News Archive 11

JOGGING IS JUST THE TONIC FOR A LONG AND SEXY LIFE

"Since 1970 jogging has become increasingly popular but the public's concerns over its harmful effects have been raised by reports of deaths while jogging," they said. "Although light exercise has some value, vigorous exercise is now considered better for health, and our study supports this."

A second study found that men who did the equivalent of a two-mile brisk walk a day were three times more likely to become impotent. They had to burn at least 200 calories a day through physical activity to protect themselves, but the more vigorous the exercise the less likely they were to become impotent. The finding is a result of a study of 600 healthy men aged between 40 and 70 as part of the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study, publishing in the journal Urology.

The men were questioned at the start and end of an eight-year period. The researchers found that 31 per cent of sedentary men who remained inactive became impotent, whereas just 9 per cent of sedentary men who took up exercise, or who were consistent exercisers, were afflicted.

Irwin Goldstein, of the Boston University School of Medicine, said: "For millenia there's been chicken soup and rhinocerous horn powder as ways to maintain potency. This is the first ever longitudinal population study looking at prevention."

Physical activity might prevent impotence by improving the elasticity of blood vessels, Dr Goldstein said.

J is for Jogging

First things first: running is not an invitation to pain and injury. The fact that you enjoy pushing yourself, enjoy exploring the roads and trails around you, enjoy the simple act of motion -- this does not doom you to bad knees and shredded tendons, despite popular myth. Running is not a bad habit. If you run strictly for fitness -- 30 minutes, three times a week -- you will probably never be injured. Running is good for you; revel in your health and strength.

When you begin to run beyond that level, however, you are running for performance. By definition, this means that you are pushing your body to its limit in order to get ever better results. You're redlining. If you keep it up, then eventually you'll probably stray beyond what you can handle. When that happens, your body inevitably cries uncle. Never fear, with the proper care you can nurse your legs back to health. But learn from your injuries. It's not running per se that causes your body to break down; it's the amount or the manner in which you run. Let your injury be a caution, and adjust your routine so that it doesn't happen again.

Jogging Hints & Tips

• Invest in some good running shoes. Running doesn't require any membership or usage fees, but you do need the right equipment. Luckily, shoes are the only real necessity. Invest in a properly fitted pair, and you'll reduce your risk of shin splints, blisters and other related ailments.
• Start slowly. If you're new to running, take it easy. Set a relaxed pace, making sure you can carry on a conversation with your companions. Also, don't overdo the total mileage. Increase your distances over a period of several months to avoid stress fractures, general fatigue and burnout.
• Think about form. Keep your head level, your shoulders down and relaxed, and your arms at waist level. Your entire motion should be forward, with no side-to-side movement. With each stride, your heel should hit the ground first, then your foot should roll to the ball and toes as you push off.
• Don't ignore aches and pains. Monitor them if they are mild, and stop if they get more severe. A good rule of thumb is to allow your body 24 to 48 hours rest between runs.
• Complement your running program with resistance training. The only drawback to running is that it does not provide a resistance workout for your upper body. Working your arms, shoulders, back and abdominal muscles twice a week can make you a stronger runner.
• Finally, don't forget to stretch. Runners who don't stretch regularly are inviting injury. Your stretches will be most effective after your runs, when your body temperature is raised and your muscles are warm.

Running Injuries

Runner's Knee:(Chondromalacia of the patella)

Description: Pain around and sometimes behind the kneecap. One of the most common injuries among runners, runner's knee most often strikes as runners approach forty miles per week for the first time. Even after taking a couple of days off, the pain seems to come right back, sometimes even intensifying, after the first few miles of your next run. The pain often feels worst when running downhill or walking down stairs, and the knee is often stiff and sore after sitting down for long periods. You might hear a crunching or clicking sound when you bend or extend your knee. The sure-fire test for runner's knee: sit down and put your leg out on a chair so that it's stretched out straight. Have a friend squeeze your leg just above the knee while pushing on the kneecap. She should push from the outside of the leg toward the centre. At the same time, tighten your thigh muscle. If this is painful, you're looking at runner's knee.

Likely causes: It's actually not your knee's fault at all. Blame your feet and thighs; for one reason or another they aren't doing their jobs properly. Your knee moves up and down in a narrow little groove in your thighbone. It's a nifty design: when your legs and feet are working efficiently, your knee moves smoothly and comfortably with every step. But trouble appears when your kneecap moves out of its track, or rubs up against its sides. That trouble becomes pain when you factor in nearly 1000 steps per cartilage-grinding mile. Over time the cushioning cartilage around the knee becomes worn. That smarts. And that's runner's knee.

How did your knee get off track? Probably because of relatively weak thigh muscles and a lack of foot support. It's your thigh muscles that hold your kneecap in place, preventing it from trying to jump its track. Running tends to develop the back thigh muscles (hamstrings) more than those in the front (the quadriceps), and the imbalance is sometimes enough to allow the kneecap to pull and twist to the side.

