ATF Orthopedics- Anthony T. Fenison MD

When you have finally reached the end of your workout, do you have a cool down routine? Cool Down Just as a warm up prepares your body for exercise, an effective cool down gives your body time to recover.... Your cool down begins as you gradually decrease your intensity level at the end of your aerobic exercise session. For example, if you have been walking at a quick pace, begin cooling down by slowing your steps and taking your arms out of the movement. Walk at a comfortable pace until your breathing and heart rate have returned to normal. Once you are breathing easily, stretch while your muscles are still warm. Tomorrow we will review some flexibility stretches that you can add to your warm up and cool down routine! Have a great Wednesday!

Happy Father’s Day from all of us at ATF Orthopedics!

So, how much water do you actually need to drink each day? How much water do you need? Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.... So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks. Factors that influence water needs You might need to modify your total fluid intake based on several factors: *Exercise. If you do any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to cover the fluid loss. It's important to drink water before, during and after a workout. If exercise is intense and lasts more than an hour, a sports drink can replace minerals in your blood (electrolytes) lost through sweat. *Environment. Hot or humid weather can make you sweat and requires additional fluid intake. Dehydration also can occur at high altitudes. *Overall health. Your body loses fluids when you have a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. Drink more water or follow a doctor's recommendation to drink oral rehydration solutions. Other conditions that might require increased fluid intake include bladder infections and urinary tract stones. *Pregnancy or breast-feeding. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated. The Office on Women's Health recommends that pregnant women drink about 10 cups (2.4 liters) of fluids daily and women who breast-feed consume about 13 cups (3.1 liters) of fluids a day. Tomorrow we will go other other sources of water intake and how to stay properly hydrated especially with Summer sneaking up on us!

As summer slowly starts to creep up on us, are you making sure that you are drinking enough water??? How much water should you drink each day? It's a simple question with no easy answer. Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years. But your individual water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live.... No single formula fits everyone. But knowing more about your body's need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day. Health benefits of water Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Your body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue and organ in your body needs water to work properly. For example, water: *Gets rid of wastes through urination, perspiration and bowel movements *Keeps your temperature normal *Lubricates and cushions joints *Protects sensitive tissues Lack of water can lead to dehydration a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired. Tomorrow we will discuss how much water you actually need and the factors that influence those numbers! Happy Wednesday! Half walk through the week!

Happy Tuesday!! Flexibility Exercises Stretching is too often neglected by exercisers pressed to fit workouts into their busy schedules. This common mistake can reduce the effectiveness of exercise because better flexibility results in better fitness.... By increasing your flexibility you can improve your ability to move around. You will have less muscle tension and your posture will likely improve. Most importantly, stretching after each workout reduces your risk for injury. Get the most out of your flexibility training by following these simple guidelines: *Always warm up before your stretch. Stretching cold muscles can cause injury *Stretch slowly and gently. Breathe into your stretch to avoid muscle tension. Relax and hold each stretch 10 to 30 seconds *Do not bounce your stretches. Ballistic (bouncy) stretching can cause injury *Stretching should not hurt. If you feel pain, take the stretch easier, breathe deeply and relax into it

Are you one of those people who jumps straight into your exercise routine or leaves when your finished without stretching?! Stretching is too often neglected by exercisers pressed to fit workouts into their busy schedules. This common mistake can reduce the effectiveness of exercise because better flexibility results in better fitness. By increasing your flexibility you can improve your ability to move around. You will have less muscle tension and your posture will likely imp...rove. Most importantly, stretching after each workout reduces your risk for injury. Get the most out of your flexibility training by following these simple guidelines: *Always warm up before your stretch. Stretching cold muscles can cause injury *Stretch slowly and gently. Breathe into your stretch to avoid muscle tension. Relax and hold each stretch 10 to 30 seconds *Do not bounce your stretches. Ballistic (bouncy) stretching can cause injury *Stretching should not hurt. If you feel pain, take the stretch easier, breathe deeply and relax into it Tomorrow we will post a few flexibility exercises that you can do to help you improve your workouts! Have a great Thursday!

When you have finally reached the end of your workout, do you have a cool down routine? Cool Down Just as a warm up prepares your body for exercise, an effective cool down gives your body time to recover.... Your cool down begins as you gradually decrease your intensity level at the end of your aerobic exercise session. For example, if you have been walking at a quick pace, begin cooling down by slowing your steps and taking your arms out of the movement. Walk at a comfortable pace until your breathing and heart rate have returned to normal. Once you are breathing easily, stretch while your muscles are still warm. Tomorrow we will review some flexibility stretches that you can add to your warm up and cool down routine! Have a great Wednesday!

We made it halfway through the week! Happy Wednesday from all of us at ATF Orthopedics!

