Sunglasses, not just for fashion but a VITAL part of your athletic equipment
By. Dr. Terry Weyman
When I was a young kid, I was a beach lifeguard. One of the days I chose fashion over performance and wore a trendy pair of cheap sunglasses (but they were cool). Later that night I kept seeing spots and those spots kept getting worse. After seeing the Eye Doctor I realized in ONE day I had burned my retina and would have permanent damage. ONE DAY. Ever since that day, I have looked at sunglasses in a whole new light!
Being a Sports Chiropractor I am out in the sun a lot! Whether it’s on the side of a Motocross track, in a feed zone of a major bike race, or on a lake running a slalom course, I protect my eyes FIRST.
Your eyes are one of the most important organs for sport. Why? Well, your head follows your eyes and consequently, your body follows your head. Your eyes are so instrumental in initiating all quick movements such as seeking out that perfect line, looking ahead to spot that deadly situation or finding your receiver that if your eyes are not working properly you will NEVER perform at your best.
The problem with wearing trendy or cheap sunglasses is that the lenses are tinted instead of treated to prevent UV light from getting to your eyes. A tinted lens will allow your pupils to dilate or expand which will allow more damaging UV rays into your retina (this is what happened to me). UV light can damage the eyes by essentially giving the cornea a sunburn or, in the long run, causing cataracts, retinal and macular degeneration. A good pair of sunglasses that blocks UV can not only help you see better but improve your image since most of the good glasses look great. All Eye Doctors recommend sunglasses that block over 98 percent of all UV.
Unfortunately, the non-prescription sunglasses industry (cheap sunglasses) is weakly regulated, and even bold words in its advertising such as “UV absorbing” or “blocks most UV light” might mean nothing.
The brand I now wear, TAG Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear. Not because of the name, but for their lenses. I tried on a pair and was blown away on how clear everything was. The lenses are the best, and they were light and very comfortable. Then I went on line to look at the research and saw how many awards they have won for not only design but for their innovation with lenses and protection. This is a company known for watches but their Avant-Garde Eyewear are amazing.
What ever Sunglasses your chose, know this. You only get one set of eyes. Your eyes are not only the window to your soul but the initialator of movement. The lighter the eye color the more you need to protect them. My advise in everything, don’t go cheap on your health and never live with regrets. You don’t want to “burn your eyes” because you were wearing some cheap glasses “because I am always losing them, or sit on them and these were cool”. The cost of TRYING to repari your eyes will far exceed the cost of a good pair of Sunglasses.
Dr.Terry Weyman is the clinic Director of Chiropractic Sports Institute and has been involved with Professional sports for over 20 years. Visit his website at www.gotcsi.com
H-wave- it’s not your mammas muscle stimulation!
By: Dr. Terry Weyman
I am known on the Sports circuit as the “Doc with all the cool toys”. However, it’s not about the quantity of “toys”, it’s about picking the right “tool” for the right job. My job is not only to improve athletic performance but also to get the body to recover faster than it can by itself. Ask the Top Amateur Motocrosser how important tissue recovery is when he is laying in the hospital the day before the National Championships with a back injury, or a Pro Golfer the day before the Masters down with a knee injury, or a 20 year old football player the day before the Combine down with a hamstring pull. How important is tissue recovery? VERY.
So, one of my tools is the H-Wave electric stimulation machine. No, this is not your typical E-Stim or Tens unit. This is much more and its part of my regular treatment protocol for getting our athletes back to the field as fast as possible. The H-wave was established for treatment of dental related issues from TMJ to providing anesthesia for those not wanting to take medication. Doing a paradigm shift, we now use it for much more than pain control or overall healing. Now, it is looked at as a machine that can speed up the bodies ability to heal itself and the surrounding tissue to get the athlete back on the field faster than expected. H-wave is unique in that it has the ability to stimulate on both low and high frequencies, at the same time! Now you can aid in pain control to reduce muscle guarding while you work on tissue effusion to maximize healing. What a concept. Once your Doctor or therapist grasps these concepts, the treatment combinations and results are limitless. This is the only machine I know of that can either heal an injury or allow the body to naturally recover faster for next day competition. How do each frequencies work and why do you need both? Well let’s look at each form of stimulation and explain why each form is important.
Ultra Low Frequency Stimulation
Development and protocols for H-Wave were based on the well-established facts that fluid shifts and pressures are essential for tissues to heal and to create homeostasis in an injured area. The H-Wave device was specifically designed to improve circulation and enhance fluid shifts; thereby, addressing the inflammation that is so often the causative factor in pain and disabilities. The goal of H-Wave is never to mask symptoms, but rather to speed recovery and/or manage chronic symptoms to allow the body to increase in normal cellular production and integration. Published research has shown that the specific technology of H-Wave represents a paradigm shift in electro-therapeutic treatment and produces the optimal non-fatiguing stimulation for fluid shifts.
High Frequency Stimulation
Some conditions require additional pain relief that fluid shifts don’t entirely address. This is why H-Wave has a secondary mode that is focused entirely on shutting down pain and breaking the pain cycle similar to TENS, however, with a longer lasting effect. Again, in this setting H-Wave is not intending to mask pain while the device is on, but rather create a strong anesthetic affect with significant and lasting relief after a 30 minute treatment. The H-Wave device is so unique and capable of shutting down pain that we have FDA clearance for electrical anesthesia in the field of dentistry. If it can take away the pain from oral surgery, how do you think it will work in the world of athletics when used right?
