<This morning I was testing on the 13″ box squat. As I came off the box
about an inch or so? I felt what I believe to be my adductor tear, very
painfull. I dropped the bar on the pins and hit the floor. I thought I might
have to cut the suit off but got it off without ruining it. I had not yet
reached my top set and it did not feel too heavy. I noticed no lapse in
form. It just went. I got a prescription for a muscle relaxer and am taking
Ibupropfen until I can get to the doctor. Also using Ice packs 20 minutes on
and 20 minutes off. So far I do not see any bleeding, bulges or gaps, very
tender to the touch. Have any of you experienced this injury and what might
be ahead. I have not had this particular injury before.>

*** Many years ago, while I was jerking 325lb overhead, my front foot
slipped on baby powder left by a preceding 90kg division lifter on the
platform and I landed in a full ballet splits position. This was one of the
most painful experiences of my life and my adductor magnus was severely
ruptured, as indicated by massive bleeding and bruising that became visible
soon afterwards in all of the area from my groin down the inside of my left
leg and into the hamstring area. I could not adduct my left leg and I
couldn’t do any exercises which involved movement of my left leg for months
afterwards.

Nevertheless, several months later, without surgery, I managed to compete by
using power cleans and push presses (130kg) and power snatches (100kg)
without any sideways movement of my legs – I still don’t know how that was
possible, but you know what one becomes like when the urge to lift overcomes
one’s intelligence! I eventually returned to normal functioning within about
10 months. Since you can still voluntarily move your leg inwards and have no
extensive bleeding into the tissues, it is unlikely that you have
experienced a serious rupture, so you will probably be able to return to
action quite easily.

You may even have experienced a severe spasm, which would be even better news
for you – your medical specialist will have to determine if that is your
problem. Just avoid any loaded or rapid movement for a while, but move
gently over as full a pain-free range as is possible. Continue using ice,
but beware of rubbing DMSO on the inside of your leg, because that area is
easily irritated. Don’t massage the area and don’t use any “hot”
embrocations. You could try large doses of MSM. Vitamin C also plays a role
in connective tissue repair. Remember the old adage: “More haste, less
speed” – don’t try to train with heavier weights too soon, because this
muscle can be very easily reinjured. If you display some intelligent
patience, you will probably return quite happily to where you were before.

Remember, too, that wider powerlifting or sumo squats place great demands on
the leg adductors, so that it would be advisable to use much narrower squats
when you return to leg training. Since adductor magnus also serves as a sort
of adjunct hamstring, be cautious of executing movements which flex the knee
or extend the hip. Whatever you do, simply explore every type of leg
movement in all directions with no added loading and at slow speed before you
even consider adding any weights.

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

<I have recently had a number of clients who have been visiting a clinic in
Switzerland to drink ‘Oxygenated Water’. One client has even installed a
special ‘tank’ which provides them with a constant supply. As far as I am
aware, there has not been any conclusive evidence for this form of
treatment, but perhaps someone on the list has had some firsthand experience
of it. I would greatly appreciate any references, reading or literature in
this regard, in particular the rationale behind why one would use it.>

*** Dr Yessis wrote about “oxygenated” water on our list several months ago,
but I cannot recall having seen any peer-reviewed papers on its use.

<I am especially concerned, as the claims made (useful in Cancer treatment,
Heart Disease?) are fairly ambitious.

*** If such claims are being made, then anyone selling that sort of treatment
should provide the necessary scientific corroboration. Of course, I trust
that those extolling its virtues realise that increased oxidation in the body
may well promote the generation of more free radicals, which currently are
being regarded as being a major contributing factor in the aetiology of
cancer, heart disease and many aspects of ageing.

Anyway, suppose that you drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day
(which I certainly can’t), the volume of dissolved oxygen is so small that
you can derive more oxygen from the air in a few hearty breaths! Did those
clinics ever inform clients that the oxygenated water doesn’t contain much
more than a fraction of 1 percent of the volume of the water being imbibed?
Did they also explain how a few extra mL (millitres) of oxygen can heal
cancer and heart disease and why it is better than inhaling oxygen via a
mask? How much oxygenated water can one drink to obtain adequate extra
oxygen that will change one’s quality of life and remove all traces of some
terminal diseases?

Incidentally, Swiss “clinics” are renowned for promoting and selling miracle
cures and outrageously unusual types of treatment to the affluent (whose
gullibility about health and age-control is often directly proportional to
their wealth!) – at one stage they were injecting embryonic sheep cells and
“glandulars” into patients because they felt that “very “young” cells will
make the body “younger”. If such treatments are ever questioned, the
frequent response is that this is because there is a conspiracy by the
medical profession to control all aspects of the health and wellness
industry.

Why not visit us here in high altitude Colorado where there is less oxygen
and less likelihood of that dreaded free radical proliferation? Combine it
with some wonderful skiing and winter sporting opportunities, a few sessions
in the Supertraining jacuzzi and pool – add a dash of training in a
weightlifting and powerlifting gym and what more do you need? But don’t
drink the city water which contains more chlorine per litre than our swimming
pool! At least the use of oxygen for purifying drinking water would be one
sensible application. Anyway, chlorine and bromine are actually used for
sanitising water because they are very powerful oxidising agents! Of course,
that bit of trivia should not encourage anyone to drink household bleach or
hydrogen peroxide!

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

Here are some extracts from an article aimed at teaching people about the
management and prevention of heart disease. As usual, any comments are
welcome.

—————

<http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?article_id=5592>

February is American Heart Month and the prevalence of heart disease in our
society is, at best, heartbreaking.

Heart disease is not just another “disease of the month” — it’s the number
one killer of Americans. The
American Heart Association estimates 60 million Americans suffer heart
disease. That’s 1 in 5! More Americans die of heart disease than of all
types of cancer combined…….

Are You At Risk?

There are two types of risk factors associated with heart disease: those you
can control and those you cannot. The good news: the list of those factors
you can control is much larger!

You cannot control your genetics. If you have a family history of heart
disease you’re at greater risk.

You cannot control your age (too bad!). If you’re over 55 you’re at greater
risk.

You cannot control your gender! If you’re a male, younger than 60, you have a
greater risk for a heart
attack. Women over 60 are equally at risk.

What You Can Control

You can control your smoking, your diet, your weight, your activity and your
stress level (to a certain extent). These major risk factors are what you
need to pay attention to, especially if you have one of the non-controllable
risk factors. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of
contracting heart disease.

If you smoke, stop now. Smoking is the number one risk factor for heart
disease. Smoking one pack a
day increases the risk by 70 percent. A two-pack habit hikes your risk by 200
percent!

Other risks (like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high
triglycerides, and type 2 diabetes) have two controllable factors in common:
diet and exercise.

Obesity in itself is not necessarily a risk factor. But obesity is definitely
associated with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. Type 2
diabetes is closely associated with obesity. Ninety percent of type 2
diabetics are overweight or obese. Chronic high blood sugar levels increase
the risk for coronary artery disease and high blood pressure. High
cholesterol often accompanies diabetes and these risk actors increase the
incidence of heart disease. Heart disease causes more than 76 percent of
death for diabetics….

Americans, Unite!

Americans: unite against heart disease! Choose to change lifestyle factors
that will keep you healthy. Sixty percent of adult Americans are overweight
or obese, and only about 20 percent of men and women report eating the five
recommended servings of fruit and vegetables daily. More than half of adults
in the U.S. are not exercising the recommended 30 minutes 4 to 6 times weekly
and sedentary lifestyle doubles the risk for heart disease.

Use the Team Approach

When you think healthy, think diet and think exercise… together! Use the
team approach. Separately, diet and exercise each have their benefits.
Together, the benefits are astounding.

Diet counts. Your diet needs modification, not elimination. There are no
“bad” or “good” foods. Remember, portion size counts. A healthy food can
contribute to obesity if you eat too much of it. You need to eat healthy
foods in the portion size that’s right for you as an individual. Your daily
meal plan should include good sources of complex carbohydrates, lean animal
protein and/or good sources of plant-based proteins, such as soy nuts,
legumes and grains. Healthy fats are important sources of good nutrition….

10 Measures That Could Save Your Life

Susan L. Burke, MS, RD/LD, CDE

Here are some tips that will serve you well!

1. Choose healthy fat! A no-fat diet is not necessarily the healthiest diet.
Fat is important for transport of vitamins and minerals in your body, for
hormone function, and for taste. However, avoid saturated fat and
hydrogenated fat in favor of monounsaturated fat in olive oil and canola oil.
Omega-3 fatty acids, plentiful in flaxseed and fatty fish, are beneficial.
Other good sources include wheat germ, walnuts and soybeans.

