Element Wellness & Sports Rehabilitation

From chiropractic care to physical therapy and massage, our team can help you on your quest for health and optimal performance.

[scientiflix]

TERRA 1023: Gluten Free, Me?

Produced by Katie Mullen

By: Life On TERRA. Donate to Life On TERRA

[elementwellnesspdx-blog]

7 Stretches Your Body Really Needs

Let's be real, it's not always easy or convenient to clock in quality time at the gym. And, with all the hours we spend working behind a desk, trudging up S.F. hills, and glued to our iPhone screens, our bodies can start to feel a little bit burnt out. We tapped Laura Burkhart of YogaWorks in S.F.

If you can’t make it to the gym, at the very least fit these stretches into your day.

[nemfrog]

106. Thorax, from behind. Hand-atlas of human anatomy. n.d.

[elementwellnesspdx-blog]

Some cool drawings right here.

[scientiflix]

Motor-less ‘Exoskeleton’ Device Increases Leg Efficiency

Lightweight spring and clutch mechanism, attached to the lower-leg, augments calf muscles and achilles tendon to boost walking efficiency about 7 percent. This test article paves the way for a whole class of assistance technologies.

By: Live Science Videos.

[scientiflix]

Shoe-based sensor system smartens up gait rehabilitation and therapy

It may look like an insole, but this Smart Shoes system developed at the Mechanical Systems Control Lab at UC Berkeley could help physical therapists get their patients walking better, faster.

Sensors capture information to create a detailed picture of the patient’s gait and walking abnormalities, while real-time visual feedback helps patients and therapists see and measure change and progress. The result: made-to-order physical therapy for maximum impact.

By: National Science Foundation.

[ted]

Meet the trillions of microbes living inside of you. 

The microbial cells living within your body outnumber your human cells by up to ten to one. These microbes impact your health, your digestion, and even your personality, pointing to the possibility that you… are mostly not you. 

Learn more about the three pounds of microbes you carry around in Follow Your Gut: The Enormous Impact of Tiny Microbes>> 

[npr]

Homeopathy’s popularity has exploded in recent years. Now the Food and Drug Administration is considering whether homeopathic remedies should have to be proven safe and effective.

FDA Ponders Putting Homeopathy To A Tougher Test

Illustration credit: Katherine Streeter for NPR

[scientiflix]

Obamacare Helped the Uninsured, but the Underinsured, Not So Much

The Affordable Care Act in the US, like most health care reform efforts, focuses on uninsurance. That’s fine, as people without insurance do face significant problems accessing the healthcare system in the United States. But underinsurance is a real issue, too, and it’s often ignored. Underinsurance is the topic of the week’s Healthcare Triage.

By: Healthcare Triage. Get merch: http://dft.ba/-HCTmerch

[skunkbear]

Scientists at the University of Alberta filmed a knuckle cracking in an MRI scanner to find out what makes that popping sound. I’ve wondered about this for ages, and I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before!

Turns out, contrary to the dominant theory of the past 50 years, the pop happens when a bubble forms between the two bones - not when that bubble collapses. Even better, some think that knuckle-popping might actually be good for your joints. Well, well, well, looks like my sister was wrong! 

More from NPR’s Rob Stein.

[npr]

I’m sure there is a symphony of knuckle cracking celebrating this news.  -Emily

[magictransistor]

K.L. Hawkins (Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins), A Comparative View of the Human and Animal Frame, 1860.

[elementwellnesspdx-blog]

SKELETONS ARE SO COOL.

[pubhealth]

White House crafts first-ever plan to fight superbugs

Reuters) - The White House is due to issue an ambitious plan to slow the growing and deadly problem of antibiotic resistance over the next five years, one that requires massive investments and policy changes from a broad array of U.S. government health agencies, according to a copy of the report reviewed by Reuters.

The 60-page report is the first ever to tackle antibiotic resistance so broadly. It was compiled by a government task force led by the administration’s top officials for health, agriculture and defense.  

A White House official confirmed that it would release the plan on Friday.

(More from Reuters)

[elementwellnesspdx-blog]

Exciting news everyone!!!

[juliocotto]

'Birds and Bones' Series Copyright Julio Cotto 2013. Ink on anatomy book pages.

[drchelsearar]

this is art I want in my home.

[thecrashcourse]

[scientiflix]

The Integumentary System, Part 2 - Skin Deeper: Crash Course A&P #7

by thecrashcourse:

Today Hank wraps up this look at your integumentary system and all the hard work it does protecting you from and helping you interact with the world around you.

•••SUBBABLE MESSAGE••• TO: Helle Søndergaard FROM: Martin Søndergaard Congratulations for finishing first semester on physiotherapy! I’m so proud!

Support on Subbable: http://subbable.com/crashcourse

[scientiflix]

Why Does Your Foot Fall Asleep?!

Why exactly does your foot fall asleep and why do you get that tingly pins-and-needles feeling? We have the answer!

By: Think Tank.

[ludaprilgate]

[smartgirlsattheparty]

Happy Wednesday to all of our followers who are in search of wellness.

[elementwellnesspdx-blog]

Human beings were designed to squat.

In honor of pelvic floor health (and by request of our Pelvic Floor Specialist, Mandi Murtaugh, DPT) we would like to enlighten our followers about the proper way to void your bowels.

Before the advent of the modern toilet, our not-so-distant ancestors had to squat in nature. And as we were taught repeatedly in anatomy lecture: structure dictates function! 

So how does our physical anatomy support the function of squatting to poop? Well for one, squatting allows for gravity to do all the dirty work. With the torso pressing against the thighs, pressure naturally occurs against the colon and removes any need to strain. More importantly, however, the puborectalis muscle (the one that acts as an exit valve to your colon) is better able to relax, thus opening the gates for waste to cleanly vacate.

But can sitting upright on a toilet really be that much of an issue? I mean, its not like people CAN'T poop. 

Well, it turns out that people can still poop, just not very well. A whopping 63 million people in the United States are reportedly constipated. Seven hundred million dollars is spent every year on laxatives and similar medications just to treat chronic constipation! Of course, there are many factors that can cause constipation, such as diet and overall health. But that does not mean that changing your elimination posture can't fix the problem.

If you want a little empirical support, check out the below links:

http://squattypotty.com/pdf/Japanese-study.pdf

http://squattypotty.com/pdf/Straining-study.pdf

After all of that explanation, we must be concise and ask that our followers do not start boycotting the use of their toilets. The toilet is a great thing, it just needs a slight modification: any small foot stool that elevates your knees above your hips, so that your body is positioned as if it were actually squatting. Some companies sell ergonomic stools for just this purpose, but you can also very easily find or make your own. 

Cheers to colorectal health!

Source: http://squattypotty.com/5-problems-with-sitting-on-your-toilet/

[txchnologist]

Why Do We Have Blood Types?

by Carl Zimmer, Mosaic Science

When my parents informed me that my blood type was A+, I felt a strange sense of pride. If A+ was the top grade in school, then surely A+ was also the most excellent of blood types – a biological mark of distinction.

It didn’t take long for me to recognise just how silly that feeling was and tamp it down. But I didn’t learn much more about what it really meant to have type A+ blood. By the time I was an adult, all I really knew was that if I should end up in a hospital in need of blood, the doctors there would need to make sure they transfused me with a suitable type.

And yet there remained some nagging questions. Why do 40 percent of Caucasians have type A blood, while only 27 percent of Asians do? Where do different blood types come from, and what do they do? To get some answers, I went to the experts – to haematologists, geneticists, evolutionary biologists, virologists and nutrition scientists.

Read More