By Dr. Mark Lucas, D.C. AKA “TheMotoDoc”
TheMotoDoc.com
December and early January on the west coast are typically the times racers get a little down time, especially if you are primarily an off-road racer. Winter also establishes a dramatic change in the weather, mainly it starts getting cold and damp. This time of the season triggers metabolic changes in our bodies as our bodies go into preservation mode. Some of the most common changes are… we become a little stiffer, our joints hurt a little more and our appetite tends to increase as we burn more calories trying to fend off the cold. Secondarily we are provided with a short time frame to rehabilitate our injuries before the new season begins. For these reasons I like to change my training focus from strength and endurance to flexibility and agility.
For starters let’s briefly discuss why we get stiff and our joints hurt more. First of all during the winter the barometric pressure drops. This means that the air pressure pushing against our body is less. When you buy groceries at sea level and then drive into the mountains what typically happens to your bag of potato chips? The bag expands like a balloon. Typically those bags are slightly pressurized and when you go up in elevation the air is thinner, therefore less air pressure is pushing against the bag so the pressure inside the bag actually increases. This same thing happens to your joints during the winter. Around every joint is a thin capsule of cartilage. This capsule, regarded as a joint capsule, maintains the balance of lubricating/nourishing fluids inside the joint. As the air pressure decreases this capsule expands a little bit. Typically we don’t notice this very much when we are young because we are still flexible, but as we get older and we accumulate injuries we develop layers of scar tissue. Scar tissue dose not like to stretch so this lack of flexibility in the joint capsule is what typically causes the pain in and around the joint. The pressure inside the joint wants to expand, but can’t so as the internal pressure increases sensitive fibers get compressed, thus the pain. Another physiological change that happens is that the muscles become slightly engorged with blood in an attempt to fight off the cold. So our muscles are slightly more swollen than usual. The combination of these two changes makes our tissues a little stiff and a little more sensitive.
Over the past several years I have become convinced that the accumulation of scar tissue over years of wear and tear is what slows us down the most as we age. Scar tissue accumulates in a variety of ways. The most common form we are familiar with is in the skin and forms from a cut. It is called a keloid and is that rough little ridge that forms in the skin from a deep cut or a surgical incision. But the kind of scar tissue that impairs us is the type we can’t see. It’s the scar tissue that builds up in the tendon, fascia and the muscle that causes all the problems. There are basically two types of scar tissue, a linear scar that can form through layers of tissue from surgery or a tear or cut. Then there is a mesh type of scar that is commonly referred to as fascitis. Fascitis doesn’t necessarily come from a specific injury but forms over time from repetitive stress and strain. Much like nailing two boards together with a nail, fascitis develops from a large number of micro fibers that spread out like a mesh and adhere layers of muscle and fascia to the bone, thus limiting the flexibility of the tissue. A common sign of tendonitis and fascitis is a crackling and popping sound when you bend your knees or move your shoulder. Typically the louder the noise the worse the condition has become.
During the winter months it’s good to change up your exercise routine and shift to lighter weights with more reps. You want to be in a sound mechanical position, slow down the speed of the reps and focus on getting a controlled full range of motion. Maintaining good posture during exercise is also very important. Another important tip is to reverse the motion of the contraction. Typically when we lift weights we shorten the muscle during the contraction. For example, doing a bicep curl with a dumbbell we start with the arm straight then shorten the muscle to bring the weight up towards our shoulder. To reverse this you should start with the weight at the shoulder then lower the weight to your hip. This lengthens the muscle during the contraction. The trick to this is once your arm is straight use both hands to bring the weight back up to the starting position so you are not straining during the shortening cycle. Then resist the weight as you lower it back down. This concept can be applied to any muscle group, but it does limit you to doing one arm or leg at a time. You always want to use both arms or both legs during the shortening cycle so there is no stress on the muscle, then use only one arm or leg to resist the weight during the lengthening cycle. This sounds complicated but actually is really simple. Working out this way will help stretch the muscle, fascia and the tendon and give you a longer leaner muscle with more flexibility.
There are other forms of cross training that will help build flexibility and agility. Some examples are kick boxing, pilates or yin style yoga. I am a big fan of yin style yoga because it is all about holding stretches for 6-8 minutes at a time. This style of stretching stretches deep through all the layers of connective tissue and helps free up deep adhesions close to the bone and around the joints. The most important stretch you can do during the winter is to stretch the hip joints. From a meridian and energy perspective a lot of energy is stored in the hips. Men in general tend to be really tight in the hips, because when men bend forward they usually bend with the low back, where women usually bend forward with the hips.
So the one stretch I am going to give you is the easiest and the most important. It’s called a forward fold. Start by sitting on two thick phone books. Have your legs out in front you and your knees bent about half way. Now bend forward, but bend at the hips not at the low back, you want to focus on keeping the low back straight. Relax your upper back and your body and leading with your head try and melt (leaning with little or no effort) forward. Don’t grab your ankles and pull your self forward. As you lean forward focus on bending at the hips, taking in slow and full breaths, hold for about 8 minutes and most important-relax! The first time you do this it will be uncomfortable, but do it every day, it will get easier. If you do this everyday you will start to feel looser in the hips and the low back. As you start to feel looser try to open your hips up a little more each time you stretch. After being consistent on a daily basis for four weeks, try dropping down to sitting on one phone book. To gauge how tight you actually are in the hips compare how this position feels on two phone books as compared to sitting on the floor. You will feel a dramatic difference.
As far as cardio goes, if you have a couple of months off from racing taper down your cardio work outs for a few weeks. Take a break from the wind sprints and the long bicycle rides in order to give your body a chance to recuperate. Try to work out in a fat burning range for 45 to 60 minutes a day. This is typically at 60% of your max heart rate. Don’t worry about losing your endurance because this is a great way to do fundamental heart conditioning or as I like to refer to it as “base line conditioning”. The trick is to do it every day. Using running or the bicycle for this is great, the elliptical trainer is ok, but is limiting to the range of motion you will get in the hips and knees.
The last thing to do is treat your self to a few massages. These massages should be therapeutic and not recreational or relaxing in nature. Deep tissue, Shiatsu, Rolfing, Active Release, Myofascial Stripping are all therapeutic in nature and designed to break down scar tissue. Over the years I half developed an extremely effective-multi step protocol to treat scar tissue. I get un-comparable results. If you have any questions feel free to drop me an email.
drmark@proactivehealthcare.net.
Other than that have a great holiday!
See you out at the track.
Dr. Mark “TheMotodoc”
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