At the Winchester Institute we focus on whole body health. We do this by offering exercise and nutritional advice for our patients.  Most patients are interested in losing weight, so we try to offer the most up to date information (whether it is good or bad) on the current trends.

A recent news paper article was based on an unlikely weight-loss aid, noodles. The article states noodles made with fiber from the Asian Konjac plant can help a person lose weight by keeping them full longer. The article also claims the Konjac fiber helps to lower cholesterol, improve digestion, and can help diabetics control blood sugar levels.  One study states the consumption of proprietary fiber (made from the Konjac fiber) before a meal was found to reduce pizza intake by 38 grams or 85 calories. Scientist’s state research shows the fiber is beneficial, but more studies are needed.

As stated further research is needed, but as of right now it seems it may be a natural way to increase you soluble fiber intake. This can help with digestion, cholesterol problems, and blood sugar levels.  If you are looking to increase your fiber intake and receive some of these health benefits Dr. Haggerty suggests increasing your fresh fruit, fresh vegetable and whole grain intake.

A new study in Men’s Health Magazine explains why boot camps and other training classes are currently so popular. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that people who train in groups can boost their pain tolerance more than people who work out alone. The study claims scientists aren’t exactly sure why, but they think that group exercise may contribute to an underlying endorphin surge. The study also suggests, if you don’t have a training partner, plug in some earphones because music seems to ease strenuous exercise.

At the Winchester Institute we help people achieve their health goals by providing our experienced personal training staff for instruction and motivation. This can provide the patient with a competitive environment helping them achieve this increased pain tolerance and gain the strength and stabilization they need to get back to a healthier, pain free, lifestyle. At the Institute the results speak for themselves.

Many athletes have been told to suck in their gut or press their back toward the floor while doing core exercises. This advice began in the mid 1990’s when researchers discovered that the first muscle to fire during an athletic movement was the transverse abdominis, a key core stabilizing muscle. It was discovered, by performing this sucking maneuver, this muscle could be isolated and strengthened. This advice spread like wildfire through personal trainers, Pilate’s instructors, and other fitness experts.

A current article in the NY times states that this instruction can be detrimental to an athlete’s low back. Stewart McGill, a highly regarded professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo states “There is so much mythology out there about the core”.  He goes on to state “The idea has reached trainers and through them the public that the core means only the abs. There’s no science behind that idea”

Most researchers agree that the core is the corset of muscles and connective tissue that hold the spine in place. If a person has a stable core their lower back will be protected while performing any form of movement or activity.  McGill says “the muscles forming the core must be balanced to allow the spine to bear large loads. If an athlete concentrates on strengthening only one set of core muscles, they can destabilize their spine by pulling it out of alignment”. He goes on to say “in research at our lab, the amount of load the spine can bear without injury was greatly reduced when subjects pulled in their belly buttons during crunches and other exercises”.

McGill suggests that a core exercise routine should incorporate all major muscles surrounding the spine. He states that this can be accomplished by performing some research proven exercises such as the side plank, bird dog, and the modified curl-up.

At the Winchester Institute these exercises are exactly what Dr. Haggerty has been prescribing to his patients for years. After attending many continuing education seminars presented by Stuart McGill he has experienced the benefits of this research first hand and has brought back that knowledge to advance his patients. If you or someone you know is experiencing back pain please contact our office or email Dr. Haggerty at drhaggerty@thewinchesterinstitute.com for a complementary consultation.

At the Winchester Institute we like to keep up on the latest musculoskeletal treatments. This past week one of our licensed massage therapists came to me with some information on a new soft tissue technique called Yamuna Body Rolling.

Yamuna Body Rolling is a soft tissue treatment that uses four to six inch balls and claims to lengthen and tone muscles, decompress joints, while reorganizing the body.  This caught my interest because we currently use foam rolls for certain soft tissue treatments. Due to this fact, it seems that YBR may fit right in at the Winchester Institute.

The technique’s creator states that YBR has three distinctive features:

      1) The specialist uses his or her hands on one side of the body and the ball on the other.

      2) The ball acts as a fulcrum for applying sustained traction outward, away from the center of the body.

      3) The combination of traction plus working both sides of the body at the same time results in equal release, front-to-back and side-to-side, bringing muscle groups into balance.

Many therapists state YBR makes working on clients much easier. The therapists state that they can obtain a deeper release on their clients with relatively little effort and no strain to their hands or wrists.

The goal for this treatment is to balance the client’s body so all the muscles – front, back and sides – have an equal range of motion, length and tone.

At the Winchester Institute we work on finding imbalances that are causing dysfunction in the body and focus on eliminating them as soon as possible. This relieves abnormal stresses from the joints preventing abnormal wear and tear and pain. This technique is very interesting and more research will be done to see if this is something we want to offer at the Winchester Institute.