I have not done one of these in a while and I miss it.

So this morning, before the kids got up, I started digging around Pubmed. Pubmed is a monstrous database of research and I went looking to see what was new on back pain.

Here is what I found:

Back Pain and Pregnancy

I am past the pregnancy phase of life. (If you have kids, you understand what I mean.)

But I know when my wife was pregnant one of the big issues she had was back pain. While digging in Pubmed, I came across an article that just came out on what pregnant woman can do about back pain.

Here were some of their suggestions:

• If you are  pregnant and having to take days off because of your back pain, think about going to water aerobics or physical therapy. Doing has been  shown to decreased peoples days away from work.
• I thought this was an interesting statement, “Acetaminophen is safe for use in pregnancy but lacks evidence of efficacy.” Something to think about but check with your doctor first.
• Other things that you can do to decrease your back pain while pregnant are: sleep on your side with a pillow between your knees, wear low heeled shoes and when sitting use a pillow behind your back.

Where to get more information: Clemente-Fuentes RJ, Pickett H, Carney M. (2013). Clinical Inquiry: How can pregnant women safely relieve low-back pain? J Fam Pract. 2013 May;62(5):260-8.

Back Pain and ED

Well I will comment briefly on this one but using medication may help with one problem but may lead to another problem.

This was a fascinating study. They looked a pharmasudical records of men to see who how many had opioids for back pain and medication for erectile dysfunction.

Few clips from the research:

• “Patients prescribed daily opioid doses of 120 mg of morphine-equivalents or more had greater use of medication for erectile dysfunction or testosterone replacement than patients without opioid use”
•  ”Males who received medications for erectile dysfunction or testosterone replacement (n = 909) were significantly older than those who did not and had greater comorbidity, depression, smoking, and use of sedative-hypnotics.”

You can get more information here: Deyo RA, Smith DH, Johnson ES, Tillotson CJ, Donovan M, Yang X, Petrik A, Morasco BJ, Dobscha SK. (2013). Prescription opioids for back pain and use of medications for erectile dysfunction. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013 May 15;38(11):909-15. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182830482.

Does Height or Weight Lead to Back Pain in Kids?

In this paper they looked at the body mass index (BMI) of thousands of adolescents.

What they found was:

• BMI was strongly linked to back pain in males and females
• Plus height was strongly associated with back pain in both female and male adolescents

If your adolescent or adolescent client has back pain, it could be linked to their BMI or their height if they are the taller group of their class. You can work on the BMI side of things but there is not much you can do about height.

You can get more information here: Hershkovich O, Friedlander A, Gordon B, Arzi H, Derazne E, Tzur D, Shamis A, Afek A. (2013). Associations of Body Mass Index and Body Height With Low Back Pain in 829,791 Adolescents. Am J Epidemiol. 2013 May 19. [Epub ahead of print]

That is it for today.

Have a great weekend.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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I was at the gym and I got asked a question and that question was Are Fitness Machines Good?

When I go to the gym I am pretty quiet and I don’t really let people know what I do for a living. I just kind of go in there and work out.

One of the guys there, Frank, knows what I do and asked me fitness related questions and this is one of his questions, Are Fitness Machines any good?

My answers was a 5 part reply.

The first part end up being the best exercise that you can do is the one that you enjoyed doing. If you enjoy doing machines then do machines. If you enjoy doing something else like running, then do something else. like running. When it comes to machines, if it is what you enjoy doing and it will get you to exercise and move then do it and keep doing it.

The second part is machines end up being excellent for someone that’s completely new to fitness. The machines are less intimidating, increases your body awareness and get you to understand the typical movements that end up happening in fitness; pressing, pulling, pushing, and squatting movements. It gives you good foundation to start doing more advance fitness and exercise stuff.

The third part is machines end up being excellent for injuries and injury recovery because you are able to isolate joints when it comes to the movements. You are able to control load. You are able to control speed and they end up being safe to use and you can end up working around injuries a lot easier.

The fourth part is machines end up being excellent for older adults. They tend to be less intimidating. They tend to be in a seated position so they end up having more stability. A lot of times the older adults have balance issues, with the machines it makes it easier for them to overcome those balance issues.