Your foot, meanwhile, may not be giving you the stability you need. It's likely that your feet are making a wrong movement every time they hit the ground, and you're feeling the constant pounding and repetition of this mistake in your knee. Maybe you're overpronating (rolling your foot in) or supinating (turning it out too much) when you run. Runner's knee is further aggravated by simple overuse. If you have steeply increased your mileage recently, you might consider holding back a bit. Likewise with recent new hill work or speed work. Running on banked surfaces or a curved track can also bring on runner's knee. Running on a road that is banked at the sides, for example, effectively gives you one short leg, causing it to pronate and put pressure on the knee. Try as much as possible to run on a level surface, or at the very least give each leg equal time as "the short leg."

Remedy: This is an easily treatable injury with a little patience. First, relieve the pain by icing your knees immediately after running. You can use commercially available cold packs or simply put a wet towel in the freezer before you run. Wrap the cold packs around each knee for about fifteen minutes to bring down the swelling. Take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or aspirin after running, too, but only with food and never before running. Before bed, put heating pads or warm wet towels on your knees for half an hour.

Stabilize your feet. Make sure you have the right kind of shoes for your foot type. Consider buying a commercially made foot support in the foot care section of your drug store. If, in combination with thigh-strengthening exercises, the foot supports are not enough to get rid of the injury, see a podiatrist about whether you might need orthotics. Finally, strengthen your thighs with a few quadricep exercises.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Description: Pain on the outside of your knee. It is usually not accompanied by swelling or locking. The pain may be sporadic and disappear with rest, only to reoccur suddenly, often at the same point in a run. Depending on the individual, this could happen at four miles, two miles, or just 200 yards. The pain often goes away almost immediately after you stop running.

Likely causes: This is an overuse injury. The iliotibial band is a band of tissue that begins at the outside of the pelvis and extends to the outside part of the knee. The band helps stabilize the knee. If it becomes too short, the band rubs too tightly on the bone of your leg and becomes irritated. The tightness is usually the result of too much strain from over training.

Remedy: Patience. This one takes a while. Give yourself plenty of rest, reduce your miles and ice frequently. You can keep running, but cut your run short as soon as you begin to feel any pain. Cut way back on hill work, and be sure to run on even surfaces. Look into some deep friction massage with a physical therapist. Try some leg-raise exercises to strengthen your hips and be conscientious about the iliotibial band stretch. You might supplement that stretch with this one, doing it gently but often:

To stretch the IT band of your right leg, stand with your left side facing the wall. Cross your right leg behind your left, while putting your left hand against the wall. Put your weight on the right leg and lean against the wall by pushing your right hip away from the wall. Be sure that your right foot is parallel to the wall during the stretch. You should be able to feel the stretch in your hip and down the IT band (in this case, along the right side of your right leg). Hold for five seconds and do this ten times. For the left leg, do as above, but stand with your right side facing the wall, and put your left leg behind your right.

Baker's Cyst

Description: Pain and swelling behind the knee, right at the junction where the upper leg meets the lower leg. It probably feels like a little glob of Jelly under your skin.

Likely causes: It's a non-malignant growth that typically hits runners and tennis players.

Remedy: There's not much you can do with this yourself. See an orthopaedist to have it removed

Celery

Present in celery are a number of noteworthy elements, which have aroused considerable medicinal interest. Today, nutritionists advise the use of every part of the plant as a beneficial food. The stalk contains 93.7 percent pure, unpolluted water and is rich in calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus and iron. Celeriac, the knob-like root, is a source of potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, silicon, much vitamin B and some vitamin A. since the celery juice is obtained from the fresh green leaves and from the fresh celeriac of the plant, it consequently combines the so-called "reserve powers" of celeriac with the vital elements formed by the chlorophyll of the green leaves. Here we find a wealth of chloride minerals combined with alkaline ash, something the body greatly needs.

These same elements (already known for centuries) exert their beneficial action on certain diseases. First of all, celery juice is appreciated for its stimulating effect on digestion as a diuretic, and for its general dissolving and discharging action of waste materials, mainly through the kidneys.

In this natural way, celery juice helps the organism to rid itself of accumulated metabolic waste. This has a favourable effect on all symptoms and complaints, such as rheumatism and arthritis caused by such accumulations. As well, it is a tonic and restorative for the nervous systems, and is equally helpful for flatulence, chronic pulmonary catarrh, tendencies toward overweight and lack of appetite. Celery also promotes the onset of menstruation.

Stretching muscles

• Begin in a seated position on the floor with one leg extended directly in front of you. Hold the ends of a towel or stretching strap in either hand, and loop it around the bottom of your shoe. Breathe naturally as you use the towel to gently pull your toes toward you. You should feel a stretch along your Achilles' tendon and the back of your calf.
• When you feel mild tension in your muscle, stop and hold the stretch. When the tension subsides, you can gently increase the stretch until you once again feel mild tension. Repeat this process three to four times before changing to the other leg.
• Make sure your knee is soft, your spine is stretched tall, and your shoulders are pressed back and down. By using the towel, you should be able to reach your foot while maintaining good posture.