By Dr. Terry Weyman

For all of you Athletes that are done with Loretta Lynns, X-Games and other events/travels of the summer its now time to recover! To flush out the stress of competition and or travel and to prepare for fall sports and events.

I get alot of pts and athletes seeing the pads and wires and automatically thinking “tens unit”. ITS NOT A TENS unit. You can buy a tens unit for 20 bucks and its not even worth that. TENS is an acronym for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. TENS are inexpensive medical devices that attempt to mask pain symptoms by interfering with nerve signals; they have no rehabilitative, recovery or conditioning benefits whatsoever. Marc Pro activates a cascading series of physiological effects through a specific type of muscle contraction that lead to enhanced recovery and conditioning.
When you use the Marc Pro on a regular basis you actually create more small blood vessels which in turn allow a better transfer of blood and 02. Hence, not only will you recover faster but it will in the long term increase your athletic performance!
Prepare for the fall but using your marc pro daily now!  If your friends want to borrow yours, tell them to get their own:-)  

Go to www.marcpro.com and use my promo code: GOTCSI  This will save your friends some money and I will get their email address so they too can get the tips. Use it daily for amazing results!

Dr. Terry Weyman is the Clinic Director at www.gotcsi.com

By: Dr. Ciro Errico.

Plastic is everywhere in the environment and society. We can find it in our Tupperware, water bottles, baby bottles, food and drinks. Most plastics have numbers (which are listed with the appropriate name) as an ID to let recyclers know how to properly recycle the product. I say stay away from all plastics, but that is incredibly hard to do since almost everything in our society has some form of plastic in it. So, I will tell you the top three plastics to avoid.

Bisphenol A (BPA), or number 7, is a compound found in plastics that is very dangerous. How is it dangerous? When it is warmed, whether from microwave or from leaving a bottle in a car all day, BPA leaks into the food or into the drink and as a result can mimic estrogen. Estrogen is a hormone that is found more in women than men. It gives women their feminine qualities, but when too much estrogen is in the body it has its side effects. Now, when BPA is leaked into the body it can cause more men to have female features. BPA mimicking estrogen can also cause the body to recognize more estrogen in the body and as a result cause an increase in breast cancer cell growth resulting in a higher percent of breast cancer. This also affects the male population, not only can men have breast cancer, but mimicking estrogen in males also leads to a decrease in the sperm count and an increase in prostate cancer.

Due to recent studies, European countries and Canada have banned products made with BPA, and more importantly, banned BPA in baby bottles. Today’s babies are tomorrow’s future, why harm our future? The US has not banned BPA yet, so beware.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or number 3, is another bad plastic; the same material that is used to make your garden hose is also used in squeezable bottles, female cosmetics, teething rings, and shower curtains. What does PVC contain that makes it dangerous? Phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals used to soften hard plastics like PVC to allow it to become more usable. In making these plastic more usable there have been studies showing, again, that it can mimic estrogen. In a study in the Scientific American, Phthalates that were in cosmetics and fragrances have been shown to increase rates of diabetes in women. Is eye shadow really that necessary when it can cause diabetes? Make sure your cosmetics are PVC free.

Another bad plastic is Polystyrene, or number 6. This material is often found as foam material: Styrofoam, or any packaging that we find at the grocery stores. This material is also found in coffee cups, and most people like their coffee hot, causing the breakdown of the polystyrene, and allowing more to leak into the coffee and end up in the body. This plastic is a known carcinogen (something that can cause cancer), and a neurotoxin (something that can cause toxicity to the nerves). One of the main ingredients in polystyrene foam is benzene, which is predominantly found in gasoline, and cigarette smoke. Though, a person may not smoke or ingest gasoline, the amount that can be found in the body can have a similar effect in the body as if a person where to ingest gasoline or inhale cigarette smoke. FYI: Benzene is also passed through breast feeding, so young babies may have benzene in their bodies at an early age.

Why is this important for Health Care Providers to know?

The better question that I propose is “Why aren’t Health Care Providers discussing this?”

Being a health care provider is a great responsibility, and to care about a person’s life, body and state of health should be enough for anyone to want to learn about what dangers can be found in everyday society or the environment. It is important to understand how these plastics, and the chemicals that can leak from plastic into the body. These plastics affect us so much it may reach the point where no medicine or natural remedies may help if the body is receiving a constant dose of chemicals from a source that is commonly used and missed as a danger. Plastics have become so natural in our society and environment that we cannot escape it, but by educating ourselves to stay away from certain ones, the body, and health of the population may have a chance to outlive the side effects that are associated with plastics.

A few alternatives to plastics are:

1. Glass: glass Tupperware, or glass bottles can be washed and re-used a number of times without the worry of having anything leak into the food or beverage whether a food or beverage is heated directly in it.