2. Soy is a healthy food. The Food and Drug Administration now allows a
health claim linking consumption of soy protein to a decreased risk for heart
disease for including at least 25 grams of soy protein in your daily diet,
(the diet should also be low in saturated fat and cholesterol.) Soy is the
only complete plant protein, containing all essential amino acids. It’s a
good source of B vitamins, essential fatty acids, zinc and iron, and it
contains phytochemicals that research suggests are beneficial to women in
lessening the symptoms of PMS and menopause. It’s also very low in saturated
fat. Soy foods have great variety, including tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable
protein, and soy powder.

3. Think green. Dark green leafy vegetables are some of the best sources of
folic acid in food and they can help reduce the level of homocysteine, an
amino acid made in the body and normally found in low levels in the blood. An
elevated homocysteine level predicts heart disease. Research shows that
reducing saturated fat and cholesterol and increasing vegetables and fruit in
your diet reduces homocysteine levels. Dark green leafy vegetables like
collard greens, kale, broccoli and turnip and beet greens are great sources
of folic acid.

4. Think color. When you choose food for health, choose color. That’s because
foods that are colorful — deep green, yellow and orange, red and gold –
have the greatest amounts of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Berries are
ounce-for-ounce one of the best foods, full of antioxidant vitamins C, and
have lots of potassium and fiber. Strawberries contain 60 percent more
vitamin C than grapefruit and 8 percent more than whole oranges. Cranberries,
raspberries and strawberries contain ellagic acid, which researchers have
shown to prevent some cancers.

Berries are also low in calories (only 50 to 70 per cup). If you buy canned
fruit, buy water- or juice-packed. Canned cranberry sauce has three times the
calories of fresh cranberries and 86 percent less vitamin C. Buy “in season”
for the freshest fruit. Try some superfruits like guava, papaya, and mango –
all great sources of carotenoids, antioxidants and fiber. Remember other
orange fruits like cantaloupe, apricots and peaches. Any fruit will do. Whole
fruit is still the best source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium for less
than 100 calories per serving.

5. Think whole. When choosing foods for health, think whole grains, whole
wheat, whole fruits and vegetables. That’s because unprocessed whole foods
have all their important nutrients intact. Whole foods are rich in fiber,
which is important for digestion and elimination. Research has shown that
people who eat high-fiber diets reduce their risk for heart disease and some
cancers.

6. Think food, not pills. Supplements in pills provide you only with the
antioxidant or vitamin on the label. Other micronutrients in food have not
been fully studied. The evidence for using antioxidant vitamins to reduce
your risk for disease is yet unproven in clinical trials, and the correct
dose and long-term risk when taking more than the recommended amount daily
has not been determined. Taking a multivitamin daily for insurance is fine,
but megadosing can be dangerous.

7. Eat your veggies. Studies have shown that people who eat vegetable-rich
diets reduce their risk of colon, lung and bladder cancer. Scientists think
that phytochemicals are responsible, not just the beta-carotene that colors
the veggies. Stroke is less common among people who eat their veggies, which
may be because of the nice amount of potassium. Those who enjoy lots of leafy
greens like spinach, kale and dandelion greens will get a double dose of
lutein, which helps prevent blindness due to macular degeneration.

Of course, the deep yellow- and orange-colored sweet potatoes and carrots
provide top amounts of vitamin C and carotenoids, and the rich green broccoli
and Brussels sprouts are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, folate and
fiber, as well has phytochemicals that may prevent cancer. Bright red
tomatoes in tomato sauce contain lycopene, which is a cancer fighter.

All vegetables are superfoods in that they can boast good nutrition and
fiber, and they contain a frugal
number of calories (40 to 60) per serving.

8. Garlic is good. While you’re at it, add some neutral colored garlic,
sautéed a bit to release its DATS, a
compound that cancer researchers say slows human lung-cancer cell growth in
test tubes.

9. Stay active. Reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity –
and decrease your stress levels — with regular exercise. Studies have shown
that just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 4 to 6 times a week can help you
stay healthy. Take a walk. It’s not necessary to join a gym. Get out the door
and go quickly one way for 15 minutes, and then come back. It’s 30 minutes
before you know it. If you can’t get out, then stay in and dance! Put the
radio on and dance around your house or apartment and have some fun. Do what
you like. That way you’ll stay with it.

