The Vegas Voice 10-19

When The Body Goes Awry
By: Kyo Mitchell / A Healthier You
Technology is great - except when it does not
work right. The same could be said for the
body. Sometimes, in an effort to treat a problem,
the body can make the matter worse.
Let’s use an example most people can relate to – back pain. The pain
in your back may be due to a disc, a facet problem or arthritis. These
alone can cause a great deal of pain. The body in its effort to deal with
the problem, however, can actually make the pain worse.
One way it does this is it tightens the muscles around the problem
area. This is called splinting. The idea behind this is that if the problem
area cannot move due to it being splinted, there will be less pain and
decreased ongoing damage.
Time to Exercise
By: Mary Richard / Health Fitness
Fall is here! What a tough summer we had,
and did anyone lose any weight? You don’t
have to admit it. You know who you are!
What’s the best way to lose fat? How do you get rid of flabby arms?
How do you get a flat stomach?
There is no easy way to lose fat. Each person responds differently to
a training program.
However, activities that incorporate many muscle groups help to
reduce fat. For example, fast walking uses more calories per minute and
therefore better suited for fat loss than non-weight bearing activities
that do not use many muscles.
For flabby arms, there is a myth that you can lose fat in an area
of the body by exercising that particular body part. The truth is that
“spot reducing” does not work because you cannot choose where your
body will get the fat it uses for energy, nor can you change the fat into
muscle. However, any exercise that decreases your body fat percentage
will help you lose fat on your arms as well as other body parts.
While this strategy may work over the short term, it can create long
term problems. The muscles get locked into this mode over time and
add to the pain. Now in addition to disc pain, nerve pain or arthritis,
you now have what is called myofascial pain.
If the underlying cause of the back pain is effectively treated, the
myofascial pain may or may not resolve on its own. Many times, it
must be treated separately to help it resolve.
The lesson here: To completely resolve pain, it may be necessary to
not only treat the primary cause but also any other affected tissues.
Another example of how the body can make a bad problem worse is
what the nervous system does in instances of chronic pain. Different
neurons (nerve cells) are designed to pick up different sensations.
You have different neurons which allow you to feel temperature
(hot/cold), light touch, strong pressure, etc. When the body endures a
condition in which there is continuous damage and chronic pain, the
surrounding neurons can change.
Neurons which were once responsible for other sensations are now
restructured and reprogrammed to serve as pain sensors. The newly
reprogrammed nerves may also further infiltrate the damaged tissue
making it more sensitive to any type of pressure or movement.
The lesson here: resolve pain as soon as possible so it cannot progress
and become worse.
Dr. Kyo Mitchell served as faculty at Bastyr University in Seattle
and Wongu University in Las Vegas for over a decade. Dr. Mitchell
practices in Summerlin and can be reached at 702-481-6216 or
rkyomitchell@gmail.com.
34
October 2019
Should you do cardiovascular training or strength training to burn
fat? Both types of exercise decreases body fat percentage.
Aerobic exercise, however, appears to have a greater impact on fat
loss than strength training does. A combination of endurance and
strength training results in more fat loss than either exercise program
alone - possibly because those that do both activities spend more time
exercising.
As always, before any extensive exercises, check with your doctor. It is
better to start off with lighter weights and increase to heavier weights as
you progress when doing weight-bearing exercises.
The holidays are right around the corner. It is never too late to start
an exercise program to get ready for all those holiday goodies.
POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND HAPPY HEALTH TO ALL!
Mary Richard is a long term supporter of senior fitness. She
teaches Zumba, toning and dance classes throughout the Las
Vegas Valley. She can be reached at zumbaqueen@cox.net.