Hello from Cleveland!

Hi all! I apologize for this long hiatus. Life happens sometimes- more specifically finals and starting my first clinical rotation. I figured I’d give the blogging a break for a wee bit in order to have more time to focus on finals and the start of my first clinical rotation.

So I’ve been doing my rotation in an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Cleveland for almost 2 weeks now, and I love it! I love interacting with patients and being able to explain to them what is going on in their muscles, joints, bones, nerves, etc. It hasn’t come without its struggles- I certainly have been mentally exhausted most every day by the time I get home. I know I will not want to go back to class when it’s over- I just want a job now

Anywho, I also started trying other methods of washing my hair. Or just one so far. My hair has felt so darn thin and blah lately it’s driving me crazy, so I decided to nix shampoo for a bit. I washed with baking soda the other day and did an apple cider vinegar rinse. I haven’t washed since Monday morning, and my curls have stayed in since Monday!! It’s amazing. However, my hair is just starting to look a tad greasy, so I think tomorrow I may try Castille soap since I don’t want to use baking soda all the time.

I’m making this a short one since I don’t have anything super interesting to report on. I haven’t even really been cooking for myself- I’m living with my boyfriend’s parents and I must say having dinner made each night is kind of nice. I’ll leave you with some recent pictures of Berkeley.

What’s the deal with ice?

If I’ve learned anything in PT school, it is never to be amazed. Some things you think may be so miniscule in terms of their importance actually have a much greater impact on the body than you’d thing, and in this case, I’m talking ice.

I’ve iced before after long runs and hard workouts, but I’ll admit, I never really knew the science behind it too much- just that someone told me it was smart to do.

Well, of course I have to share the knowledge- new knowledge I have about ice (or if you want to be technical, cryotherapy).

I bet you are super jealous that you don’t get to read articles such as this all the time Actually, the articles I’ve had to read on ice are more interesting than one would initially think. The article above was one of 3, and that one specifically looked at whether or not greater amounts of adipose tissue (fat) caused the need to keep ice on the injury longer- and it did because adipose tissue actually is a poor conductor of heat, so it takes more time for the heat to be absorbed into the ice.

On that note, even though I’ve taken physics, I never thought of icing that way. I always just, “I’m getting colder.” In fact, ice melts because it is absorbing the heat from whatever surface its on- in this case, tissue (or skin). Anywho, what does ice do for you?

What happens when muscle tissue is injured?
There is the primary injury- which could be the initial contact if you sustained an injury from something like a kick in the shin or falling and spraining and ankle. Then there is secondary injury which is the injury to surrounding cells that would be otherwise healthy and uninjured.

This is caused by two mechanisms- secondary hypoxic injury and secondary enzymatic injury. Basically, when tissue is injured it has a decreased supply of oxygen-leading to alterations in metabolic pathways to produce energy (hypoxic injury) and the release of enzymes that fight injuries (enzymatic injury).

All of these things lead to cells using an inefficient manner to exist leading ultimately to local cell death.
Ice, in a nutshell, has been shown to slow these processes in injured tissue. Therefore, cells that may have become injured secondary to an initial injury could be “saved” (haha) from cell death. The less cells you have die after injury- the quicker you recover.

While the articles I looked at looked at ice in acute injury situations, ice is good after intense workouts if anything just because it feels good.
The main takeaway is:

• Ice decreases secondary hypoxic and enzymatic injury to cells
• Ice decreases metabolic demands of hypoxic (cells lacking oxygen) cells- allowing cells to survive longer after injury
• Ice decreases inflammation, pain, and muscle spasm

Also, research has shown that crushed ice (or solid ice) is more affective at reducing muscle temperature than gel packs. The solid ice has to absorb more heat in order to melt, cooling the tissue more than the gel pack that does not change state and does not absorb as much heat.

Hopefully this puts a little science behind why you may use ice after injury. The previous theory that it causes vasoconstriction in the blood vessels and reduces edema is less supported than the points I just brought up. The most current research says the main effect of ice is to decrease metabolic demands due to a decreased temperature.

Technorati Tags: Ice,Injury,Science,Research,Cryotherapy

CrossFit Challenge Day #2

Hello all! I hope you all saw my last post about my puppy who is in a photo contest- vote for him because he is incredibly amazing (and adorable)

I hope everyone’s days went well, mine was not too bad. I woke up to quite a few inches of snow, but what’s new? I live in Ohio, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have snow in June. At least I can never get bored with the weather here!

I’m still going strong on the wheat free food elimination diet. It’s day 3, and so far I’m pretty sure I’ve avoided wheat. One of my roommates has starburst jellybeans sitting out, and with all the stuff in those, I’m avoiding them-but it’s so hard because those are one of my favorites! I think having to eat wheat free and knowing I’m doing it for my health to find out some answers to some problems has caused me to be a lot more mindful of what I’ve been eating and taking time to make healthier choices.

I think I’m usually pretty healthy, but I snack a lot and sometimes not on great things, so without wheat I have had to really think about how I’m going to snack and take some time to prepare snacks or do the alternative (go hungry).

This morning was yogurt with raisins and strawberries- yum!

For a snack I made kale chips with leftover kale that I had from making my massive salad last night.


I did the day 2 of the Beginner CrossFit Challenge. I realize it’s technically the third day since I’ve started, but I’m not being picky about following the plan exactly-just as much as I can.
Today was Tabata- I didn’t look up how to actually do tabata, just followed the instructions on the sheet, so if anyone knows anything more about Tabata type exercise/interevals- please let me know! This is new to me, but it seems it’s just another way to do intervals.


When I did this, I actually did goblet squats just with 15 pounds if you want a little extra challenge.

I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill. I’ve been taking a break from running because I’m still worried I may have more than just medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints) but something more serious like a stress fracture. The first mile actually did not feel too great, but it felt more like there was extra pressure in the front of my lower leg rather than a reaction in the bone, so I’m not sure if there’s inflammation or what. Therefore, I’m sitting here with some ice bags on my legs hoping that helps.

I know I need new shoes for sure, but I think I may have to go see a doctor for some X-rays or an MRI in case it is something more serious. I’ve been trying to avoid that because I can’t stand the thought of being told I have to take time off from running, but I of all people know how bad it is to continue to exercise on an injury.

Let me know what you think of Day 2 CrossFit! I really liked it, pushups are something I have always been horrible at, but I think I’m really getting better with all of them I’ve been doing! Yay!

Questions for you:
Any recommendations for new running shoes for a supinator with high arches?

What is an exercise you have always felt could be improved for yourself and what did you do to get better (pushups in my case)?

Technorati Tags: CrossFit,CrossFit 2 Week Challenge,Wheat Free,Healthy,Snacks,Injury,Running Injuries,Pushups,Tabata