three months of treatment, the total effective rate was 83 percent. For post-cerebral hemorrhage cases, the total effective rate was 89 percent. The overall effective rate of 67 cases under age 60 was 91 percent, of over age 60 was 67 percent. The total effective rate of 50 cases whose treatment started later than six months was 72 percent. These are only a few of the studies conducted on post-stroke rehabilitation. The results are exciting and I am happy to share them with the public. Dr. Qizhi Gao is the President and Founder of the Kansas College of Chinese Medicine and The Evergreen Wellness Center, A Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, both located in Overland Park, Kansas. EWC offers a complete integrated therapy program for post-stroke patients utilizing the Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine techniques noted above. For further information, call (913) 871-6309 or Toll-free (888) 481-5226.
www.kcsportspaper.com KANSAS CITY SPORTS & FITNESS AUGUST 2011 7 D Rivalries and their jokes help define college football id anyone actually think that the NFL’s billionaire owners would not settle with their millionaire players before the fans’ money spigot was shut off? The likelihood of that would be about the same as Mark Mangino pushing away from a buffet table. Greed rules the day again. Hey, I am of the belief that if the owners were disciplined enough they could have implemented a salary cap of $300,000. Where else would these guys make that much money? McDonald’s? Sports Illustrated recently did a cute chart showing what many of the NFL players did in this off-season. A few went on TV. Some got married. But which categories featured the most players? Those players who were arrested for drugs and those arrested for assault. Toss in those arrested for DUI (Hines Ward was on TV and picked up for DUI), weapons, disorderly conduct and bar fight and you pretty much have a snapshot of the quality of many of the individuals playing in the NFL today. To me, that’s why college football still reigns supreme. Despite the NCAA’s best efforts to try and ruin its top colleges and players, there is nothing like the start of the college football season to raise the fan excitement level to Warp 10 across the country. Sure a meaningful NFL game with playoff implications can generate excitement for one season, but in reality it is nothing like Auburn vs. Alabama, Ohio State-Michigan, Notre Dame-USC, Texas-Oklahoma, Kansas-Missouri, Oregon-Oregon State or any other long running college rivalry. Maybe many of the rivalries are even more special because many of those colleges do not have NFL teams nearby. Virtually every college at every level has at least one team circled on its schedule it truly despises. It is often a hatred that is passed down from generation to generation. A loss can depress its fans for months. A win means bragging rights for a year. But aside from the actual game rivalry, sometimes the jokes and putdowns surrounding the games makes it even better. Sure, the Alabama fan that poisoned trees at Auburn crossed a major line of idiocy, but jokes seem to add a unique flavor to any rivalry. As a born and bred Ohioan, the game against rival Michigan defines the season. Bumper stickers saying things like “I root for Ohio State and any team that beats Michigan” are plentiful - and honest. You can be sure similar bumper stickers with the teams reversed are plentiful in Michigan. In fact, a Buckeye friend sent me a video (YouTube: Pure Michigan: U of M People) that made me laugh so hard about the “Walmart Wolverines” I am still trying to get coffee out of my keyboard. I sent the video to a diehard Michigan friend who did not share my enthusiasm for it. His response is not printable, but I would expect nothing less than a guy who has a ceramic golfer in his front yard dressed in Michigan’s maize and blue. Once there were bumper stickers in the Lone Star State that read: “Texas - The University.” Not to be outdone, their Baptist neighbors in Waco retaliated with: “Baylor - Thee University.” Years ago while traveling through Texas I came across an entire book of “Aggie” jokes about the rivalry between Texas and Texas A & M. I was amazed. An entire book of putdowns of your rival! How cool is that? Here are some of my favorite jokes from the book. Keep in mind, the teams and rivalries can be changed accordingly - and will work just as well: Q: How many Aggies does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: One, but he gets three-hours credit. Q: How many Aggies does it take to tackle a running back? A: Good question, no one knows. Q: What is the difference between the Aggies and Rice Krispies? A: Rice Krispies know what to do in a bowl. Q: Why don’t Aggies eat barbecue beans? A: Because they keep falling through the holes in the grill. Q: Why is ice no longer available in the drinks at Aggie games? A: The senior that knew the recipe graduated. Q: Why can’t Aggie farmers raise chickens? A: They plant the eggs too deep. And...Did you hear that the A & M coach is only dressing 10 players for the next home game? The rest of the team will get dressed by themselves. Pro football players can count their money and whine about having to actually prepare for games. Please no two-a-day practices permitted. They can file their union grievances against anything management tries to do. Good for them. Just give me a good college game and the jokes surrounding it any time. John Landsberg of Bottom Line Communications can be reached at jlandsberg@bottomlinecom.com. On KCXL 1140 AM & 102.9 FM Monday thru Thursday 6:00-9:00 pm Friday and Sunday 6:00-10:00 pm Anatomy of Sport Steve Nash & Jim Krause Pettit Said It Rusty Pettit Pro Football Weekly Hub Arkush & Wayne Laravee Press Row Central Frank Sprankle & Nicholas Spiva Sports Extra Rusty Pettit & Steve Nash Good Sports Steve Fisch Talking Baseball James Peuster John Landsberg Contributing Writer www.isbnteam.com info@isbnteam.com
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