• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
  • STEPS Virtual
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • 615.269.8844

STEPS Fitness

Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center

  • STEPS Virtual
  • Programs
    • STEPS Fitness Presents Events
    • DR. Irv’s Perfect Exercise Minute
    • Training Packages
    • Group Offerings
    • Corporate Wellness
    • Traveler’s Special
  • Personal Trainers
    • Dr. Irv Rubenstein
  • Testimonials
  • Fitness Blog
    • Dr Irv’s Fitness Blog
    • Exercise of the Month
  • Newsletters
    • Fit Happens
    • Real News Newsletter
  • Search

December 31, 2021 By Irv Rubenstein

REAL News – January 2022

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

REAL News March 2018January 2022

Foam Rolling: Fact or Hype?

Foam rollers – those cylinder-shaped dense foam devices used by elite athletes and therapy patients world wide to “release” bound-up, knotted-up, adhered, scarred, tight myofascia (the fascial wrapping around muscles) – are all the rage. They’re like do-it-yourself massagers that, with skill and agility, allow a person to treat themselves for their muscular aches and pains. 

But do they realllllllly work?

REAL News - January 20221

Many studies have demonstrated their value for increasing range of motion (ROM) for muscles about to be used and for alleviating muscle pain, chronic or acute. But a group of researchers determined to study the value of foam rolling + stretching compared to rolling alone and stretching alone to see if doing so improved ROM and performance. A meta-analysis of 169 studies found 12 that met the criteria for inclusion in their analysis. These 12 provided a pool of 267 subjects most of whom were athletes.

“There was no significant difference between the combined stretching and foam rolling group and the stretching alone group—both groups showed an average increase in ROM of 6.83% and 5.26%, respectively.”

Granted, compared to a non-stretching control group, all the rollers and stretchers improved ROM. 

As far as performance benefits, there was no significant difference between the combo group and the stretching-only group. However, a small gain was made if rolling was followed by stretching versus the other way around. 

Fact or hype?  Stay tuned.

J Sports Sci Med Mar. 2021

Resistance Training May Not Reduce Arterial Stiffness

By now everyone knows that cardio training, like regular walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. is good for the heart and for the blood vessels in general. Over the past 30 years, health and fitness guidelines have promoted the many musculoskeletal, metabolic, and neurological benefits of resistance training (RT) with weights or other forms of resistance with only scant reference to its value to the cardiovascular system. A team of researchers from Salisbury University (MD) tested 3 groups of 18-30 y/o males to see if a 12-week whole-body RT program improved arterial stiffness, a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.

One group of 10 served as controls while another group did 3-5 days/wk of high-intensity (2-3 sets of heavy) RT and another did high-volume (3-4 sets of moderate) RT. Each group was tested pre- and post-tested on body weight, body fat, blood pressure, and three accepted modalities of arterial function.

REAL News - January 20222

The results did not demonstrate any changes in arterial stiffness on any of the measures. These results were in accord with many but not all studies of this kind. Some that have shown changes used fewer exercises, more sets, or less frequent training days; some did not control for extraneous activity such as cardio, which could improve arterial fitness if added to an RT program.

Worth noting, of course, is that all RT subjects got stronger (duh!), and no differences were found between the two groups of lifters. One other thing worth mentioning: there were no adverse changes in either group on blood pressure, arterial compliance, arterial health. Perhaps the study was simply too short.              

JSCR Dec. 2021

 

Tid Bits

Mushrooms are seeing a resurgence in popularity not just for their newfound variability and applicability but for their nutritional value.  A study out of Penn State found that they might also reduce the risk of depression. Based on retrospective analysis of over 24,000 adults, they found those who ate at the mid-range amount of ‘shrooms (~5 g/day) had about a 70% lower risk of depression than those who ate in the lowest-range.                                    Environmental Nutrition Feb. 2022 

 

Diet drinks might help some folks lose weight simply by reducing the amount of sugar in one’s diet assuming….A recent study in JAMA Network Open (Sept. 2021) made nutrition headlines when it found that “artificially-sweetened beverages may trick the brain into feeling hungry, especially in women and people with obesity.” Brain MRIs showed “increased activity in the appetite and food cravings” areas in these two groups  after consuming a beverage with Sucralose compared to those who drank a sugar-sweetened beverage. They also ate more snacks afterward.                                                                                                               Environmental Nutrition Feb. 2022

 

Speaking of knee replacements – weren’t we? – a very large study found that those who did any physical therapy before their surgery were less likely to use opioids after surgery. Too, those who did 6 or more PT sessions after surgery, compared to those who did fewer, were 25% less likely to need or use opioids up to 90 days afterward. Furthermore, starting PT within 30 days of the replacement procedure substantially improved the odds of not requiring long-term pain medicine. The good news is, in the US, almost all insurance programs and all surgeons offer support and encouragement for post-surgery PT, generally around 12 sessions, sometimes more. Unfortunately, it’s harder to get coverage for PRE-surgery therapy or supervised exercise. Unless you call STEPS, that is.                                                                              Cleveland Clinic Men’s Health Advisor Feb. 2022

Related Posts:

  • REAL News - November 2022
    REAL News - November 2022
  • REAL News - September 2022
    REAL News - September 2022
  • REAL News - April 2022
    REAL News - April 2022
  • Fit Happens - Winter 2023
    Fit Happens - Winter 2023
  • REAL News - March 2023
    REAL News - March 2023
  • REAL News - May 2022
    REAL News - May 2022
  • REAL News - February 2023
    REAL News - February 2023
  • REAL News - January 2021
    REAL News - January 2021

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Real News Tagged With: arterial function, diet drinks, foam rollers, foam rolling, mushrooms

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

FREE Consultation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

  • Exercise of the Month
  • Fit Happens
  • Fitness Blog
  • General News
  • Newsletters
  • Real News
  • Trainers

Tags

achieve well-being aging Alzheimer's disease barefoot running body fat bone density breast cancer burn off excess weight calories cardio cardiovascular childhood obesity coronavirus covid diabetes diet dieting eating disorders Exercise exercise intensity field of health or exercise science fitness flexibility functional fitness health Heart Health higher risk of obesity lose weight mental health musculoskeletal improvements obesity physical activity physically active protein reduce your risk of falling resistance training running Senior Training slows cognitive decline strength training Stretching training weight loss Weight loss vs Exercise gain weight management

Recent News

Mar 01

REAL News – March 2023

Feb 01

REAL News – February 2023

Jan 15

Fit Happens – Winter 2023

Jan 01

REAL News – January 2023

Dec 01

REAL News – December 2022

Reviews

Search Our Directory

Footer Widget Header

Affiliations

  • american-college-of-sports-medicine
  • american-council-on-exercise
  • biometrics
  • exercise-etc-inc
  • national-strength-and-conditioning-association
  • renewed-support

STEPS Fitness | 2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 | Nashville, TN 37212 | 615.269.8844 p

© 2023 Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center | Designed by Ponder Consulting ®

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok