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49er Tight End Talks Chiropractic

By On · Add Comment · In Aaron Rodgers, athletes, chiropractic, Emmitt Smith, healthy, Jerry Rice, National Football League (NFL), San Francisco 49ers, Vernon Davis
V to the M#$F%# D

You know what makes NFL football players the smartest in all professional sports? It’s their love and respect for chiropractic. That’s right! Every NFL club has its team chiropractor, and from the beginning the San Francisco 49ers have led the charge.

Who doesn’t remember Joe Montana getting adjusted before Superbowl XXIV? And Roger Craig? And Jerry Rice? Keeping in line with a long list of 49er greats, superstar tight end Vernon Davis is also a regular chiropractic client. Why, you may ask, considering that there are still a few Neanderthals that claim chiropractic is for suckers? Well in Davis’ words:

[Chiropractic] helps me to go out and perform at my very best each and every week. So that’s why I get the work done, because not only does it help, it makes it possible for me to stay healthy. I benefit by this by prolonging my career. This game is very brutal on your body–it can really tear you down. My experience with chiropractic care has taken me to a whole other level with my game, my performance on the field. I’m able to stay healthy and just play; play for a long time, and play till the end of the game.

Doesn’t ‘believe’ in chiropractic

Yes, many other NFL greats have said the same–Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Ed Reed, Maurice Jones-Drew, and even last year’s Superbowl MVP, Aaron Rodgers, whose father, Ed, is a chiropractor (booyah!)

So why are these multi-million dollar athletes choosing chiropractic to stay healthy and prolong their careers? If you don’t get it by now…man, you may as well lay down your club and fossilize.

Watch the video of Vernon Davis speaking about chiropractic:

Lat Workouts and Stretches for Pain Relief

By On · Add Comment · In athletes, bodybuilders, chin-ups, exercises, lat pull downs, lat workouts and stretches, latisssimus dorsi, pain relief, shoulder pain

Lat pull downs and chin-ups are favorite exercises of bodybuilders and other athletes.  Aside from the fine aesthetics of a well developed latissimus dorsi (the V-shape of a man’s back), low back stabilization benefits also apply.

But chinning-up without stretching these massive muscles is a mistake, and it can lead to back pain, shoulder pain and even difficulty breathing.  In the video below, I demonstrate the best lat workouts and stretches for pain relief and prevention.  Further, stretching the lats just feels good.  It’s one of my personal favorites.

Whether you have low back pain, a chronic shoulder pain or just tightness from working out, the stretch I demonstrate in the video will be sure to open you up and make both your upper and lower torso feel tops.  Enjoy.

Black Swan+Chiropractic

By On · Add Comment · In athletes, ballet, Black Swan, bodywork, chiropractic, dance, dance injury, diaphragm spasm, foot adjustment, Natalie Portman, performance, physical therapy, professional dancers, sports chiropractor

Saw the film Black Swan last week (I know…I’m so December 2010), and it stimulated some thoughts on dance and chiropractic.  The latest thriller from one of my favorite film-makers, Darren Aronofski, is an outstanding piece on the human psyche under the self-imposed pressures of excellence.  But I’m not writing this as a film critique; instead, I want to talk about something that grabbed my attention immediately: the accurate portrayal of the physical demands of ballet, and interestingly, what the lead character, Nina, used to help her handle the rigors of her art–chiropractic!

Now let me start by saying that I could find nothing by googling “Black Swan+chiropractic,” making me wonder if I had just imagined what I saw.  But…well, I did see Natalie Portman‘s character, Nina Sayers, getting her spasmed diaphragm released, a favorite therapy among some chiropractors.  And, for sure, I saw her get her ankles and feet adjusted.  I know I did, because it is a regular service I provide for my Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood chiropractic clients…so it caught my eye.

It was a fast scene, split second, easy to miss.  But because it’s a treatment I do every day, I was like…“Wow!  A tibiotalar adjustment.  Cool!

But my exhaustive research brought up nothing.  Hmmm….Let me try, “Black Swan+physical therapy,” and…there…it…was…hidden right under my nose (on IMDB no less, du-uh-uh-uh!):

“Due to a twisted rib injury, Natalie Portman had to receive physical therapy during filming. According to the director Darren Aronofsky, Portman is actually undergoing a real physical therapy session in one scene with the actual physical therapist.”

OK, ok…physical therapist…performing chiropractic…something that profession, along with medicine, condemned as quackery only three decades ago.  Harumph…

Well I guess that doesn’t take away from the fact that professional dance is grueling–a sport, similar to basketball in the types of moves a performer makes; similar in the stresses placed on the body. Professional dancers need regular bodywork, and for many of them chiropractic is the choice.

