Why do people touch their faces so often?  It has been reported that some people touch their face nearly two dozen times per minute on average.  There might be a science/psychology behind the act of touching our face. In this crazy time of Coronavirus and flu season, it is a habit that needs to be changed as quickly as possible.

The incidence of touching our face increases and correlates with the amount of stress that we experience at any given time.  The act has been shown in research to reduce that stress level.  The stressful situation often times deals with how and what cognitive information that an individual is processing.  The thought processing is referred to cognitive load and the amount of mental activity at a given time equals the total cognitive load.   When cognitive load is high, the stress level is elevated. Researchers have shown that touching the face actually reduces the cognitive load by changing the electrical potentials in the brain.

The increased act of touching the face more often has been linked to nearly any situation that elevates the stress level of the individual.  Males tend to touch their face, neck and arms where women more commonly touch their neck, clothing, jewelry (especially necklaces), arms and stroke their hair when they are involved in a stressful situation.

Obviously the big negative of touching your face is the transmission of germs from your hands to your face.  If you touch the area around your mouth, you have opened the door for the germs to enter your body via a warm, moist environment.  Everyone has to work on breaking the habit of touching their face so often throughout the course of the day.

Ways to prevent yourself from touching your face:

• Keep your hands busy:  Occupy your hands with almost any object and you are less likely to reach up and touch your face.  Use a stress ball, rubber bands or simply clasp your hands together when you are not actively using them to perform a task.
• Keep Kleenex handy:  When you absolutely have to touch your face to scratch an itch, adjust your glasses or rub your nose, be sure to use a Kleenex and not your bare hand.  Once you are done, throw the Kleenex away.
• Address the root of the habit:  There are “triggers” to most problems and touching the face is not an exception.  Everyone has some sort of compulsive behavior that they deal with every day. If they can figure out what “triggers” that behavior, they can begin to work on stopping it.
• Avoid stress:  Stressful situations lead to an increase in the number of times a person touches their face. The stress eventually will reduce your immune system’s ability to fight disease and touching your face repetitively can increase your chances of getting sick.
• Keep your hands clean:  Finally, make sure to keep your hands clean.  Wash your hands frequently and with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.  If your hands are clean and free of most germs, when you touch your face you will be less likely to transmit germs into your body.

Touching your face is something that nearly every individual does throughout the course of the day.  Unfortunately, it is a habit that can spread germs through transmission from your fingers to your face.  The goal should be to stop touching our face with our bare hand. When you have to do it, make sure that your hands have been washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

For more information, go to https://ace-pt.org/obsession-touching-face/

As athletes take to the fields and courts for high-intensity game play, there is a heightened awareness of concussion risks. Healthcare professionals have been focusing on brain traumas that result from a “blow” to the head during athletic competition.  A concussion diagnosis leads to temporary restrictions placed on affected players. How can we be certain if a player is suffering from a concussion?

Concussions occur when the head is traumatized and the brain is subjected to an impact force.  The symptoms of a concussion are numerous and include headaches, forgetfulness, sleep disturbances, fatigue, confusion and possibly pressure inside the head.  Unfortunately, there is not one objective test or finding that determines if someone has a concussion. As a result, a very comprehensive approach to evaluating a possible concussion must be employed.  The athlete might not have to be held out of competition or their sport if they do not have a concussion.

Diagnosing a concussion is difficult because the symptoms don’t always appear immediately and might take several hours to occur.  Secondly, many of the symptoms are mimicked by naturally occurring conditioning (i.e. headaches, forgetfulness, sleep disturbances and fatigue) that are present during everyday life in some people.  There might be an incident when an incorrect diagnosis of a concussion is given to an athlete who sustained a head injury and present with some of the symptoms but this is due to natural causes and not the blow to the head.

Healthcare professionals who witness the actual head trauma are better prepared to make a definitive diagnosis of a concussion. If they witness the forceful blow to the head, they are in a position to determine if the blow was forceful enough to cause a brain injury.  If the athlete sustained a blow to the head they need to be observed very closely if they present with no obvious symptoms.  Their condition might worsen quickly as they attempt to increase their physical and cognitive activity.

Improperly diagnosing a concussion can lead to a host of problems both physical and mental for the injured athlete.   The athlete that is incorrectly diagnosed with a concussion will become deconditioned quickly due to the standard removal from physical activity.  Physical activity has been shown to be one way to help manage the symptoms depression, ADHD and anxiety and “shutting down” an athlete due to an incorrect diagnosis can lead to an increase in the severity of the symptoms associated with these conditions.

Healthcare professionals owe it to the athlete to protect them from head trauma in any way possible, but the athlete should not be removed from competition simply because they were hit in the head.  Thorough evaluation techniques should be used and the injured athlete should be observed closely following a head injury.  Assessing their physical and cognitive status is a must and the results of many tests and measures should be summarized to determine if the athlete has suffered a concussion.  If their injury is deemed a concussion, they need to be removed competition and sport for duration of time that is appropriate for that individual’s condition.