10. Small changes produce big results. Change what you can, and you can
change a lot! Choose healthy foods, prepared without deep-frying in
hydrogenated fat. Eat fruit and vegetables every day; watch your portion size
with a healthy meal plan as we offer here at eDiets. Stay online and get
support and motivation from your eDiets community and stay active. Do
something at least 4 to 6 times a week to get your heart rate up. Your heart
is a muscle. Make it strong. You can do it!

Did You Know?

One of the largest sources of hydrogenated fat found in most Americans’ diet
comes from crackers. We know that fast food French fries are about 40% trans
fat, while donuts are about 35-40% trans fat. But the typical cookies and
crackers in your grocery store are up to 50% trans fat!

It’s not easy to find out how much trans fat there is in food, because
manufacturers are not required to list it. If the food’s nutritional label
lists the total grams of fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat, you can
calculate it. Add the grams of saturated and unsaturated fat, subtract from
the total fat, and the result is grams of trans fat. This only works if
saturated fat is listed, which is also not mandated. Read the label and try
to find products that say, “no trans fat added.” …

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

The following resources were cited on the Biomechanics list as useful ones
for supplying useful information on soccer biomechanics, in particular the
action of kicking. Would anyone care to add other references on this topic?

Anderson DI & Sidaway B. (1994) Coordination changes associated with practice
of a soccer kick. Res Q Exerc Sport, 65, (2): 93-9

Barfield WR. (1998) The biomechanics of kicking in soccer. Clin Sports Med,
17 (4):711-28

Davids K, Lees A, Burwitz L. (2000) Understanding and measuring coordination
and control in kicking skills in soccer: implications for talent
identification and skill acquisition. J Sports Sci, 18 (9): 703-14

Lees A, Nolan L. (1998) The biomechanics of soccer: a review. J Sports Sci,
16,(3):211-34

Levanon J, Dapena J. (1998) Comparison of the kinematics of the full-instep
and pass kicks in soccer. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 30 (6): 917-27

Teixeira LA. (1999) Kinematics of kicking as a function of different sources
of constraint on accuracy. Percept Mot Skills, 88 (3 Pt 1): 785-9

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

Here are some extracts from a highly informative article on leptin, a hormone
secreted by fat cells that influences energy expenditure and food intake in
mammals. At one stage it was popular to administer leptin to obese people in
attempts to make them eat less and stimulate weight loss, but its lack of
success in these applications led to it falling into disfavour. This article
discusses ongoing research into leptin.

<http://134.174.17.116/publications/Focus/2002/Feb8_2002/endocrinology.html>

Hormone Leptin Tied to Fat Breakdown in Muscle

Findings Connect Diabetes and Obesity, Suggest New Look at Obesity Treatment

Metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity are entangled in a complex
relationship whose ins and outs are often murky. Both stem from malfunctions
in the body’s fuel engines– a vast machinery of metabolic processes that
turn glucose and fatty acids into energy. One of the most important but least
understood parts of this engine is leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells
that has been shown to exert influence over energy expenditure and food
intake in several neuroendocrine pathways.

In a study in the Jan 17 Nature, a team led by Barbara Kahn, HMS professor of
medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Yasuhiko Minokoshi, visiting
associate professor of medicine, establishes a new connection in the
metabolic machinery, tying leptin to a crucial pathway in fat metabolism in
muscle. This pathway suggests a role for leptin in clearing fat out of cells
and sheds light on the connection between diabetes and obesity……

The Stop Signal

Leptin first came to prominence as a satiety signal, a hormone that seemed to
signal to the brain how much fat was being stored and to regulate food
intake. With this discovery came the lure that administering leptin to obese
people could cause them to eat less and trigger weight loss. But in human
clinical trials, the weight loss was unspectacular, and the hormone’s flurry
of fame as a potential wonder drug petered out. Continued research has shown
that leptin is an important hormone with a hand in many metabolic processes
and undoubtedly has widespread effects that may influence diabetes as well as
obesity.

For one, leptin seems to regulate more than food intake; it has a role in how
fat is metabolized once it is in the body. Obesity is associated with insulin
resistance, and weight loss can often improve insulin’s abilities to clear
glucose from the blood. Several studies in animals suggest that excess lipid
is to blame for the insulin resistance–not the kind stored in fat cells but
lipids that accumulate in other tissues like skeletal muscle, liver, and
pancreatic beta cells. When leptin is given to mice, it helps reduce fat
tissue but also reduces intracellular lipids in these other tissues and
boosts insulin sensitivity. But why this glut of lipids impedes insulin
action is uncertain, as is leptin’s mechanism to clear it……..