In fact, dancers are the professional athletes that have gravitated to my office the most for sports chiropractic care.  When the dancer’s body aches or is acutely injured, nothing beats chiropractic to help him or her return to the stage.

I treat the dancers in my office with safe, effective chiropractic care.  Like other athletes, a professional dancer’s livelihood depends on his or her optimally functioning body.  Nothing supersedes chiropractic in helping the body heal, musculoskeletally.  Nothing.

Black Swan is a great movie–check it out.  But keep your eyes open for the chiropractic treatments performed by a physical therapist; and remember, ballet and all other dance forms require an optimally functioning body for optimal performance.  Chiropractic is the right choice for dancers to stay healthy and heal from any injuries sustained in their grueling art.

Dance…chiropractic…of course.

Mixed Martial Arts Champ Jake Shields Thanks Chiro

By On · Add Comment · In athletes, chiropractor, EliteXC, fighter, health, In Motion Chiropractic, Jake Shields, mixed martial arts, sports, welterweight
Minutes after winning the EliteXC welterweight championship Saturday night, mixed martial arts fighter Jake Shields thanked his chiropractor at In Motion Chiropractic. Booyah!!!

That’s right! When you want to function at your optimal best and reach the top of your game, look no farther than your neighborhood chiropractic office. Elite athletes like the spry Mr. Shields choose chiropractic as a way to maintain their health and gain an edge in their sports. This was evident in the rapid defeat of Nick “The Goat” Thompson within 1:03 of the start of the bout Saturday night. Shields used a modified guillotine choke to subdue the burly Thompson. It was a quick and decisive victory for Shields who is now 21-4-1.

Good job, Jake, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from a regular chiropractic client. You know that chiropractic is the quintessential body-care system for great health and functioning. You join the ranks of other elite athletes who have been using chiropractic to keep their million dollar bodies lean, mean and firing sharp machines. This list includes:

And now the tough-as-nails Jake Shields. Congratulations on the big win, Jake! And congratulations for using chiropractic–you know the power. Smart man.

Bodybuilders Need Cardio

By On · Add Comment · In aerobic, athletes, cardio, cardiovascular exercise, endurance, exercise, fitness, heart, left ventricular hypertrophy, strength, ventricles

You know what I never get? The one-dimensional exerciser. You know who I’m talking about–the buffed guy who never does cardio; or the panting and sweaty guy who does an hour on the treadmill (get off, man–people are waiting!) and nothing else. Even so, most people have the sense that they’ve gotta mix it up from time to time. But now, my friends, we’ve got proof.

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at athletes who participated solely in one fitness activity–either endurance or strength training–and found that people who do cardiovascular exercise (endurance training) have an increase in size of both their right and left heart ventricles, while those who do strength training have excessive growth in their left ventricle only. Additionally, the ability of the left ventricle to fully relax between beats–the diastolic function–is enhanced in endurance athletes, while it worsens in strength trainers.

The heart ventricles pump blood away from the heart. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs and the left ventricle pumps blood to the rest of the body. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon, then, to figure out why cardiovascular training increases growth in both ventricles–cardio pumps blood to the lungs as well as the working muscles of the body. And it’s not brain science understanding how strength training increases growth in the left ventricle excessively. Pumping iron requires massive amounts of blood moved to the working muscles. Heart muscle, like any other muscle, increases in girth when exercised. Pumping iron=pumping blood=buffed heart. That’s a heavy workload for the left ventricle to supply the muscles of the body all by its lonesome–but it does.

Unfortunately, an enlarged left ventricle can present a problem. It’s called left ventricular hypertrophy and can lead to things like shortness of breath, chest pain, sensation of rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeats (palpitations), dizziness, fainting, or rapid exhaustion with physical activity. Therefore, it’s probably not a good idea to neglect your cardiovascular training. If you read my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, you’ll see how all three pillars of exercise–resistance training, cardiovascular training and stretching–work together to enhance each other. So you’ve really got to do each one in balance.

Some people think that if they just do their weight training at a quick pace then they’re getting their cardio in. Uh, no, sorry. Cardio is cardio. Try this. Moderately paced and continuous aerobic exercise (weight training is anaerobic) that makes you sweat. That’s it. That’s cardio. It’s not window shopping, walking through the parking garage to your car, or resting for only one minute instead of two between sets at the gym. Uh uh. Nope. Gotta keep moving for 15, 20, or 30 minutes. And if you do it regularly, you’ll gain strength, balance, and endurance in your muscles, lungs, and heart. Now ain’t that worth the added sweat?

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