Before you exercise, do you warm up or have a stretch routine? Warm Up A good warm up prepares your body for more intense activity. It gets your blood flowing, raises your muscle temperature, and increases your breathing rate. Warming up gives your body time to adjust to the demands of exercise. This can improve your performance and help you get the results you want.... The simplest way to warm up is to do an aerobic activity at an easy pace. If cycling is what you plan to do, then start out slowly in a low gear. How long you spend warming up will depend on your fitness level. If you are newer to exercise, your body will respond better with a longer warm up. Adding stretches to your warm up may improve your exercise performance. Once your muscles are warm, spend a few minutes on stretching. Since the goal of your warm up is to increase your heart rate and get you ready for more intense work, choose stretches that can be done standing up. Floor stretches are best for your cool down segment. Tomorrow we will discuss the importance of a cool down after your physical activities!

Warm Up, Cool Down and Be Flexible An effective fitness program is more than aerobic training and strength building. To really reap the benefits of exercise, you need to add flexibility and balance training to the mix. Stretching can help your body get ready for exercise. It is also an essential part of recovering from aerobic activity. All exercise sessions should end with stretching and not just for the mental relaxation benefits. Increasing your flexibility improves your... ability to move easily and can reduce your risk for injury. Tomorrow we will discuss the benefits a good warm up can provide!

Happy Monday from all of us at ATF Orthopedics!

What Conditions are Treated with PRP? Is It Effective? Research studies are currently being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP treatment. At this time, the results of these studies are inconclusive because the effectiveness of PRP therapy can vary. Factors that can influence the effectiveness of PRP treatment include: *The area of the body being treated... *The overall health of the patient *Whether the injury is acute (such as from a fall) or chronic (an injury developing over time) Chronic Tendon Injuries According to the research studies currently reported, PRP is most effective in the treatment of chronic tendon injuries, especially tennis elbow, a very common injury of the tendons on the outside of the elbow. The use of PRP for other chronic tendon injuries such as chronic Achilles tendonitis or inflammation of the patellar tendon at the knee (jumper's knee) is promising. However, it is difficult to say at this time that PRP therapy is any more effective than traditional treatment of these problems. Acute Ligament and Muscle Injuries Much of the publicity PRP therapy has received has been about the treatment of acute sports injuries, such as ligament and muscle injuries. PRP has been used to treat professional athletes with common sports injuries like pulled hamstring muscles in the thigh and knee sprains. There is no definitive scientific evidence, however, that PRP therapy actually improves the healing process in these types of injuries. Knee Arthritis Some initial research is being done to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP in the treatment of the arthritic knee. It is still too soon to determine if this form of treatment will be any more effective than current treatment methods. Fractures PRP has been used in a very limited way to speed the healing of broken bones. So far, it has shown no significant benefit. Surgery More recently, PRP has been used during certain types of surgery to help tissues heal. It was first thought to be beneficial in shoulder surgery to repair torn rotator cuff tendons. However, the results so far show little or no benefit when PRP is used in these types of surgical procedures. Surgery to repair torn knee ligaments, especially the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is another area where PRP has been applied. At this time, there appears to be little or no benefit from using PRP in this instance. PRP injections can be used for several different types of conditions. Although PRP does appear to be effective in the treatment of chronic tendon injuries about the elbow, the medical community needs more scientific evidence before it can determine whether PRP therapy is truly effective in other conditions. Have a great weekend!

Some of you may have heard the term, PRP injection (Platelet-Rich-Plasma). We have found an article on the AAOS, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, that discusses PRP injections that we would love to share! What Is Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP)? Although blood is mainly a liquid (called plasma), it also contains small solid components (red cells, white cells, and platelets.) The platelets are best known for their importance in clotting blood. However, platelets also contai...n hundreds of proteins called growth factors which are very important in the healing of injuries. PRP is plasma with many more platelets than what is typically found in blood. The concentration of platelets and, thereby, the concentration of growth factors can be 5 to 10 times greater (or richer) than usual. To develop a PRP preparation, blood must first be drawn from a patient. The platelets are separated from other blood cells and their concentration is increased during a process called centrifugation. Then the increased concentration of platelets is combined with the remaining blood. How Does PRP Work? Although it is not exactly clear how PRP works, laboratory studies have shown that the increased concentration of growth factors in PRP can potentially speed up the healing process. To speed healing, the injury site is treated with the PRP preparation. This can be done in one of two ways: ** PRP can be carefully injected into the injured area. For example, in Achilles tendonitis, a condition commonly seen in runners and tennis players, the heel cord can become swollen, inflamed, and painful. A mixture of PRP and local anesthetic can be injected directly into this inflamed tissue. Afterwards, the pain at the area of injection may actually increase for the first week or two, and it may be several weeks before the patient feels a beneficial effect. **PRP may also be used to improve healing after surgery for some injuries. For example, an athlete with a completely torn heel cord may require surgery to repair the tendon. Healing of the torn tendon can possibly be improved by treating the injured area with PRP during surgery. This is done by preparing the PRP in a special way that allows it to actually be stitched into torn tissues. Tomorrow we will review the different types of conditions that may be treated with a PRP injection. Stay tuned!