Weightlifting Safety

Weightlifting is an excellent way to strengthen your musculoskeletal system. As a certified sports physician and chiropractor, ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge’s own Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo has overseen many athletes and patients using weightlifting as a way to maintain their muscle tone, as well as the density of their bones. When done properly, weightlifting allows the muscles to support a person’s spine and joints and makes them more resilient to injury. But weightlifting needs to be done correctly for maximal benefit and to avoid accidents, and while we recommend that everybody considering it get a personal trainer, there are some general safety tips to keep in mind.

 

Anytime you work out, you should start with a warm-up of at least five minutes of aerobic exercise. These may include dynamic stretches, but not ones you do while holding a muscle still. You’ll also need to do at least five minutes of cooldown exercises at the end of the workout. It’s important to build strength throughout your body and to avoid overuse, so work each set of muscles twice a week, no more, and don’t work the same set two days in a row. You’ll also need to have someone else present when you lift heavy weights, although you’ll be working your way up to those gradually.

 

A fitness instructor will help you to determine your goals and the proper form for each lift, and sticking to that will keep your workouts efficient as well as safe. But for each lift, you need to avoid turning your head and keep your back as straight as possible. Inhale as you lower a weight, and exhale as you lift or press. Stop doing anything that hurts, and come to our office if you experience back or neck pain. Weightlifting is part of a healthy lifestyle, but like any form of exercise, comes with risks that can be mitigated by following gym and trainer rules.

 

For assistance with workout recoveries and relief from joint and back pain, visit Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo at the ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

Buying Shoes for a Healthy Gait

A well-aligned skeletal system starts from the bottom up. Think about it: if there’s a misalignment in your foot or ankle bones, everything above them can be off-center enough to cause chronic soreness and fatigue. We perform extremity adjustments at the ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge and provide customized foot orthotics, allowing our patients to recover from imbalances in their knees, hips, and lower backs. But since we’re in the holiday shopping season, we thought we’d share some tips for buying shoes that will provide you with better support.

One of the most common mistakes people make when buying shoes is not getting both their feet measured. Often, people’s left and right feet are slightly different sizes, so they should know from the start whether they’ll need supportive orthotics for at least one shoe. They should also wear socks of a similar thickness to the ones they expect to wear with certain shoe types, and may want to go later in the day, when their feet have spread out a bit from bearing their weight.Shoe manufacturers are making more flip-flops, sandals, and dress shoes with arch support, but buyers still need to take care that both the bottom and side of their foot will be supported. Athletic shoes should also provide cushioning and stability to the ankle. 

If used daily, athletic shoes will probably be worn out after a few months, at which point they will need to be replaced. In general, shoes need to be replaced when their treads no longer have grip or when the shape of their cuff is distorted enough to stop providing ankle support. Buyers should remember to lace the shoe the way they intend to wear it, but if a shoe is uncomfortable after being worn in the store for ten minutes, it is unlikely to get any better.

If you still have doubts about how your gait is affecting your extremities, come in for an assessment at the ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo, call 703-491-9355 or visit ACT Wellness.

 

 

Golf Injuries

Golf is a welcome reprieve for many people, and at ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, we’re happy when our patients get exercise and sunlight. But if you weren’t staying limber while practicing social distancing, you may not be quite ready to play at full strength yet. Golf is a sport that puts a great deal of stress on the lower back, so we wanted to address how players can protect themselves from developing degenerative conditions, or experiencing a relapse if they already have one.

 

When you twist your lower back to complete a swing, you’re subjecting it to a great deal of force. The vertebrae of the lower lumbar region are able to rotate more freely than those in other parts of the spinal column, and they, and the muscles and ligaments surrounding them, are more vulnerable to wear and tear. Consequently, the muscles may become tight and swollen as they fray, and people whose discs are already degenerating are at risk of herniating them. If you suffer an injury, begin resting and icing it; don’t attempt to play through the game, or you risk further rupture.

 

We offer minimally invasive, non-addictive solutions to lower back pain. Among them are electric muscle stimulation, chiropractic adjustments, and low level laser treatments. But to prevent injuries, you’ll need to warm-up before each game and stretch every day. Our doctor, Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo, is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician and can help patients to develop a regimen of core strengthening exercises that will ease the burden on their spinal columns and allow them to stretch more freely without their muscles and tendons fraying.

 

If you’ve been bothered by lower back pain while practicing your swing, schedule a visit to Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo at the ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

Lower Back Pain and Indoor Cycling

To keep your spine aligned, you need strong muscles to support it. Exercise is a key element of overall health. Indoor cycling, often also called spinning is a popular way to get aerobic exercise.  If the exercise is not done correctly or the rider's position is bad, injuries can occur; problems with the lower back and knees are most common. At ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, we work with our patients to devise routines that will keep them strong and flexible. This week, we’re going to take a look at why that is and how to prevent it.

 

To prevent injury and aid comfort it is crucial to make sure the bio-mechanical position of the rider is correct. Posture is always one of the first things to examine when a person is struggling with back pain. Bicycles need to be fitted to the person using them. If a person has to stretch too far forward to reach the handle bars, that will put strain on their lower back. A well-trained group cycling instructor can help you to adjust the seat and the handlebar height prior to riding. In addition, bicycle stores are usually able to fit their customers; and people inheriting a used bicycle should be properly fitted as well.

 

Professional cyclists can be assured of good equipment, but they still suffer from high rates of lower back pain due to uneven work-out routines. The lumbar or lower region of the spine is supported by muscles that connect to the pelvis and femurs. As those muscles get tired, the lumbar vertebrae sway side-to-side, causing joint fatigue. People who cycle regularly also need to remember to strengthen the core muscles supporting their lumbar spines. This can be done through exercises including bird-dogging and planking. Our chiropractor, Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo, is a Chiropractic Sports Physician and can help patients to identify which exercises are safest and most effective for them. He can also help people suffering from lower back pain to return to activity sooner through corrective chiropractic care.

 

To reduce the risk of athletic injuries and learn more about injury prevention, visit Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo at ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.