Also with the machines it allows them to push themselves harder and add more resistance because there is less moving parts and the movements aren’t as compounded. They are able to isolate the movements and increase the resistance which will end up benefiting them and improving their function or even maintaining their function.

The fifth part is I end up looking at machines when it relates to almost like a fitness continuum. Machines end up being really good for a period of time and you can progress on to more advanced techniques so that could end up being moving into the free weight area. It can end up utilizing other modalities like kettlebell work or bodyweight work or moving on to the Olympic lifts or weight training. I find machines end up being a nice part in that continuum to more advance and complex movements and more compound movements.

So there you go, that ends up being my answer when it comes to Are Fitness Machines Good? They play a role.

Before I go, I want to hear from you, what are your thoughts on fitness machine – good or bad?

Put your comment in the comment area or Facebook comment area.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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I wanted to go through one of the self-assessments that you need to do if you are recovering from knee replacement. This is also a good self assessment if you have a different knee injury.

You can do this sitting on the floor or sitting on the couch or sitting on your bed but you want to find out what your knee extension is, which is the straightening out of the knee or terminal knee extension, because getting as much of that terminal knee extension as you can assists a lot when it comes to recovering from a knee replacement and it allows you to get back to the rest of your life and back to being pain free.

This is what you need to do. You will end up sitting down and you will end up measuring how much you are able to straighten out that knee.

You might be just a fist or a little more than a fist or complete fist or a hand but you want to find that baseline distance that you are because it will give you an idea of where you are starting at and how the Knee Replacement Handbook is helping you get that terminal knee extension.

Do that right now. Go through that and find out what you can get to the point where you get resistance or just before pain. Find out where you are at now.

You can just measure it with my fist or a hand or a ball or a ruler just so I end up getting a baseline so I can see how that Knee Replacement Handbook ends up helping you improve that terminal knee extension and get back to pain free living.

Take care and bye bye.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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I wanted to go through another knee replacement exercise that I end up giving my clients and recommend.

Now let me go through the second one, you will need two different types of balls, a large stability ball for me this is 65cm and then the other one could be a kid’s ball or a Pilates ball.

I will show this to you in two different angles.

I get the individual to sit down and if they don’t feel comfortable sitting down into a 65cm ball, it’s too deep for them to squat into, I can end up utilizing a 75cm or 85cm ball that will decrease how much knee flexion and hip flexion is needed to get into the exercise.

#1 – Ball Squeeze

How I have them sitting is I have them sitting at whatever range that they feel comfortable with. A lot of people will end up being at 90 degrees. I’ve got them sitting on the ball. I’ve got the knee in line with the hip and the knee in line with the foot.

And now I am going to take the small ball and place it in between the knees. And what I am going to get them to do is squeeze into the ball a little bit.

The thing that I want them to watch out for with the little ball is I don’t want it to be pressing up against any painful areas or any sensitive scars so they will end up adjusting and they can put it a little higher up their thigh or they can end up putting it between their knees. If they put it a little higher up they can avoid those painful or sensitive areas and they can end up working on the adductors more.

I will get them to lightly squeeze the ball. And with that lightly squeezing the ball does is it ends up activating all those adductors and groin area so more abdominal inner unit muscles.

#2 – Ball Squeeze with Rocking

The next thing that I want them to do is rock forward and rock back maintaining that pressure with good upright posture and then I am going to get them to rock forward and rock back within pain free ranges of motion when it comes to the knee.

I would start it off with one set of 5 repetitions and then I will end up progressing into 10 repetitions and with 2 or 3 sets adding to it. I am really trying to focus on increasing the number of reps that they end up doing.

After they end up doing the 5 repetitions they can take a break when the exercise is done.

Let me show it to you from the side (you can see it in the above video), so I am having the client sit with their knees and feet a hip width apart. I am putting the ball in and squeezing the ball holding it in between my thighs as I move forward and back.

If there’s any concern with balance I can get them to put a hand on the railing or hand on the wall and they go to the point they can pain free and coming back to pain free and going back and forth pain free.