Contributor of this article, ACE Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Institute has multiple clinics in Northern VA area, in Arlington / Clarendon, Alexandria, Falls Church / Merrifiled, Fairfax / Fair Oaks, Reston / Herndon and Lansdowne / Leesburg, Tysons / Vienna. 

GETTING FIT FOR GOLF

by ACE Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Institute

Tid Bits of Info

• A golfer can walk more than 10,000 steps and burn 2000 calories by simply “walking” a round of golf and “carry” the clubs.
• Club speed, during a swing of an amateur, averages between 70-80 mph and a professional 90-100 mph.
• Injuries rate can be as high as 40% for amateurs and 90% for professionals.
• Amateur golfers achieve approximately 90 percent of their peak muscular activity when driving a golf ball.
• Seek the advice of a Physical Therapist if you experience an injury during golf season or need tips on how to prepare for it.

Many golfers are just starting to get in the swing of things again. After a hiatus for several months, they are enjoying the warmer weather by getting back in the game. This is the perfect time to get fit for golf. While some players with a low handicap may enter the season in better shape and more prepared for time on the course, they may also face problems later in the season without proper preparation.

Playing golf requires that the body moves in many ways to hit the ball.  The segmental movements that occur every time the ball is hit are complex and can cause major injuries to nearly any part of the body if they are performed poorly or too many times in a given time period. A thorough fitness program may not improve your swing, but it should help you prevent injuries and reduce your overall game.

The golf swing has six phases, address, backswing, transition, downswing, impact and follow through and an injury can occur during any phase but the most common is the downswing.  The specifics of a routine that can help will be published next week as the second part of this blog series on injury prevention during the golf swing. A well-rounded program prepares the whole body through strengthening and stretching exercises that will encompass the entire musculoskeletal system.

Injuries in golf are very common and it does not matter if you are a professional or amateur.  Some studies indicate that as many as 40% of all amateurs and 90% of professionals will experience some kind of injury during the upcoming season. The most common injuries occur to the lumbar spine in both amateurs and professionals.  Amateurs tend to injure their upper extremity in all joints where the professional is more apt to hurt their wrists and hands.  The lead side of the body i.e. left side of a right-handed golfer, is at least 5x more susceptible to suffering an injury when compared to the trailside.

Knowing that the entire body is involved in the golf swing, it would behoove all golfers to condition their entire body.  Strength and flexibility programs have shown very positive results in producing a better golf game while experiencing fewer injuries.  The golf swing is a series of stretch (load) and contract cycles throughout the musculoskeletal system.

Any conditioning program has to incorporate exercises that prepare the musculature for this type of activity or they are more prone to injuries.  The program needs to place a large emphasis on lower extremity, hips and core strength.  Exercises that strengthen the body in a straight line (squats, lunges) are fine but eventually the addition of drills and activities that incorporate twisting, turning and bending needs to occur.  Performing a daily stretching program will improve flexibility.  The type of stretching before playing should be dynamic which involves moving in a similar way that occurs during the actual event.

Seek the advice and treatment from a Physical Therapist for suggestions of specific exercises that will help you to get fit for golf, improve your game, and reduce the likelihood of injury while playing a round of golf. Personal trainers can monitor your routine throughout the season to help guide your progression of an exercise routine.   These professionals can design specific gym work outs that focus on developing strength and flexibility throughout the musculoskeletal system which better prepares you for the upcoming season. This article has been contributed by ACE Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Institute, with multiple locations in Northern VA in Arlington / Clarendon, Alexandria, Falls Church / Merrifield, Fairfax / Fair Oaks, Reston / Herndon, Great Falls, Leesburg / Lansdowne. 

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

by ACE Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Institute

The new year is pressing close and will soon replace the previous year. For many people that mean time to pick up those abandoned New Year’s Resolutions from years past. Sadly, this usually means more disappointment as they tend to drop resolutions in a few weeks.  There is another way! Why not set moderate, achievable goals and work toward larger goals in increments? Just as you invest in work, family, and friends, you also need to invest in yourself.

Here are several common resolutions made every year by millions of people with tips for improved success:

Lose Weight –   Stay focused on moderate lifestyle changes in your eating habits. Avoid fad diets. While these usually produce drastic results in a short period of time, the severe alteration in your diet is very difficult to maintain. Most people end up “falling off the wagon” and gaining more weight than they lost.

Get in Shape – Increasing fitness levels has been linked to many positive health outcomes. Improved fitness has also been associated with reduced stress levels, decreased the onset of some forms of cancer, enhanced mood, helps to maintain the desired body weight and reduce the effects of osteoarthritis. You should incorporate both cardiovascular and strength training exercises into your fitness program.  Seek the advice of a Physical Therapist or personal trainer regarding a proper regimen to accomplish your fitness goals.

Quit Smoking – If you’re still smoking, this is a perfect time to quit. Smoking damages your body on many levels. There are carcinogens in cigarettes and cigar smoke.  The carbon monoxide that is found in the smoke “steals” vital oxygen from the red blood cells, and oxygen is needed for every bodily function.

Reduce Stresses in Your Life – The non-stop pace of our culture is full of stress. Stress can be devastating to your body, causing the body to release the hormone cortisol. While this hormone can save your life in an emergency by stimulating the “fight or flight” reaction of the nervous system, it can be detrimental to all bodily functions when it is too high. Regular exercise can help reduce cortisol levels over time.

Maintaining the changes in your life is difficult.  Here are some overall suggestions that will help you and can help to create the “new you” are the following:

Be Specific:  Don’t generalize what you want the results of your exercise efforts to be and set measurable goals.  Most goals that are set in a fitness setting can be measured quite easily.  Be sure to get your baseline and record your progress as you go.

Achievable Goals:  Goals have to be set and the “bar” should be high enough to make you work for a positive outcome, but not so high that you fail to achieve it. You should work with a personal trainer initially to learn the proper techniques and form needed during the routine that will produce the best results and prevent injuries.

Relevance: Your exercise routine and goals need to be relevant to you.  A personal trainer can help you formulate your plan but you are the ultimate decision maker.  You have to decide the most important aspect of the exercise routine that you are going to begin and then have your trainer develop a program to help you achieve your goals.

There is nothing wrong with setting New Year’s resolutions, but all too often these are forgotten within a few weeks.  Take a new approach and create the “new you” and enjoy the positive changes in the quality of life. 

Compliments or Comments: EMail ACE Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Institute  at info@ace-pt.org

TIGHT HAMSTRINGS AND LOW BACK PAIN by ACE Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Institute

When treating low back pain, healthcare professionals first seek to diagnose the primary cause of symptoms. There are a variety of causes for this type of pain such as muscle strains and physical weakness. If a patient experiences both tight hamstrings and low back pain, the treatment protocol usually includes some type of stretching exercise for the hamstring muscle group. This may not be a good idea. A strengthening regiment may be more effective.

The hamstring muscle group is positioned on the back of the thigh bone. Hamstring muscles are part of a muscle group that stretches across most of the leg. The muscles start at the bone where we sit called the Ischial Tuberosity.  Then they continue down the back of the thigh bone (femur), cross the knee joint, and attach (insert) into the back side of the shin bone (tibia).  The hamstring muscles are active during nearly every motion that occurs in the lower extremities.  They are able to extend the hip and flex the knee joint.  During these motions, the muscles contract and pull on the bony attachments.

Almost all healthcare professionals will tell you that tight or shortened hamstring muscles can cause low back pain.  The misconception is that anyone with tight hamstrings is pre-disposed to low back pain. There is very little concrete evidence or data that links “tight” hamstrings to being a cause of low back pain or pre-disposing someone to it in the future. Recent theories actually encourage clinicians to reduce the intensity and frequency of hamstring stretching.

Many people have shortened hamstring muscles that are not too tight and do not have a negative effect on the lumbar spine.  When healthcare professionals evaluate a patient complaining of low back pain, they usually assess the patient’s ability to flex the hip.

When the total amount of flexion is less than 80 degrees, patients are deemed to have shortened, tight hamstrings.  This is often times listed as a primary cause of symptoms.  The hamstring is most likely not tight but is taut which limits motion in a similar manner.  The tension within the muscle cells is elevated in either condition, but the treatment should be significantly different.

Taut hamstring muscles can be caused by overactive or tight opposing musculature which in this case are the hip flexor and adductor muscles. If these muscles are shortened and tight (oftentimes due to sitting too much) they can change the static position of the pelvis.  They can make the hamstring muscles be lengthened and taut.  Prolonged lengthened positioning leads to high tension levels in the muscle cells. Stretching these lengthened muscles leads to an increase in pain.  In many instances, the pain that occurs when someone stretches a “tight” hamstring muscle originates from the nerves that occupy the same area of the buttock and leg. Nerves are not very elastic and can become irritated if they are stretched too far or too often.

Treatment for hamstrings that present as “tight” should include a thorough strengthening routine and a minimal amount of stretching.  The high tension that develops can lead to a weakened muscle mass.  If the muscle is not strengthened, it will not be able to handle the force that is generated by the opposing muscles that have become truly tight and short.

Seek the advice and treatment from a Physical Therapist.  They will assess your condition and then devise a treatment program that will address all of your needs.  The program will include exercises that will strengthen any tight or taut muscle and stretch any tight muscle that have become too short.  Visiting a Physical Therapist does not require a doctor’s prescription but your insurance company might require that you get a referral from your general practitioner.

If you have been told that you have “tight” hamstrings and it is the cause of your low back pain, you might want to seek out a healthcare professional who can assess your condition differently.  There is slight chance that these muscles can be a primary cause for low back pain, but it would be highly unlikely.

The contributor of this article ACE Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Institute has Physical Therapy offices in Arlington / Clarendon, Alexandria, Fair Oaks / Fairfax, Falls Church, Herndon / Reston, Great Falls, Leesburg /Lansdowne and Tysons / Vienna . If your back Hurts, contact ACE PT  First!