Oscar Presas DC
Senior Staff Doctor–
01/25/13
Happy 2013! I hope everyone had a great new year and without a doubt, this year promises to be a very good one.
As most of us return to the daily grind of jobs, a lot of us will be going to back to one that requires us to sit for long periods of time. Continuous sitting causes our leg muscles and tendons to shorten and contract abnormally, primarily the IT band. This is a tendon that originates at the side of the hip and inserts at the side of the knee. Tightening and frequent contracture of this tendon can promote biomechanical imbalances which can eventually set this stage for lower back and lower extremity problems.
An effective way to work around this is to take the time to stretch your IT band several times a day. The nice thing about this stretch is that it can be performed while seated at your desk. You start off by crossing the leg of the side being stretched and place it over the other the leg with the outside of your ankle directly over the top of the knee. The position is similar to how a man would sit with his legs crossed. You then place your hand underneath (outside) of the foot and gently lift. The other hand will be placed on the knee and will gently be pushing down. You can also make the stretch more challenging by leaning slightly forward. This should be performed several times a day and what we want to shoot for is holding each stretch for a good 20-30 seconds. Both legs should be stretched and try to maintain normal breathing as much as possible while doing so.
Until next time guys, stay healthy and stay active!
-Dr. P
Hi guys! This is my first blog and I am very excited that we are now offering this on our website. I will use this as a means of sharing interesting information on topics dealing with fitness and nutrition and how to apply it to enhance your health and wellness lifestyle. As most of you may know, I am a fitness and diet enthusiast. I’ve always had a special interest in these topics and it’s important for me to share this as I have seen and experienced firsthand how this has positively impacted my life.
So my first tip is on water consumption. Water aids in the healing and restoration of cells and tissues in our bodies, but most of us are deficient in it. By now, many of us have heard of the myth that we all need just 8 glasses of water a day for good health. However, I believe we need a little more than this based on my experience in the past. But just how much more? I found the following article to be quite interesting a laying out certain guidelines on adequate hydration. You can read it here:
http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/leigh-vinocur-md-facep/how-much-water-do-you-really-need
I plan on updating this blog regularly so please make sure you visit our website often. Thanks!