March 2017

You might need this for St. Patty’s! As healthcare practitioners, it’s important for us to stress (especially on “drinking holidays”) that alcohol is a known carcinogen, with a variety of side effects and we want to promote living a lifestyle that is as healthy as possible. We’ve had a lot of questions lately on what to drink without derailing your hard work. Well, first and foremost, it’s best to lay off the sauce altogether, but if you plan to partake, here’s a quick guide of things to consider over the weekend: If you’re watching total calories:  Because ethanol (alcohol) is quite calorie-dense, the lowest overall calorie choices are drinks that have both a lower alcohol content and low sugar from mixers. But let’s be real: If you’re not aiming for low alcohol drinks, you can still keep your “high alcohol drinks” low-cal by adding only low sugar mixers like club soda, ice cubes, muddled herbs, coconut water, coffee, or freshly squeezed juice (like lemon, lime, or grapefruit) If you’re limiting sugar: The lowest carb options for drinks in general are pure distilled liquors like whiskey, gin, vodka (bonus points for gluten-free potato vodka), and tequila. Things to Avoid:  Mixed drinks (like piña coladas, mudslides, and margaritas), wine coolers, most beers, liquers, sodas, and syrups, and driving! If you forgot and went a little overboard: Sweat it out!  The best thing you can do is drink extra water, make sure to eat, and work out! Happy St. Patty’s!

Some of the most common knee pain and injuries that occur and that we treat here at Elevate are patellofemoral pain (“runner’s knee”), IT Band Syndrome, and patellar tendinitis (“jumper’s knee”), as well as the less common and more catastrophic injury called an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear. Nearly 70% of ACL tears are non-contact injuries and occur during movements like cutting, twisting, decelerating, and landing from a jump in sports like soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football and volleyball. These knee injuries are often caused by weakness and poor control of the trunk, pelvis, hips and knees, and poor body alignment during movement. The good news is, a couple of simple tests can easily detect key risk factors associated with knee pain and injuries, including the devastating ACL tear. The top box jump in the video demonstrates “dynamic valgus” (inward collapse of the knees) and it is a movement pattern associated with knee pain and injuries.  Dynamic valgus, combined with poor shock absorption and poor trunk control during cutting, twisting or landing can overload the ACL in a split second.  Wear and tear from dynamic valgus during daily activities and sports is also associated with the more common knee injuries mentioned. The bottom box jump in the video shows proper landing technique with good shock absorption and the knees tracking over the toes without collapsing inward.  Great landing and movement mechanics stem from proper glute, knee and trunk strength, so exercises to address these areas should be a pillar of any athletes’ training regimen. TEST YOURSELF: Have a friend or family member take a video of you jumping down from a box as shown, OR performing a tuck jump 10 times.  Use slo-mo if you have it! Here’s an example of a dynamic valgus collapse in a tuck jump test: If your legs are wiggling around like a baby giraffe, then it’s time to add some corrective strength and movement training to your program.