Leptin’s known effects occur largely through the sympathetic nervous system.
Although direct effects have been shown in some tissues, it has been debated
whether the hormone directly affects muscle and fat. The relatively rapid
doubling of AMPK–which happens too quickly to be mediated by the central
nervous system–suggests a direct connection. When nerves in the hind legs of
the mice were severed, the muscle there still exhibited this sudden rise, but
the effects of the injection in the hypothalamus were blocked, suggesting
that leptin has two paths of action in fatty acid metabolism, a direct one on
muscle and an indirect one through the nervous system.

Both of these actions converge on the AMPK pathway, through which leptin
increases the oxidation of fatty acids in muscle tissue and keeps fat from
setting up residence in cells. “This is now giving us the molecular pathway
by which leptin may regulate fatty acid oxidation rather than fat
accumulation,” Kahn said.

Although the mechanism of leptin’s action on AMPK in the nervous system is
still unclear, her team further narrowed it down by determining that leptin
works through the system’s alpha-adrenergic arm, another revelation given
there has never been a recognized link between AMPK and this system. The
researchers found that for both routes of action, leptin activates AMPK
through phosphorylation of its alpha subunit. Only one isoform of the alpha
subunit was activated, a specificity that could be useful in drug
development.

Take Two on Obesity Treatment

In light of new knowledge about leptin’s role in fuel metabolism, it makes
sense to revisit the idea of targeting leptin’s actions to treat obesity.
Obese people develop resistance to leptin, so the ability to target a
downstream pathway and bypass leptin resistance may be more beneficial than
treating with leptin itself.

This direct path of leptin action also establishes an important link to
insulin resistance and diabetes. It is well established that the accrual of
lipid in muscle is associated with insulin resistance, and obesity is a risk
factor for type 2 diabetes. “This effect of leptin on the AMPK pathway could
be an important avenue by which it increases insulin sensitivity,” said Kahn.
If so, leptin resistance may help explain why obesity is a risk factor for
diabetes. “If we could reproduce this pathway in leptin-resistant people,
perhaps we could lower their risk of diabetes.”

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

In response to Dr Mel Siff’s Subluxation Paradox http://www.melsiff.com/12359/subluxation-puzzle-and-paradoxes-by-mel-siff/

Here is some further discussion from another list on my subluxation paradox:

Mel Siff:

< Can you cite any scientific references which definitely relate these small
“disturbances” to any significant pathology? What you are iimplying is that
the spine is critically tuned, displays a very sharply defined range of
efficient functioning and has a negligible “safety factor”, so that even
minor perturbations will cause genuine pathology or pain. This is not a very
efficient way for the body to have developed and evolved, so I have to wonder
about the validity of such an hypothesis.>

Comment:

Your point about the evolution of the system is well taken. As you point out
there must be some safety factor. I am not trying to suggest that it is
negligible, merely susceptible to problems. For example when trunk
stabilization via muscles is especially important in neutral spine postures
due to the inherent low levels of stiffness in the “neutral zone” (a small
range about the mid-position of the joint where little resistance is offered
by passive constraints).

The multifidus has been implicated in providing much of the control in the
neutral zone. Several other mechanisms contribute to trunk stability
including muscle stiffness, co-contraction, and pre-programmed (i.e.
anticipatory contractions) contractions.

Perturbal first maintain posture (primary task) and second, perform voluntary
tasks (secondary task) when the two are presented concurrently. This makes
sense in that without adequate posture, voluntary movements do not happen.

However, the co-demand of voluntary movement and postural control can lead to
a sudden loss of balance, particularly when performing rapidly or under high
loads. Such events have been called “motor errors”. These “errors” can lead
to injury through inappropriate coordination dynamics that require different
functions out of the same muscle(s). An acute injury (eg whiplash) can
instantly impair stabilization due to tissue damage which leads to
subluxation. However, more frequently, authors view repeated motor errors
over the long term as the primary in subluxation. This last statement has
yet to be verified.

Here are a few references:

1. Burns LA. Viscero-somatic and somato-visceral spinal reflexes. J Am
Osteopath Assoc 1907; 7:51.

2. Triano J, Luttges M. Subtle intermittent mechanical irritation of the
sciatic nerves of mice. JMPT 1980; 3(2): 75-80.

3. Winsor, H., Sympathetic Segmental Disturbances- 11. The Evidence of the
Association in Dissected Cadaver of Visceral Disease with Vertebral
Deformities of the Same Sympathetic Segments, Medical Times,49 1-7 Nov. 1921.

