Blog

Recover from Sports Injuries with the NeuFit Neubie

When you are injured or experience trauma, your brain and nervous system signal protective patterns to “lock down” the muscles and prevent movement. Although this response may be a good response initially, it can very quickly become a problem because it slows down the overall healing process and creates movement dysfunction.

At East Athens Physical Therapy we developed the 3 Steps to Optimal Recovery, designed to identify exactly where these responses are in the body, reset those responses, and breakthrough to lasting healing!

STEP 1 : IDENTIFY – We start with a mapping process of the body, using the NEUBIE® to identify exactly where the nervous system is imposing limitations on your body and restrictions in your movement.

STEP 2 : RESET – Once identified, we will help you reset those areas in order to change the underlying patterns. This opens up the pathways for the body to heal more effectively.

STEP 3 : BREAK THROUGH – By working through these restrictions, you can tap into the range of motion, strength, and capacity for pain-free movement that you had all along. These breakthroughs add up to a more efficient and effective recovery, plus a reduced risk of injury in the future!

NeuFit is used by:

• NFL Teams
• NBA Teams
• MLB Teams
• NHL Teams
• Elite Athletes
• Division I Universities

For more information and to schedule an appointment, visit our Neubie page!

Improve Performance with the NeuFit Neubie

Athletic performance is not just in the body, it’s also in the brain. Your brain controls your movement, muscles, and overall health.

Above all else, your brain prioritizes survival and wants to be sure you live to see tomorrow. That often means your brain will “put on the brakes,” limiting your performance to ensure that you don’t get injured.

What does this actually mean? It means that a targeted, neurological intervention like the NeuFit Method can make a difference in your
performance.

At East Athens Physical Therapy, we will train you to boost your performance with:

1. The NEUBIE to re-educate your muscles to perform at their highest possible levels.
2. Strategic mobility drills to bulletproof your joints and improve movement quality and capacity.
3. Large doses of eccentric movement to train the muscles to become more pliable and absorb greater amounts of force.
4. Other unique exercises and techniques that will amplify your ability to perform at a high level — starting with the brain and working their way down.

For more information and to schedule an appointment, visit our Neubie page!

When the Weather Gets Cold, Don’t Forget to Warm Up!

Colder weather means some changes to how we exercise. Of course it’s harder to motivate yourself to get outside for a run or bike ride when the temperature drops, and the shorter days compress our schedules, but there are changes in your body that affect your ability to exercise too. For many people with arthritis or other joint problems, cold weather brings more complaints of pain. To stay warm, our bodies narrow blood vessels to reduce blood flow to the skin, and more superficial muscles. That means that there is an increased risk of muscle strains in the cold. There is also an increased strain on the heart because of the narrowed blood vessels. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be active outdoors in the cold, it just means you may have to make a few changes to your routine. Here are a few to consider:

Warm up right

A good warm up is always important, but because of the tendency for joints to be stiffer, and blood flow to muscles to be reduced in the cold, it’s even more important that you do it right this time of year. To start, do something to get your heart rate up a bit, maybe a brisk walk or light jog. Follow that up with a dynamic warm up rather than static stretches. This could include walking or jogging while pulling your knees up high to your chest. Maybe some high kicks in front of you with straight knees to get your hamstrings loosened. A walking lunge with an upper body twist can get your whole body moving. Cater your warm up to what you have planned in your workout. If you’re not sure how it should look, ask your physical therapist!

Dress right

Dressing in layers allows you to adjust your insulation to your activity level. After you warm up, you might want to take off a layer to avoid getting too hot during your main activity. You’ll have it there later to put back on when your activity level drops and you start getting too cold.

Don’t forget about the sun either – just because it’s cold doesn’t mean the UV rays are gone. Sunscreen and sunglasses aren’t just for the summer. A lip balm with SPF can protect you not only from the sun but from the wind too.

Stay hydrated

Drink water before, during, and after your workout. The temperature may be down, but you’ll still sweat and you’ll still lose water vapor in your breath. The drier air in winter lets your sweat evaporate more quickly, so it’s easy to underestimate how much fluid you’ve lost.

Cool down

When you’re done, don’t rush to get inside and crawl under a blanket. Cool down properly. Keep moving with a walk or another form of active recovery to let your heart rate come down. After exercise is the right place for static stretching. You can also head inside for some foam rolling or self-massage.

The days being shorter and the temperatures being lower don’t mean you’re stuck inside for all of your exercise. If you follow these tips, you can safely keep moving outside. If you’d like a customized warm up or cool down, or have questions about your exercise routine, your physical therapist is a great person to ask!

Lazy Summer or Deconditioning?

The weather is hot, the gym is closed, and you’ve been relaxing – enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer. Taking a day off here and there is no problem, but if you’ve been consistently missing your regular run, bike ride, or gym session and notice some aches and pains showing up, you might have the beginnings of deconditioning.

Deconditioning explained

Exercise creates many changes in your body – your heart begins to pump blood more efficiently, your muscles use oxygen more efficiently, they contract in a more coordinated manner, and your body gets more efficient turning food into fuel to name just a few. Deconditioning is the reversing of these changes. Exercise is a “use it or lose it” kind of thing, and deconditioning is the process by which we “lose it.”

How long does it take to decondition?

As with most things related to a system as complex as the human body, it depends. According to the ACSM, two weeks without exercise can lead to significant loss of cardiovascular fitness. Two to eight months of detraining can erase virtually all of your gains. As you detrain, cardiovascular fitness tends to decline first, with muscle strength declining later.

Other factors are your age, and your exercise history. If you’re younger, you’ll probably lose fitness at a slower rate than someone older. If you’ve been consistently exercising for a long time, or at a high intensity, your losses will probably be slower than for someone who just started.

Reversing the losses

If you’re just undergoing a period of increased time commitments at work or with family, using a shortened exercise routine can help minimize your losses. Even one session a week will help you keep most of what you’ve gained. Other options are to use shorter but more intense interval training sessions, or breaking up your activity into multiple short chunks during the day. If your layoff was longer, it may take just as long to retrain as it did to make the gains initially. If you’re having those aches and pains due to inactivity or need help designing a safe program to either maintain your fitness or gain it back after a layoff, your physical therapist can help. Injury and illness are other common reasons for detraining. Your PT can not only help you recover faster, but they can also find activities to maintain your fitness while safely working around an injury or illness.