Tag Archives: injuries

The Toll Behind the Toe Loop: New Study Looks at the Physical Impact of Figure Skating

Women’s figure skating, arguably one of everyone’s favorite events, has concluded for another Olympiad. Russian Adelina Sotnikova upset favorite and defending gold-medalist Yuna Kim of South Korea in a decision that has a lot of people talking. But let’s put politics aside for a minute. We know it takes serious strength to get through a figure skating free skate, but just how much of a beating does an Olympic skaters body take during the performance?

That’s what researchers at Brigham Young University and the United States Figure Skating Association set to figure out. In a series of tests a skating coach at BYU, Jacquelyn Packard, helped demonstrate not only the grace of skating, but the force it puts on the body, some of which can cause injury.

“[Injury] happens more often than you think,” she said in an interview with BYU News. “A lot of these skaters are skating in a lot of pain.”

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Posted on February 21, 2024 by Elizabeth

GO Sport IDs Provide Athletes with Motivation and Security

Go Sport ID Wrist bands and logoIt’s great to leave all your cares behind when you go out for a bike ride, which often means keeping your phone home. Similarly, toting around a heavy wallet can be a burden when you’re out running. However, in the case of a serious injury or accident, the absence of these objects makes it difficult to identify an unconscious athlete or contact their family. GO Sport ID provides a simple solution to give runners and bikers peace of mind by creating lightweight identification that communicates the your most important information when you can’t.

They offer several different ID products, including wristbands and dog tags. There are a number of wristbands options, such as an adjustable nylon band or magnetic therapy bracelets. Each GO Sport ID not only has space for your name and an emergency contact, but also an inspirational message so that you can use your ID to remind yourself of your goals and motivations. You may also want to provide any other vital medical information that first responders need to know.

GO Sport IDs was started in August 2024, and is based in Houston. Biggest Loser season 11 winner Olivia Ward and runner-up Hannah Curlee are spokespeople for GO Sport IDs, and encourage all athletes to be prepared for emergencies.

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Posted on October 7, 2024 by Margaret

Low Impact Exercise Doesn’t Have to Mean a Low Intensity Workout

For most, impact exercise is a good thing. The more force you apply to your bones, the stronger they become. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the population is physically falling apart due to being sedentary, overweight, and all around just plain horrible to ourselves.

To be fair, many have legitimate joint and bone injuries, or are recovering from surgeries that also require them to stick to low and no impact modes of exercises. There is no shame in that. Low or no impact doesn’t have to mean taking it easy- it just means working out differently. You can get just as intense of a workout while still being mindful of your limitations.

Low Impact Cardio

To determine if something is high impact, ask yourself if your feet leave the floor, and how hard they come back in contact with it. Your bones and joints are required to absorb the shock, and the impact of this can be too much for many.

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Posted on September 22, 2024 by Kelly

Maintaining Weight Loss Through Life’s Struggles

Cynthia Crowsen writes at It All Changes about living life on the roller coaster of life. She has lost over 100 pounds in a variety of ways but more importantly found her love for life. She hates changes but they keep coming so she’s jumped on to enjoy the ride.

It took me 3 years to lose 115 pounds and reach a happy weight where I felt comfortable. Then life happened. I had back surgery along with several other injuries, stomach and major allergy issues and some depression when my beloved Grandmother died. Life threw me a curve ball and suddenly maintaining this weight loss didn’t seem possible.

I won’t say I maintained my entire 100+ pound weight loss over the last 5 years but I maintained most. More importantly, I maintained the healthy habits I’d gained while losing the weight. The habits prevented gaining back all the weight I’d lost and a few extra pounds.

I used these 5 tips to minimize my weight gain while maximizing my health through difficult times. Now I’m using them to get back to my happy weight.

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Posted on June 19, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Skechers Shape Ups for Kids Disturb Parents and Professionals

Skechers Shape Ups shoes for kids has caused quite the controversy since their release, including a petition at change.org to have the line discontinued. Parents and professionals are disturbed that toning shoes are being made for and marketed to elementary school students.

The commercial aimed at young girls seems to be especially concerning to parents. The commercial in question does not specifically say anything about toning, but it does say that these shoes offer “everything a girl could want, looking good, having fun,” with “extra height and bounce,” which, of course, is too good to be true. Parents are concerned that the thin cartoon characters and emphasis on appearance is encouraging unhealthy attitude towards body image in young girls. Parents are also concerned that the commercial contains a shot of boys dressed as junk food following the singer; it certainly is a confusing image. I would be interested to hear what you think this is communicating to young girls?

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Posted on May 17, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Pros and Cons of Learning Yoga from a DVD

It used to be that if you wanted to workout, you had to leave you house to hit the track, the gym or a nearby trail. Thanks to the surge in workout DVDs, getting an amazing workout can be done at home. The conveniences of working out at home are undeniable, but when it comes to certain forms of exercise, like yoga, there are also some drawbacks from simply slipping in a DVD and getting your “Om” on in the living room.

Here is a look at the pros and cons of learning yoga from a DVD. (more…)

Posted on January 27, 2024 by heather

Common Gym Injuries For Beginners

Beginning the gym process is often scary for most people- they fear the unknown. Don’t let the thought of joining a gym for the first time scare you. Everything will be alright and you will soon feel that you a part of a gym family.

Finding the right gym is often the toughest part. You definitely need to take in to account the distance you will be traveling, whether or not the gym has the right equipment (weights, day-care, fitness classes, etc.) to help you meet your needs, and reasonable memberships rates. The next step is to familiarize yourself with the workout process. Beginning a new fitness routine is rather challenging and often hazardous to the body if you’re not completely careful. I recommend contacting a fitness expert with questions or help with setting up a new fitness routine. Recent studies show that beginner gym “go-ers” are more likely to injure themselves compared to the entire gym population. Below is a list of injuries that you need to be aware of so you can be sure to steer clear of them.

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Posted on December 31, 2023 by Matt