Elevate Physical Theraphy & Fitness

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May 2019

HOW TO COMBAT BLOATING

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Bloating can often cause pain, discomfort and a “stuffed” feeling, while making your stomach look bigger.It involves excessive amounts of solids, liquids or gas in your digestive system.  Sometimes bloating can indicate a serious medical condition, but is more frequently  caused by the diet and some foods or ingredients you are intolerant to.   Don’t Eat Too Much at a Time Being overly full after a meal can feel like being bloated, but the problem is that you simply ate too much. If you’re eating big meals and tend to feel uncomfortable afterward, then try smaller portions. Add another daily meal if necessary. Chewing your food better reduces the amount of air you swallow with the food. It also makes you eat slower, which is linked to reduced food intake and smaller portions.   Avoid Swallowing Air and Gases There are two sources of gas in the digestive system. One is gas produced by the bacteria in the gut. The other is air or gas that is swallowed when you eat or drink. The biggest offender here is carbonated beverages like soda or fizzy drinks.  Chewing gum, drinking through a straw and eating while talking or while in a hurry can also lead to increased amounts of swallowed air.   Rule Out Food Allergies and Intolerances to Common Foods Food sensitivities and intolerances are fairly common. Consumption of food you are intolerant to can cause excess gas production, bloating and other symptoms. Some common foods and ingredients to consider: Lactose: Lactose intolerance is associated with many digestive symptoms, including bloating. Lactose is the main carbohydrate in milk. Fructose: Fructose intolerance can lead to bloating. Eggs: Gas and bloating are common symptoms of egg allergy. Wheat and gluten: Many people are intolerant to gluten, a protein in wheat, spelt, barley and some other grains. This can lead to various adverse effects on digestion, including bloating. Both lactose and fructose are a part of a larger group of indigestible carbs or fiber known as FODMAPs. FODMAP intolerance is one of the most common causes of bloating and abdominal pain. *If you strongly suspect that you have a food allergy or intolerance, see a doctor.   Avoid Swallowing Air and Gases There are two sources of gas in the digestive system. One is gas produced by the bacteria in the gut. The other is air or gas that is swallowed when you eat or drink. The biggest offender here is carbonated beverages like soda or fizzy drinks. Chewing gum, drinking through a straw and eating while talking or while in a hurry can also lead to increased amounts of swallowed air.     Try a Low-FODMAP Diet FODMAP stands for fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols. These are the scientific terms used to classify groups of carbs that are known to trigger digestive symptoms like bloating, gas and stomach pain.   Studies have shown that indigestible carbohydrates called FODMAPs can drastically exacerbate symptoms in people with Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A low-FODMAP diet has been shown to lead to major reductions in symptoms such as bloating  in IBS patients. If you have problems with bloating, with or without other digestive symptoms, a low-FODMAP diet could be a solution.   Here are some common high-FODMAP foods:   Wheat Onions Garlic Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Artichokes Beans Apples Pears Watermelon This diet can be difficult to follow if you’re used to eating many of these foods, but may be worth a try  if you have bloating or other digestive problems.   Be Careful With Sugar Alcohols Sugar alcohols are commonly found in sugar-free foods and chewing gums. These sweeteners are generally considered to be safe alternatives to sugar. However, they may cause digestive problems in high amounts. The bacteria in your large intestine digest them and produce gas. Sugar alcohols are actually FODMAPs as well, so they are excluded on a low-FODMAP diet. Try avoiding sugar alcohols like xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol. The sugar alcohol erythritol may be better tolerated than the others, but it can also cause digestive issues in large doses.   Peppermint Oil May Help Bloating may also be caused by a change in function of the muscles in the digestive tract. Drugs called antispasmodics, which can help reduce muscle spasms, are sometimes prescribed for this. Peppermint oil is a natural substance that is believed to function in a similar way. It has been shown to reduce various symptoms in IBS patients, including bloating. Peppermint oil is available in supplement form.     Drink More Water It might sound counterintuitive to drink more water when feeling bloated, drinking water can actually help relieve the condition . Drinking plenty of water helps to naturally flush our systems of excess water and sodium that we might retain. If drinking enough water is a challenge for you, try eating foods with high water content, like watermelon, tomatoes, grapefruit, and cucumber. Coconut water contains potassium, similar to a banana, and electrolytes that maintain regular fluid levels in the body, all helping to alleviate the symptoms of bloating.   If your symptoms of bloating persist for more than a few days then it’s important to contact your healthcare provider to rule out the possibility of a medical condition.