The ball ends up working the hips the adductors, specifically, also more of the deep core muscles, like inner unit muscles, and then we end up working on flexion extension of the knee. And also when it comes to adduction it ends up working on vastus medialis oblique (vmo).

So there you go with this second knee replacement exercise for you to give a go if you are recovering from a knee replacement or you can end up getting your client go through it.

Make sure you watch the other video that I went through on my YouTube channel when it comes to Knee Replacement (click here to watch it).

Plus make sure to subscribe to this YouTube channel with the subscribe button above.

If you are looking for a knee replacement program to help you get back to pain free and recovering from knee replacement so you can get back to enjoying and living your life you can look at the program that I use and it is at KneeReplacementHandbook.com.

Take care and bye bye

Rick Kaselj, MS

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Lets test your knowledge on knee replacements and what to do when it comes to knee replacements.

Put your answers below in the blog comment section or the Facebook comment section.

Here are the 10 questions.

Enjoy.

#1 – When was the first knee replacement performed?

a) 1963
b) 1968
c) 1969
d) 1972

#2 – What is the most common condition that leads to a knee replacement:

a) Osteoarthritis
b) Rheumatoid arthritis
c) Psoriatic arthritis
d) Osteoporosis

#3 – What percentage of knee replacements are performed for the age group 65 to 74?

a) 30%
b) 40%
c) 50%
d) 60%

#4 – By what percentage have knee replacements risen between 1994 to 2002?

a) 40%
b) 50%
c) 60%
d) 70%

#5 – How many knee replacements are performed in the USA, a year?

a) 300,00
b) 350,00
c) 400,000
d) 450,000

#6 – When is it expected that the number of knee replacements will double from compared to the number done in 2008?

a) 2015
b) 2020
c) 2025
d) 2030

#7 – What will slow down your recovery from a knee replacement?

a) Tobacco use
b) Excessive standing
c) Being overweight
d) Moving your knee too much

#8 – What is the number one thing that will increase your speed of recovery from a knee replacement?

a) Being ideal weight
b) Excellent cardiovascular fitness
c) Full knee extension
d) Greater quadriceps strength

#9 – What needs to be workec on in an exercise program when recovering from a knee replacement?

a) Knee extension
b) Quadriceps strength
c) Balance
d) All of the above

#10 – How should someone with a knee replacement sleep?

a) On their side
b) On their side with pillows between their knees
c) On their back
d) On their stomach

Remember to put your answers below in the blog comment section or the Facebook comment sections.

I will have the answers for you later this week.

Have a great day.

Rick Kaselj, MS
ExercisesForInjuries.com
Kinesiologist & Personal Trainer focusing on Exercises for Injury Recovery

If you are looking for an exercise program to help you or your client recover from a knee replacement, check out Knee Replacement Handbook:

Okay, if you have done the quiz and you got your answers, I go through the answers in this video:

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Over the weekend, I was in San Diego. One of the trainers there was Jason Klein.

Below, Jason shares with you the good that came out of one of his injuries.

Enjoy.

~ Rick Kaselj

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Back when I was a sophomore in high school I suffered a complete tear of my ACL knee ligament while playing soccer.

It. Sucked. Primarily because I was obsessed with the sport, and that is all I had really.

I was unable to play for the next six months.

Luckily I made a close to full recovery and played for four more seasons.

I suppose the point to make here is that I would have never ended up finding my passion for helping people as a health and fitness professional if I didn’t enter with a “traumatic” injury.

Ever since that time, it has been ritual-like behavior to personally implement kick ass athletic muscle and fat loss workouts that are also beneficial in the respect of preventing, recovering, and yes, Killing Injuries.

I want to let you in on a little secret within the fitness world. There’s a NEW and revolutionized method out there that is helping other people pack on lean athletic muscle, and lose fat at a much faster rate than traditional cardio workouts.

A Done-For-You System. A blueprint to lean, athletic muscle.

Isn’t it easier when you have a map of where you are going?