As I have said, the H-wave is a tool, when used in the correct settings and for the correct purposes, can change the athletes recovery rate and increase their chances for success.
Dr. Terry Weyman is the owner of Chiropractic Sports Institute and travels the world caring for top athletes. He also works for Pepperdine University in their Athletic Training room and for The Factory, a high level training facility. He can be reached at www.gotcsi.com
To be better, start with the EYES!
By: Dr. Terry Weyman
We often forget to train our eyes for our sport yet they are so instrumental in initiating all quick movements. Your head follows your eyes and consequently, your body follows your head. By training the eyes, quick movements such as; darting through that hole in the defense, finding your receiver quicker, making that quick hockey shot or getting the ball in the elusive corner of the lacrosse net, will become easier. Training the eyes will also help reaction time for sports such as Motocross and Baseball. Do this simple drill for 10-20 seconds two to three times a week and watch YOUR eye reaction speed increase. Have a partner, stand behind you with a red laser pointer. Have them move the pointer on the wall in front of you in quick patterns, all around the wall. Do NOT move your head, just your eyes and follow the dot. Make a game to see if your partner can move the dot faster or in a pattern that you can’t keep up with. Practice this simple drill and watch your performance increase!
Dr. Terry Weyman is the CEO of The Chiropractic Sports Institute in Southern California. You can visit their website at www.gotcsi.com and sign up for their bi-monthly newsletter, TidBits.
HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU NEED?
By: Dr. Terry Weyman
It’s HOT. With the heat, talks of dehydration and heat related illness come to the headlines. Southern California’s hot fall football games, firefighters working the fires, cycling and Triathlons, Fall Motocross races, soccer games and other fall sports. To stay safe you need to understand and comprehend water intake and the requirements each body has to function on a normal level. In the news several months ago, there was a report about 10 people who were taken to the hospital for heat related illness at a rock concert over the weekend. With the fires blazing last week, firefighters need to maintain a high level of fluid intake to maintain body function. Body water and athletic performance are directly connected, and when understood, can be the difference between a winning performance and or/ survival.
Your body needs about 1 ml of water for every calorie that you expend. For example, if you burn 4,000 to 5,000 calories per day (moderate to aggressive athletic workouts), you would need between 4 to 5 liters of fluid to replace what was lost and to keep the biochemistry in proper balance. Monitoring body weight before and after training is the best way to keep up with your body’s fluid needs, which sweating increases. If you don’t believe that hydration can affect athletic performance ask Lance Armstrong. He lost 15 lbs due to dehydration following the first time trial of the Tour de France in 2002 and suffered the next few days more than usual.
Although a 2% weight loss due to dehydration may not cause any “symptoms”, it does decrease physical and mental performance.
Water Loss as % of Body Weight
2% – Difficulty in controlling normal body temperature
3% – Reduced muscular endurance time
4%-6% – Reduced strength, power, endurance and heat cramps
6% – Severe heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke
During exercise, especially in the heat, some of the water that naturally circulates through your body is used by your sweat glands. Inadequate fluid balance can result in a chain reaction that can be severely detrimental to your health. The first step in this reaction is a decrease in blood volume, which increases the heart rate in an attempt to get the fluids to the vital organs. The body’s next reaction is to constrict the blood vessels in order to maintain proper blood pressure. However, this reaction will cause the body temperature to rise due to the heat produced by the working muscles which can’t be transported to the skin’s surface. This leads to heat illnesses such as heat cramps, exhaustion and heat stroke.
To avoid this chain reaction you must stay properly hydrated during your exercise. The recommended fluid intake for exercise or training is 8 to 12 ounces fifteen minutes before you begin your exercises. During your training, drink 4-6 ounces every 10 to 15 minutes. After you have completed your training, you should consume 16 ounces for every pound lost (weigh yourself before and after exercise to determine weight loss). If you are working out longer than 60 minutes, a sports drink may be helpful in delaying fatigue by providing additional energy for working muscles. It will also be helpful in the overall chemistry balance since it will be replacing needed electrolytes that are lost during the sweating process. A 5 to 8% concentration of carbohydrates (as seen in most sports drinks) has been shown to be absorbed quickly. The small amount of electrolytes can also aid in the absorption of water from the intestines. A great product on the market for electrolyte replacement is a powder called Endura, made by a company called Metagenics. You can find this product at some bike shops or at health care facilities. Remember, this simple equation. First hour, water only. Second hour a mix of water and sport drink, third hour sport drink (electrolyte replacement). Due to the salts and sugars in the sports drinks, drinking too early can clog the sodium and calcium channels causing the athlete to go into a state of early dehydration. You can also increase the risks of cramping by drinking a sport drink too early.
With the heat of the summer here, be smart in your training. Do not exercise during the hottest times of the day (10-3), stay hydrated and properly warm up and cool down. To avoid heat illness and decrease your overall performance, remember this: an athlete should never be thirsty!
Dr. Terry Weyman is the clinic Director for the Chiropractic Sports Institute. All the Doctors at CSI specialize in the care of the active person. For further information they can be contacted at www.gotcsi.com