HOW MANY PUSHUPS CAN YOU DO?

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The ability to do a lot of pushups may be a sign not only of strength, but also of good heart health, a new study in the JAMA suggests. The study tested the stamina of middle-aged male firefighters. It found that those who could do more than 40 pushups in a row had a 96 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with heart disease or experiencing other heart problems over a 10-year period, as compared with those men who could do fewer than 10 push ups. Pushup capacity could be an easy, no-cost method to help assess cardiovascular disease risk. The study was published Feb. 15  2019 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Being physically fit is linked with better heart health. But it can be difficult for doctors to accurately assess a person’s fitness level during a routine visit. Doctors sometimes use “treadmill tests” to evaluate a person’s fitness level. In these evaluations, people run on a treadmill until their heart rate reaches a certain level. But the tests are time-consuming and require expensive equipment, so they aren’t done routinely. The new study tested whether a simple exercise like a pushup could provide clues to heart health. To find out, researchers examined records from more than 1,100 Indiana firefighters (with an average age of 39) who underwent a pushup test at the beginning of the study. The participants were then followed for a decade to see if they experienced a cardiovascular event, such as a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, heart failure or cardiac arrest. During the study period, 37 cardiovascular events were found among the study participants, but only one cardiovascular event occurred among the men who completed more than 40 pushups. Those who could do 11 or more pushups had a lower risk of cardiovascular events, compared with those who could do 10 or fewer, the study found. And men who could do more than 40 pushups had the largest reduction in risk. Pushup capacity is not necessarily an “independent predictor” of heart disease risk. That is, there may be other factors tied to heart disease risk that are also related to how many pushups an individual can do. Such factors could include a person’s age, body mass index (BMI) and aerobic fitness level. But, in general, pushup capacity could be an indicator of overall fitness. More research is now needed to examine the link between pushup ability and heart disease in the general population, including among women and less-active men, the researchers noted in their paper.  Check out how many push-ups Elevate Founder Dr. Meredith Soelberg PT, DPT, MBA can do!    

SURFING DYNAMIC WARMUP

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Hey surfers! Here’s a dynamic warm-up just for you designed by Elevate Co-founder Dr. Meredith Soelberg PT, DPT, MBA. Research is clear that a dynamic warm-up (vs. static stretching) is best to prepare for sport ️ and to prevent injuries. A sport-specific warm-up is specially designed to move the body through the necessary range of motion and activate the neuromuscular system in ways that simulate the sport. ‍Surfing is a high demand sport with significant injury risk. Up to ⅓ of surfers sustain an injury each year requiring medical attention, missed work, or time off from surfing,  and 91% of surfers have sustained an injury surfing in their lifetime. We see lots of injured surfers at Elevate. Most often we hear that they don’t warm-up at all,🤭 and don’t have an exercise regimen to get their bodies strong for the great demands of surfing. A surf-specific dynamic warm-up will go a long way to help mitigate the risks and prevent injury (especially when combined with our surf-specific strength exercises coming next week). We know the waves are like a Siron song calling you the minute you feel the sand in your toes, but put earplugs in for just 5 minutes and prepare your body for the awesome intensity of surfing!   What a surf-specific dynamic warm-up can do for YOU: Increase core temperature Increase blood flow to muscles Increase stimulation to mechanoreceptors in joints Increase stimulation to the central nervous system Increase musculoskeletal control Increase confidence for performance Increase movement through the range of motion demands for the upcoming activities ️Improve exercise / sport performance Reduce risk for injury If you don’t have 5 minutes to spare, here’s the 60sec express version!