One Love, One Blog

To make life easier for patients, contributors and me, I have merged our articles, patient resource and news blogs into one. I hope you find the compiled information more convenient. All the best - Mark

Turkish Get Up

If you have been at the Eagle Ranch Fitness Center, you may have seen me doing these odd looking exercises and wondered what the heck is he doing? I certainly do seem to be breathing hard to just get off the floor a few times.

The Turkish get up (TGU) is an old school, whole body strong man exercise. You know what I am talking about - Big guys with handlebar mustaches wearing leopard print unitards and bending steel with their teeth. You may not have such fashion or fitness goals. That's ok. The Turkish get up also builds core strength and when used in a circuit with short rest periods between exercises, can be part of a great fat and weight loss program.

One of my friends once remarked " I have no idea what muscles its working, but it definitely kicks my butt". The truth is, it works all of your muscles to some extent. Have a look at the exercise below:

• shoulders, lats and chest to hold and stabilize the weight above you.
• abdominals to bring yourself to a seated position.
• triceps and arms to hold your body as you swing your leg through.
• legs as you go from lunge to standing.
• core activation throughout the exercise.

There are a few variations of this exercise typically having to do with balance and how you move your leg behind you. It is most safely done with kettle-bells and dumb-bells. Start with lower weights get the form, rhythm and balance down. As always, it is good to talk to the resident trainer or therapist to help guide you your first time around.

Mark Pitcher DC, MSc

chiropractor, exercise physiologist

Dr. Pitcher works in the Vail, Edwards and Eagle offices. To make an appointment call, 926-4600. If you have questions for Dr. Pitcher, you can email him at drpitcher@vailhealth.com

Eating Healthy Food is a Human Right.

This might seem like an odd rallying call in this day and age. After all, it seems like there is healthy and nutritious food available in every grocery store. However, if you've ever read a book by Michael Pollan, watched "Fresh", "Food, Inc.", or seen Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution on tv, you may be wondering if your food is really healthy beneath the surface. Over the years there have been product recalls ranging from spinach to frozen meat and peanut butter that have shaken our trust in the large agribusiness and food processing companies. Why are we so scared of our food? And what can we do to ensure that we don't have to be?

My grandmother used to tell me that food didn’t have flavor any more. I was 10, and I thought that my grandmother was just old and experiencing what happens when you get old. As I grew up I saw an explosion of processed foods, convenience foods and fast foods that seemed to be huge steps forward until I was out in an organic garden. I plucked a ripe tomato and bit into it; all of the sudden I understood what my grandmother had meant all those years ago. My grandmother was raised on a farm in Mississippi over 90 years ago where they grew a few cash crops to support the family’s finances along with their own vegetables and raised their own livestock. This was a prototypical small family farm that helped provide for the family and the wider community. As the world changed and industrialization started to become the norm these very small farms faded quickly. After World War Two industrialization spread like wildfire, making many farms impossible to sustain.

We live in a world that surrounds us with cheap food. My grandmother spent a full 25% of her income on food. The average modern family only spends 10%. Subsidies of commodity crops and the extensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides allow us to grow a lot of cheap calories. Add convenience foods full of empty calories and fat to this equation, and you can see how our food culture has changed.

Thankfully we are experiencing a renaissance of food that has more flavor, nutrition and vitality than anything we have seen in decades. As people found organic foods and demanded more, the industry listened and organic products flourished. Even more importantly, we now understand that even organic food has high costs and risks associated with long distance shipping. As a result, we are seeing a resurgence in gardening, community gardens, farmers markets, farm stands and community supported agriculture.

The relocalization of our food system is a vibrant movement that can change the food landscape all over our state and the country. The challenge in the high country is that we have such a short growing season, ranging from 39 days in Summit County to 59 days in western Eagle county and Routt county. Colorado Mountain Communities are blessed to have growing regions on the Front Range and Western Slope that can feed us through their much longer growing season.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a way to connect you and your family to a local farm. In a CSA program people become members of the farm and purchase a full season of vegetables that are grown for you on the farm. This direct relationship allows you to know who is growing your food and dramatically reduces the miles your food travels to get to you. Unlike grocery store produce, your farmer grows food for you that is allowed to fully ripen in the field so that you can eat food that is full of flavor, nutrition and healthy for you. CSA’s will normally deliver your produce to your town once a week throughout the growing season. Even in the high country it’s easy to eat farm fresh produce.

To learn more about Community Supported Agriculture and how you can eat better this year call 970-328-1200 or 970-846-6233

http://www.grantfarms.com/home.php

VIMG at the Red Kettle Golf Tournament

We were at the Red Kettle Golf Tournament, June 15, supporting the Salvation Army. We were offering complementary consultations to Red Kettle participants, as well as pre-game sports massage and facilitated stretching. Learn more about the Red Kettle here:http://www.salvationarmyvail.org/volopps.asp

PGA Medical Staff Treatments

ESPN article explains PGA Tour medical staff treatments. Dr Joel has been part of the PGA Tour medical staff since 2009. Enjoy!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=5256227

Interview with Stuart McGill

This is a great interview with Dr. Stuart McGill about how his laboratory research propelled him (Albeit reluctantly at first) into clinical evaluation of patients. He talks about his approach and addresses many rehab myths surrounding lower back pain. Its a long, but extremely interesting interview. Click here and have a listen and you'll see why I am a big fan of Dr. McGill's no nonsense scientific approach to evaluating and treating low back pain.

Enjoy,

Mark

Learn more at backfitpro.com