Saturday, November 18, 2017

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

What are the Types of Muscle Contractions?

There are three different types of muscle contractions. A brief description follows for all three:


1. Isometric Muscle Contraction
An isometric muscle contraction occurs when the muscle contracts but does not change in length. An example would be of this is if you were holding a box or weight in front of you, and held stationary. The biceps muscle contracts but does not change in length because the body is not moving up or down


2. Concentric Muscle Contraction
A concentric muscle contraction occurs when the muscle contracts and shortens at the same time. An example would be of this is lifting the body up into a chin-up position. The biceps muscles contracts and shortens as the body is raised up to the chin-up bar.


3. Eccentric Muscle Contraction
An eccentric muscle contraction occurs when the muscle contracts and lengthens at the same time. Example: the biceps brachii muscle contracts eccentrically to enable controlling the arm while lowering an object. While the arm is lowering (getting longer), it is still contracting in order to control it.


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All these tips and more can be found in the course offered by Niel Asher Advanced Trigger Point Techniques called The Anatomy of Sports Injuries.  Very good course with lots of valuable information. Click here to review the details of this course and many others.



Saturday, November 4, 2017

Do You Feel Like Skipping Breakfast?

This is a sign of HCL or pancreatic enzyme need. This is a pattern seen in clients who eat a larger dinner very fat without chewing it properly. Unfortunately this causes the food to stay in the digestive system for a longer period of time, and in the morning they are still digesting and do not feel hungry. Encouragement of clients to break this habit by eating a smallish breakfast, having regular meals throughout the day and encouraging an earlier lighter dinner.
Zinc deficiency has been associated with hypochlorhydria and should therefor be assessed.


Enzymes break down food into compounds for absorption into the bloodstream. Food Enzymes has Betaine HCl, bile salt, bromelain, lipase, alpha amylase, pancreatin, papain and pepsin. Click here to see what else it can do for you.



Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Black or Tarry Stools

Black or tarry stools are usually a result of bleeding into the upper GI tract. This is a serious sign and needs immediate investigation to rule out pathology (ulcer, Crohn's disease, colitis, cancer etc). Also need to ask whether there has been an ingestion of iron, charcoal, or bismuth products. Bismuth is found in over the counter medication, such as Pepto-Bismol and other nutritional supplements. When bismuth oxidizes in the GI tract it turns black, and could therefore stain the stool. A heavy meat diet can also cause black stools.

Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing.