As we did last year, we are very happy to offer a FREE stretching class that’s open to all participants of the BCC. The class will cover techniques and habits that are geared towards making you a healthier, happier rider. We hope you will join us this year!  Please, oh please, RSVP so we can keep track of how many people to expect.

When: Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Time: 6-7pm
Where: Rosser Chiropractic
Address: 705 4th Ave E, Downtown Olympia
RSVP: andy@rosserchiro.com or 360.754.6499

Indoor parking is available for your bicycle!  :)

I asked local personal injury attorney and cyclist, Carter Hick, to shed some light on the subject. Listen in on our conversation to find out what specific steps you need to take to get the right information from the driver, receive the treatment that you need, repair your bicycle, and recover some of the time and impact that an injury can have on your life. This interview is filled with answers to many of the questions that patients have asked me over the years. Carter Hick can be contacted directly for more information on this topic.

Listen to the Podcast!

Find out more about Carter Hick and his legal practice at www.olylaw.com

The first 12 people to sign up for the team by May 1 will have their entry fee paid by Rosser Chiropractic, and also receive our limited-edition, super rare (only 12 made!) “Wheels o’ Thunder” t-shirt.

Email me directly for more details and to sign up!

Dr. Andy: andy@rosserchiro.com

I was completely impressed by his focus on teaching the kids about the importance of whole, natural foods. In fact, that was the majority of his message with them. He helped me see life through their eyes again, and to think about what kinds of influences are at the root of children’s nutrition. It brought a moment of clarity to my mind as I realized how nutrition habits for a lifetime develop. With the influence of family, peers, TV, packaging, availability at school, etc., it’s hardly within a child’s control what they put in their mouths. At the same time, it is their responsibility… and challenge… in the midst of all of that.

Brian also spent time discussing the proper use of gels and other fuels during training and racing. Among the many wonderful gems that I took away from this segment of his talk, was this: The goal of fueling is not to figure out how much fuel you can take in, but, in fact, how little you can take in, and still get over the finish-line having met your goals. This is a great perspective to hear, because I know first hand, and from others, the problems of over-fueling can have just as much impact as under-fueling. Central to his discussion was the reminder that the body can only absorb fuel at a certain rate, no matter how much you put in.

It was a great opportunity, and a wonderful reminder that our bodies are always better suited to diets of whole, natural foods that don’t come in packages or wrappers. As a racer and endurance athlete, though, specific demands of our sports often require strategies and products to optimize our performance and keep us healthy athletes.

Frank and his team at Hammer Nutrition have a huge bank of information gathered about their products/usage, but also a huge amount of other topics that are useful to endurance athletes on the Knowledge Base of the Hammer Nutrition website.

Listen to the Podcast!

Contact Info for Janice Rosen, CPT
www.progressivebod.com
janice@progressivebod.com
360.451.9293

Athletic Body in Balance by Gray Cook: This was the first book I bought when I started getting into functional exercise and the study of movement. Although geared towards athletes, the info in this book is relevant to every patient that comes into my office and has helped me in my understanding of overuse injuries, especially as it relates to the lower back.

The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery by Sage Rountree: One of my primary areas of interest in working with patients is helping them improve their recovery. I’ve tried to draw ideas and techniques from this book and apply them to not only the athletes that I work with, but also the car accident patient, the over-worked office worker, the weekend warrior, etc., etc.

Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move With Confidence by Dr. Eric Goodman and Peter Park: The title says it all. This is a great book when it comes to looking at back care from a daily habits stand point. I don’t remember who said this to me first, but in the battle with gravity, you are either winning or losing. There is no neutral ground, and your posture is the scoreboard that shows you whether you are winning or losing. This book offers great advice and understanding for anyone who is interested in seriously taking care of their spine and keeping it healthy and strong for as long as possible. I have shared these exercises with many people.

Hope it’s been useful to take a peek in my bag to see what inspires you!  Please feel free to comment below and let me know what you are reading!

The exercises in this short series are designed to activate the core muscles and build a foundation of stability for the spine. I picked each one of these exercises because they challenge us in a particular direction/motion.

Ideally, this series can be completed three times through on a daily basis.

1. Lower Back Bridge (30 sec)
2. Front Plank (30 sec)
3. Side Bridge (30 sec)
4. Bird Dog (12 repetitions- 1 sec hold)
5. Hip Hinge (12 repetitions)
6. Founder (hold 20 sec per position)

One of the more common ailments that can arise from cycling is pain in the neck and shoulder region. In fact, a number of sports medicine research studies have shown that neck/shoulder pain can occur in approximately 10-50% (or more) of amateur cyclists. With the exception of acute trauma from a particular event, such as a crash, these symptoms generally arise from overuse injuries. Fortunately, in most cases, treatment can be very effective and will often lead to a better overall experience on the bicycle. In my office, these are some of the things I keep in mind when treating a cyclist for neck pain. Hopefully, you find some useful info that you can use yourself, or pass along.

Understanding Overuse Injury: Understanding the type of injury is important. Overuse injury describes the degenerative condition of the body that occurs from micro-trauma of the joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles, etc. An example of this on the bicycle is when a rider is positioned on a road bike with bars that are too low. This forces hyperextension of the neck in order to see up the road. Perhaps the rider can tolerate this for the short term, but over time, but eventually the muscles fatigue from the stress and become symptomatic with pain, stiffness, weakness, etc. The longer the stress is there, the more tissue damage develops, and the chronic pain/dysfunction gets perpetuated.

Technique: In terms of technique, some of the most common associations I see in riders with neck pain is that they tend to have a very tight grip on the bars, ride with rigid elbows, and tend to spend a lot of time in the drops of the handlebars. Similarly, they may also be newer riders who have started putting on longer and longer miles/hours on the bike. Good weather early in the season, is also something that I associate with neck pain on the bike because enthusiastic riders may spend a LOT of time on the bike without the benefit of progressive adaptation after a long winter.

Bike Fit: Bike fit can play a major role in neck/shoulder comfort. In particular, I tend to look to the positioning of the handlebars relative to the saddle, and the positioning of the saddle itself. Among other things, if the front of the saddle is tipped down, a rider will end up placing too much weight on the hands to keep from sliding forward. Handlebars that are too low, or a saddle that is positioned too high can force excessive hyperextension of the neck. Bars that are too far away or too wide can cause hyperextension of the neck and increased weight-bearing on the hands. These are some of the main areas of bike fit to consider, but not all.

Underlying Pathology: Underlying pathology may also be a strong consideration, especially with someone who may have a longer history of upper back, shoulder, and neck pain. Arthritic/degenerative changes of the neck are a physical manifestation of underlying problems of regional stability and control of movement. These riders will often also lack basic core strength and have problems with flexibility in the neck and other areas of the body. In other words, a pre-existing dysfunction carries over to the bike, and the repetitive nature of cycling amplifies the problem.

In many cases, a careful look at the location/type of pain, rider equipment, and habits of riding will make a solution obvious. Don’t be discouraged, though, if it doesn’t. Bodies and bicycles are complex and often, more than one factor is involved when it comes to our comfort on the bike. I hope that this article has given some new tools and insight into the relationship of you to your bicycle and makes your next ride more comfortable. See you on the road!

References:
Asplund, et al. Neck and Back Pain in Bicycling. 2005.
Weiss Non-Traumatic Injuries in Amateur Long Distance Cyclists. 1985.
Wilber, et al. An Epidemiological Analysis of Overuse Injuries Among Cyclists. 1995.

Through my own experience with my body and as a practitioner helping others, I have slowly learned that the desire to make the spine as flexible as our wishes may not be the true goal we are ultimately seeking. The truth is that the structure of our spine has limitations, just like any other physical structure. It’s built to be durable and support us in our movements, but it’s also subject to wear and tear from mis-use. The stiffness that many chronic lower back pain patients feel is often from swelling of the joints and soft-tissue of over-use.

The basic concept that I approach the lower back condition from is this: The spine wants to be stable and the hips want to be mobile. My goal in treatment, then, is to support this as much as possible. For chronic lower back pain patients, analyzing hip mobility and strength is of primal importance and can’t be ignored to make holistic change. If the hips don’t move, then the lower back will be forced to do so. Over time, those small spinal joints end up doing the work of lazy hip joints, and the result is arthritis, degeneration, inflammation, etc.

One of the exercises I teach in my office is called the Hip Hinge. I like this exercise because it clearly shows how the hips can move while the spine stays stable. The work to be done, then, when it comes to stretching is focusing on stretches that increase the range of motion of the hips so that they can become the primary movers that they were designed to be.

Last year, we offered a free cycling-specific stretching class to all registered riders, and we’re excited to do it again.  We hope you’ll join us on May 9 to participate in the class, and meet other cyclists in the contest.  Pre-registration is required to attend.  (Details/Registration)

This year, we’re giving away 3 certificates for our medical bikefit services valued at $125 each.  We hope you are one of the lucky winners… We’d love to see you in the BikeLab!