Tag Archives: strength training

Children and exercise – Part 2

Following on from the last post I’ve had some questions regarding whether children who weight train hurt themselves. It’s a good news story, with no greater incidence of injury. In fact, active kids involved in sports such as soccer, hockey, skiing or skateboarding sustain many more injuries than for any children who have been involved in weight training. On the other side are children who get no exercise at all. The decline in physical activity in kids is a real concern to all health professionals. Since 1981, there’s been a tripling … Read the rest of this post »

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Preventing falls

This is the time of year when seniors are most at risk of falls. Icy steps and sidewalks, slippery wet leaves, cold weather slowing reaction time and often poor light hiding treacherous outdoor conditions. So far we’ve been lucky in 2011, at least in the lower mainland, with relatively warm, albeit wet, weather and not to much of the dreaded ice about. But seniors 65 and older are the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population and the estimate is that around 1 in 3 will have at least 1 … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Men's Health, Osteoporosis, Senior's Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Exercise : men vs women

An interesting article appeared in the Globe a few months ago which asked the question: Is it harder for women to lose weight as compared to men because of the different composition of their muscle mass? The answer is a general yes. It is more of a challenge for women because they, on average, have a lower percentage of their overall body weight composed of lean skeletal muscle. You can think of your skeletal muscle as the body’s engine. The bigger the engine, the more fuel it can burn and … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Children's Health, Men's Health, Senior's Health, Sports, Women's Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Osteoporosis guidelines

Late in 2010 I came across an interesting article in the Canadian Medical Journal (CMA) in which new guidelines were outlined to help physicians deal with managing and preventing osteoporosis. According to the study’s lead author, Professor Alexandra Papaioannu, the goal is early identification of those most likely to develop full blown osteoporosis later in life. The approach recommended in the guidelines is quite different to that currently taken. Instead of relying on bone mineral density (BMD) testing  -read more about BMD and testing here- http://www.west4thphysio.com/archives/530 , and then using … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Low back, Osteoporosis, Senior's Health, Women's Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Exercise for osteoporosis

While reading and researching for the other posts in the Osteoporosis category,  http://www.west4thphysio.com/category/osteoporosis/ , I came across an interesting article outlining the results of a strength training program from the University of Arizona. I am often asked in my clinical work exactly which exercises are able to reliably build bone mass. The difficulty for researchers, in pinning down exactly which exercises are best at building bone density, has been a variability in results. Multiple studies have shown that aerobics, weight bearing, and resistance exercises can all maintain or increase BMD in … Read the rest of this post »

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Strength training can make you smarter

Recent research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) showed some interesting results in the field of strength training and cognitive benefits for seniors. There has been a lot of previous research that shows the positive effects that aerobic, cardiovascular exercise ( think walking, swimming, dancing ) plays in keeping people alert and mentally sharp into their senior years. Strength training however has not been studied from this point of view. Most strength studies concerning seniors have focused on osteoporosis and the overall effects of muscular strength improvements. In the UBC study, 155 … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Osteoporosis, Senior's Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments