Interesting Articles

Athletes have been using foam rollers to warm up before exercising for the past 20 years, and recently, foam rollers that vibrate at specific frequencies are being used to relax muscles and potentially improve performance (Fig. 1). While prior research shows that focal muscle vibration can improve athletic performance and muscle strength, relatively few studies have evaluated if vibration foam rollers can actually reduce delayed onset muscle soreness and accelerate recovery. These authors took...

This interesting paper evaluated the best ways to produce hypertrophy in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. The authors emphasize that these important muscles are notoriously unresponsive to strength training and they list several studies showing that while the hamstrings and triceps typically gain between 10% to 20% muscle mass in 12 weeks of strength training, gastrocnemius and soleus tend to gain only 2 to 6% more muscle mass during the same time. They also note that compared to other...

It’s been over 25 years since Alfredson et al. developed the heavy load eccentric protocol for managing Achilles tendinopathy and despite its continued popularity, outcomes with this protocol have never been that good. In fact, nearly 60% of people who perform this exercise routine continue to be symptomatic 5 years later. The authors of this current study suggest that in order for tendon rehab to be successful, the applied weight should be heavy enough to cause the tendon to lengthen between...

Hypermobility of the first ray has been correlated with a wide range of forefoot conditions, including hallux abductovalgus and second metatarsal head capsulitis. Because hypermobility of the first ray undermines the stability of the entire foot, especially during the propulsive period, quantifying the degree of first ray mobility is extremely important. To date, the only accurate way to quantify first ray mobility is with expensive machinery, which is not available to the typical practitioner...

This is an interesting paper that looked at gender and age-related differences in running biomechanics. Specifically, the authors evaluated running kinematics in middle-aged men and women (average age 57 years old) and compared them to young men and women (average age 28 for men and 30 for women). The authors emphasize that it is important to understand how gender and age-related differences in running biomechanics affect function, as it could allow for the development of improved training...

The relationship between arch height and intrinsic muscles/plantar fascial injury is controversial. Some authors suggest that height of the medial longitudinal arch does not affect function, while others claim it plays an important role in a wide range of injuries. In this paper, researchers from Japan measured cross-sectional area and stiffness of the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the feet and planter fascia while people with low or neutral arches loaded their feet at 10%, 50%, and 90%...

These researchers measured tomato consumption and followed more than 7000 high-risk participants in a 3-year longitudinal study to evaluate whether or not tomato consumption had any effect on hypertension. Tomatoes were evaluated because they are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, pantothenic acid, niacin, and phenolic compounds. Tomatoes are also the highest source of lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant with 10 times greater antioxidant capabilities than vitamin E....

I previously published a paper called “Novel Exercises and Stretches for Managing High Blood Pressure” that showed diaphragm exercises, holding prolonged static stretches, and performing a few minutes of isometric contractions a few times a week could lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures by 10.4 mmHg and 6.7 mmHg, respectively. In this recent paper Edwards et al. (1) analyzed 270 randomized controlled trials that included nearly 16,000 participants to evaluate the effect different...

Over the past few years there’s been a lot of press suggesting that regular exercise protects not just against a range of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but it can also keep our brains healthy by slowing down the overall rate of cognitive decline. The authors of this study tested this theory by using MRIs to measure various markers of brain age to evaluate differences in a group of 225 older adults who went through an exercise intervention and compared these findings to a group 260...

This is an interesting paper for anyone who treats tendon injuries. Most practitioners are aware of the strong connection between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and tendon ruptures, and the connection between type II diabetes and tendon injuries, but more often than not patients presenting for treatment and evaluation of tendon tears do not have their vitamin D levels checked. This is unfortunate because this paper confirms that hypovitaminosis D plays a significant role in the development of...

The authors of this study point out that nearly 1 million Americans get their knees replaced every year, and this number is going to jump to 3.5 million knee replacements annually by 2030. The authors state “the morbidity and mortality due to disuse associated with this is profound.” The authors took 5 severe osteoarthritis patients who were about to get their knees replaced and had them perform blood flow restriction training 3 times a week for 4 weeks and followed each workout by ingesting...

I like this article because it shows that downloading the Anglemeter app onto your iPhone allows you to take photographs of your patients’ bunions and measure their hallux valgus angle. This is important as it allows you to monitor progress for specific interventions when attempting to reduce the size of bunions. The authors evaluated reliability of 2 specific smart phone measurements and determined that they had excellent inter- and intrarater reliability, with ICC values over .9. The only...

These researchers measured plantar pressure distribution through the midfoot, metatarsals and toes as recreational runners ran in 3 different footwear conditions: a control group wearing the flexible Nike Free Run and two experimental conditions in which carbon fiber plates of different thickness were embedded into the control shoe. The running shoes were classified as control, stiff, and stiffest, depending upon which carbon plates were added. Plantar pressure data was collected with 233...

This is an open access article and it is available at the following link: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging | Science. Abstract: Taurine is one of the most abundant amino acids in humans. Earlier studies have shown that the concentration of taurine in blood correlates with health, but it is unknown whether blood taurine concentrations affect aging. To address this gap in knowledge, we measured the blood concentration of taurine during aging and investigated the effect of taurine...

I included this article because I just finished watching the Netflix documentary, “The Game Changers,” which pretty much says switching to a vegan diet will improve every aspect of your life: you will add lean muscle, improve athletic performance, and live longer. I was curious about the documentary’s accuracy, so I looked up everything I could find on the health benefits of veganism and this article stood out. The authors give a balanced view of the pros and cons of veganism/vegetarianism....

Why was this study done? Many dietary guidelines recommend limiting dairy fat consumption in order to lower saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, increasing evidence suggests that the health impact of dairy foods is more dependent on the type (e.g., cheese, yoghurt, milk, and butter) rather than the fat content, which has raised doubts if avoidance of dairy fats is beneficial for cardiovascular health. What did the researchers do and find? We measured dairy fat...

Background: Evidence regarding the effects of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA on cognition is lacking. Objectives: We investigated whether supplementation with oils rich in EPA or DHA improves cognition. Methods: Healthy adults (n = 310) completed a 26-wk randomized controlled trial in which they consumed either 900 mg DHA and 270 mg EPA, 360 mg DHA and 900 mg EPA, or 3000 mg/d refined olive oil (placebo). Cognitive performance and memory consolidation were assessed via...

Introduction: Glucosamine is one of the most widely consumed dietary supplements and complementary medicines in the world and has been traditionally used to attenuate osteoarthritis in humans. Glucosamine extends life span in different animal models. In humans, its supplementation has been strongly associated with decreased total mortality and improved vascular endothelial function. Glucosamine acts as a suppressor of inflammation, and by inhibiting glycolysis, it can activate the metabolism...

In the late 90s, Alfredson published a widely referenced paper showing that heavy-load eccentric calf exercises reduced pain and improved function in even the worst cases of Achilles tendinopathy. More than 20 years later, it is still unclear exactly why heavy-load eccentric strength training stimulates tendon repair. There is also controversy over the best exercise prescription necessary to stimulate remodeling as some authors recommend performing 4 sets of 80 repetitions with light weights,...

The lead author of this paper, Dustin Oranchuk, has a history of publishing some of the best research on tendon remodeling. In this paper, the authors point out that isometric contractions have several advantages over conventional concentric and eccentric exercises. For example, isometric contractions are helpful during acute injuries as the muscle can be exercised in the most pain-free joint angle. This allows for accelerated rehabilitation as extremely large forces can be generated at these...