Reduced Pain from a Shirt?

HB Pier, US Open 2011

When surfers damage their surfboards, mortals send them off for ding repair.  Professional surfers can do the same or merely grab another board from their quiver of multiple boards.  It helps to have sponsors!

When they damage their bodies, repair is not quite as easy and replacement rarely an option but the pros have access to evaluation and treatment when they travel for competition.

Today I had the pleasure of working on the medical staff at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.  I will be back at the venue later this week as well.   I was part of a team of chiropractic and medical doctors, physical therapists, athletic trainers and massage therapists who were on hand to patch up surfers from around the world.  In addition to hands on examinations, treatment and advice for self-care, the community of surfers is getting exposed to an innovative line of clothing that, as odd as it may seem, can improve posture, reduce injuries, enhance performance and reduce pain.

Inflammation & the Other Oil Industry: Part 3

The diagram above may look chaotic but it is a truly elegant description of how certain dietary fats or fatty acids, Omega-6 and Omega-3, play a role in the body’s production of inflammation causing and inflammation quieting substances.  As explained by David Seaman, D.C., who created this graphic explanation for the text book, Nutritional Considerations in the Treatment of Soft-Tissue Injuries, the standard American diet contains an abundance of Omega-6 fats and relatively fewer Omega3 fats.

Why are we eating so many Omega-6 fats? What are the health consequences of an imbalance in Omega-6 fats compared to Omega-3 fats?  If you eat fish oil capsules, flax or hemp seed, can you put these two types of fat in a better balance?

Inflammation & the Other Oil Industry: Part 2

First off, the picture posted with this entry has nothing to do with inflammation or diet.  I took it yesterday while on a six or seven mile walk, mostly through El Dorado Park and its Nature Center, which are just a few minute’s walk from my house.

   

In an earlier post (June 6, 2011) I discussed the potential of trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils to promote a pro-inflammatory state, among other unhealthy effects.

There are other  pro-inflammatory fats and oils that have intruded into the food supply , which I will discuss at a later date, but first I want to address some of the reasons these oils have come to dominate the standard diet in the US.