2. Stainless Steel: this provides protection, because steel cannot leak into the food or beverage. This also can be washed and re-used a number of times with having to worry about it leaking.

3. Ceramic: is great because it comes in a number of colors and styles to match kitchenware, and it does not leak anything into the food or beverage.

4. Wood or Bamboo: can be found as another alternative for kitchenware like chopping blocks or for salad bowls.

Dr. Ciro is a Doctor at Chiropractic Sports Institute, in Westlake Village, Ca. For more info go to their website: www.gotcsi.com

High Intensity Training for Strength and Cardiovascular Improvements


By: Aaron Schneider BS

What is high intensity training (HIT)?

HIT is a form of weight lifting that is done with maximum force output for a short duration of time (about 90 seconds) that takes you to momentary muscular failure. While this may sound scary, it is done in a slow controlled manner which minimizes risk of injury and maximizes efficiency. There are five basic movements involved (leg press, chest press, row, shoulder press, and lat pull down) and the workout only needs to be performed once a week (if performed properly to momentary failure). It is also possible to do single joint movements, but it is important to start with the complex, multi-joint movements. It is a safer form of exercise than doing the repetitious movements involved in typical “cardio” like running, and safer than the high speed ballistic movements involved in the newly popular Crossfit workouts. High intensity exercise helps improve all bodily functions; from strength and cardiovascular systems to insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation. It helps lower our heart rates, reduce blood pressure, and increase the chemicals that make us happy. Today we will focus on the strength and cardiovascular systems, which together can be labeled as overall fitness or endurance.

Why and how does HIT work?

HIT utilizes our body’s natural survival mechanism to create muscle strength and endurance. The human body is made up of trillions of cells whose only design is to undergo cellular metabolism and survive long enough to pass on their genetic code. If our cells think they are going to die they will adapt so that the next time they encounter that situation they will be stronger and more efficient. This then translates to the whole body. As we take our muscles closer and closer to failure our cells begin to panic. Our ancient survival mechanism kicks in and then we begin to panic. When this happens we want to stop because if we keep going to failure that big predator or human rival will have overtaken us and we die. 10,000 years ago we lived in a world of big predators and humans from other tribes that may have wanted to kill us. With the proper coaching and motivation we can continue pushing through this sensation for a few seconds until our muscles completely fatigue and then we stop. During this process we recruit as many muscle units as possible and this muscle tissue is broken down in the process, our energy levels (muscle glycogen stores) are depleted, and our respiration and heart rate increase. But we are still alive. What happens on a very basic level is the cells realize that first they have to repair the damage done, then they must build more muscle and become stronger and more efficient so that the next time we encounter this situation we do not come so close to dying and our chance of survival increases. The response leads to increased strength and increased overall fitness.

In order to understand the cardiovascular adaptations we must first understand some basic cellular metabolism. There are two basic energy-producing pathways: the anaerobic and the aerobic pathways, known as glycolysis and the Krebs (citric acid) cycle respectively. [Aerobic meaning with oxygen and anaerobic without oxygen]. The anaerobic pathway starts with glucose and through a series of chemical reactions produces ATP (energy) and a waste product known as pyruvate. Pyruvate is better known by the product it transforms into, lactic acid. If there is enough oxygen present the pyruvate enters the aerobic pathway within the mitochondria to allow for further production of ATP. The aerobic pathway also produces much more ATP than the anaerobic pathway; about 9 times more. [And this is just for sugar. Our body produces close to 130 ATP per fat molecule].

Now, when we think of weight lifting we think of the anaerobic system working, and when we think of “cardio” or aerobics we think of the aerobic system being the primary energy-production system. But this is in fact not the case. Both systems are working all the time. The difference between high intensity training and typical “cardio” training is the degree to which each system is stressed. During bouts of “cardio” the anaerobic system is not being greatly stressed and there is always enough oxygen to allow for the aerobic metabolism to take place. However, during high intensity training where a lot of energy needs to be produced in a short period of time, the anaerobic system is running so fast that it produces more end product (pyruvate) than the aerobic system can cycle. Pyruvate builds up in the cells and converts into lactic acid and this creates that muscle burn. Because the aerobic system (which produces 34 ATP) cannot work any faster, and the anaerobic system (which can only produce 4 ATP; not nearly enough to fuel the high intensity workout) is getting backed up, we quickly reach that momentary muscular failure. The muscle cells fatigue sequentially because there is no rest involved. Thus, high intensity equals short duration. During “cardio” however, we can continuously move because we are working at a lower intensity and not creating this backup in the cell. We can continuously produce enough energy to go for hours. The problem with this is that it takes a lot of exercise to create the ideal adaptations and the movements are repetitive; this is where chronic inflammation and chronic injuries start to happen, such as shin splints and stress fractures. On the other hand, when doing high intensity exercise, the glycolytic system is being stressed beyond its capacity. When we finish the exercise, the lactic acid that was built up gets cycled through the liver and comes back to the cells as pyruvate. Now that the exercise is over and there is plenty of oxygen available, the cells undergo aerobic metabolism. This means that not only did we get a tough workout in a short time period we also got a workout for 1-2 hours afterward while we were relaxing or lounging around, and we got the same cardiovascular adaptations as “cardio”.