This method is not for people who want a “magic bullet. It is for those who love reaping true, long-term benefits from enjoyable challenges. Imagine getting some of the most effective workouts in 15 minutes or less without having to feel guilty about “not making time” to work out.
This method is called the 15 Minute Body™method, and has already impacted hundreds of people.

This 15 Minute Body™ method uses a new form of training called Interval Cardio-Resistance Training™ (ICRT™).

ICRT™ combines a metabolically demanding form of strength training with cardio training sets, which in-turn builds lean, athletic muscle and burns fat at a way faster rate than you’re used to.

I had literally stumbled upon the 15 Minute Body™ method about two years ago, as I was personal training in college. I have spent the past year digging up the scientific evidence behind this new method called Interval Cardio-Resistance Training™. You see, this is not your AVERAGE type of training method!

Below is just one scientifically proven reason for why people see big results with the 15 Minute Body™ method.

A 2012 study from the European Journal of Applied Physiology tested two groups of males; one group participating in long 45-90 minute cardio and one group participating in FAST, SPECIFIC resistance and cardio intervals.

RESULTS: The group that participated in short, higher intensity cardio-resistance workouts achieved exponentially greater results, in far less time. (European Journal of Applied Physiology. Vol. 112 (5). MAY 2012. 1907-1915)

I don’t know about you but that seems pretty awesome to me!

The other awesome fact about this workout is that it stimulates fast lean muscle growth AND fat loss more effectively than most traditional (boring) 60 minute cardio workouts! Plus, did I mention that is 100% bodyweight? I didn’t spend a dime on useless equipment!

You see, the main goal here is fat loss through lean muscle growth. Now keep in mind, these workouts don’t produce bulky muscle. It’s the lean, athletic physique that Jason’s 15 Minute Body™ method produces. Are you ready for this?

So if you are sick n’ tired of boring 60 minute workouts that leave you empty handed, you probably want to give THIS FREE WORKOUT A SHOT!

>>>CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT<<<<

Jason Klein, Certified Personal Trainer

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The last five days have been a whirlwind. Three days in San Diego and two days in Austin.

Saturday was Austin and for the day a group of us talked about what we do online when it comes to our websites and how we can improve them. The information during the meeting was great but the best conversation and lessons happened outside of the meeting room.

After Saturday’s meetings, we headed to the hotel bar. I had been told that Austin, Texas is very well known for its vodka. The most well known Austin vodka is Tito. So I gave it a go. (I am not a vodka connoisseur so I could not tell the difference between it and big name brands but I am glad I gave it a go.)

With drink in hand, I started chatting with Rusty Moore who runs a site called Fitness Black book and an old university friend, Alan Jenks, who runs a site called iHealthology.

Alan and I went to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada in the 90s. He went off to chiropractic school and is now a chiropractor in the Netherlands. (Ya, what a small world.)

Rusty, Alan and I chatted about training, exercises, injuries and pain.

Alan shared one story that I thought was fascinating.

Alan had a client that was a truck driver and had neck pain for 15 years. As Alan was chatting with the client he asked him about his necklace.

His client had a heavy necklace that he had around his neck. He let Alan know that he had been wearing his necklace for 15 years and had never taken it off.

Alan got him to take the necklace off for a few days and his fifteen years of neck pain went away.

Alan’s client has started to introduce the necklace back into his lift but makes sure to take it off at night and when he can.

This story highlights a lot of things.

This is what stood out for me:

#1 – Sometimes the fix is taking something away, compared to adding something.

#2 – Sometimes we assess so we can find a problem. There is a good chance you will find a problem that you think needs to be fixed but won’t solve the problem.

#3 – The best assessment is asking and listening to your client.

The night continued with great conversation but before I finished the night off, I had to stop off at one of the Taco Trucks in Austin and have a taco. Everyone that knew I was going to Austin said I had to try i out.

The taco was awesome, one of the best I had.

Rick Kaselj, MS

P.S. – If you or your client is looking for a neck relieving program, you can check out Neck Pain Solved.

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Have a watch and let me know if this sucks or is good:

Rick Kaselj, MS

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