All things being equal, high intensity exercise may be the superior style of exercise for your health, but if you truly enjoy running or cycling or any other form of “cardio” by all means do it. It all comes down to the fact that it is your choice how to exercise. If you like the idea of not having to work out all the time and you like having plenty of time in the day and week for other activities, then high intensity exercise is your best bet. But if you like getting out for a few hours to get away from everything, or you enjoy sweating for a couple hours in the gym doing circuits, then do that. For those that enjoy the latter I still recommend incorporating high intensity training into your life. The nice thing is that you can schedule the training around your life as opposed to having to schedule your life around the gym or hours of working out every day. Ask yourself, “If I choose high intensity training, what can I accomplish with all the extra time I have saved?” Weigh the pros and cons, the benefits and costs, and make sure you are having fun.

Aaron Schneider runs the CSI Performance Lab and is in charge of setting up rehab and training programs. “At CSI our job is to get you back to performance level” He can be contacted through CSI website, www.gotcsi.com

By: Dr. Terry Weyman

“When I ride my wrist hurts and sometimes my hands go numb. Do I have carpal tunnel syndrome?” “This is one of the leading questions I am asked in my practice. In the past 15-20 years, carpal tunnel syndrome has become one of the most significant medical problems affecting the U.S. population. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion disorders account for over 60 percent of all workplace injuries. Computer operators have joined assembly line workers, meatpackers, building tradesmen, hairstylists, dental assistants, cashiers and others as victims of repetitive strain injuries causing these disorders to be dubbed “the number one occupational hazard of the twentieth century.” For MX Athletes, the problem is also growing, but what makes it this condition hazardous is when you have a hard time holding onto the bars at top speed.

So now what? Unfortunately carpal tunnel syndrome is also one of the most over and misdiagnosed conditions along with sciatica. Carpal tunnel is defined as “a compression of the median nerve at the wrist. This compression is caused by one of two things:

ONE, swelling of the tissue (blood vessels, nerves, fat and tendons) surrounding the nerve in a tunnel-like passage (canal) in the wrist. This swelling can be as simple as fluid retention associated with mensration, arm pump or several other minor issues.

The SECOND possible cause is a collapse of one or more of the carpal bones compressing the median nerve. This collapse can be the result of an injury (landing on your outstretched hand and bending your wrist backwards or any forced hyperextension wrist injury) or from sustained pressure from activities like typing/keypunching (computer work), sustained riding, over doing your workout or activities involving pushing. The symptoms include pain, weakness and numbness in the thumb and first finger (pointer finger), and could involve the second finger (middle finger). These are the only locations of symptoms if the diagnosis is carpal tunnel syndrome. If the pain, numbness and/or weakness are in the entire hand, outside of the hand, in the forearm, or if you also experience pain in the cervical spine then another diagnosis must be made. A complete exam, along with specific x-rays, is helpful in making the proper diagnosis.

There are many ways to treat carpal tunnel syndrome depending on the severity, among other considerations. In most cases, Specific Chiropractic Manipulation of the carpal bones performed in a specific manner can be very effective in relieving the pressure on the median nerve. Specific biomechanical adjustments coupled with soft tissue techniques, such as ART (Active Release Technique), have experienced a success rate of 80% and above (according to an independent study performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1999). Specific exercises to strength the weakened tissue should complete the treatment protocol.

Some Physicians may prescribe medication and /or inject cortico-steriods which may temporarily alleviate pain and swelling. However, it often does not treat the actual problem and the symptoms may return. Surgery may be recommended in extreme cases, but surgery may lead to scarring of the transverse ligament, as well as creating instability of the carpal (wrist) structure. The scarring can further irritate the median nerve causing the symptoms to return. Since surgery only has a success rate of up to13%, all other means of treatment should be exhausted prior to consent.

As one of the most widespread occupational hazards, carpal tunnel syndrome is painful and debilitating. If you experience any of the symptoms above don’t wait for it to “go away”. Early treatment will lead to a quicker and easier recovery. Regardless of which treatment is used, full recovery will only come about by avoiding stressful situations and changing ergonomics (such as bar angle and height) and habits. Seek advise from your Sports Chiropractor, Medical Doctor, Trainer, Physical Therapist or your coach.

Dr. Terry Weyman is a Sports Chiropractor who specializes in the active person. He is the clinic director of the Chiropractic Sports Institute in Westlake Village, Ca. www.gotcsi.com