4. Gore DR. Roentgenographic findings in the cervical spine in asymptomatic
persons – A ten-year follow-up. Spine 2001; 26: (22) 2463-2466.

5. Dishman RW. Review of the literature supporting a scientific basis for
the chiropractic subluxation complex. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1985; 8:
163-174.

6. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex part 1: an introduction to
the model and the kinesiological component. Chiropractic Research Journal
1989; 1(3):23.

7. Rydevik BL. The effects of compression on the physiology of nerve roots.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1992; 15(1):62.

8. Kirkaldy-Willis WH. The relationship of structural pathology to the
nerve root. Spine; 9(1): 49-52.

Mel Siff:

< After all, many competitive weightlifters subject the spine to very heavy
loads which surely cause many such small (and even some large) disturbances
in every training exercise and every competition, year after year, yet the
incidence of back pain and dysfunction in this cohort is considerable less
than in the general population which never imposes that magnitude and rate of
loading.>

Comment:

True, but there are studies (eg. Videman T, Battie MC, Gibbons LE, et
al.Lifetime exercise and disk degeneration: an MRI study of monozygotic twins
MED SCI SPORT EXER 29: (10) 1350-1356 OCT 1997) that show higher rates of
disc degeneration which according to ref #4 above will lead to subsequent
symptoms and dysfunction in the future. Besides, the absence of symptoms by
itself is not a good indicator of performance or physiologic function. Also,
are there studies done with weightlifters and controls on coordination
dynamics?

Mel Siff:

<The existence of these well-known structures and processes does not
necessarily suggest that they make pathology more likely. All this means is
that the spinal complex has a very extensive and efficient cybernetic system
which ensures that the spine is well controlled over a wide range of
different conditions in space and time.>

Comment:

AMEN! But when there are problems, it makes it difficult to find the source
of the problems and to find efficient solutions. Overt pathology in many
cases takes a relatively long time to develop (eg heart disease). Sure our
systems are efficient but the trick is finding the inefficiencies (subtle)
and correcting these to prevent future problems.

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

When Serge Reding and I discussed the possible mechanisms for strengthening
by means of electrostimulation training about 30 years ago, we both felt that
the process may have to do with enhancing the ability of the athlete to
tolerate high levels of muscle tension if the ES is applied with progressions
to very high levels of activation. The following paper offers some
corroborating evidence in this regard.

——–

Improvement in isometric strength of the quadriceps femoris muscle after
training with electrical stimulation.

Selkowitz DM

Phys Ther 1985 Feb; 65(2): 186-96

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if training isometrically
with electrical stimulation (ES) alone would significantly increase isometric
strength of the quadriceps femoris muscle.

The relationships between the strength changes and the relative force and
duration of training contractions were also studied. An experimental group
(Group 1) and a control group (Group 2), 12 subjects in each, underwent
pretesting and posttesting to obtain their maximum voluntary isometric
contractions (MVICs). Group 1 trained with maximally tolerable isometric
contractions induced by ES, three days a week for four weeks.

Results showed that although both groups demonstrated increases in isometric
strength of their quadriceps femoris muscles, training isometrically with ES
produced a significantly greater increase than not training with ES. The
relative strength improvement in Group 1 was positively and significantly
correlated with training-contraction intensity and duration.

The relative increase in isometric strength, using only ES, may be determined
by the ability of the subjects to tolerate longer and more forceful
contractions. Suggestions for further research and implications for the
clinical use of ES for strength-training are discussed.

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

We periodically have discussed on this list the possible role of hypnosis and
self-hypnosis in human performance and managing pain. The following website
gives some useful information on this subject. Some of the clinical
hypnotists on our list may like to add their comments.

Here are some excerpts:

——————-

The Truth and Hype of Hypnosis

< http://www.sciam.com/2001/0701issue/0701nash.html>

Though often denigrated as fakery or wishful thinking, hypnosis has been
shown to be a real phenomenon
with a variety of therapeutic uses — especially in controlling pain

……. is hypnosis a real phenomenon? If so, what is it useful for? Over the
past few years, researchers have found that hypnotized individuals actively
respond to suggestions even though they sometimes perceive the dramatic
changes in thought and behavior they experience as happening “by themselves.”
During hypnosis, it is as though the brain temporarily suspends its attempts
to authenticate incoming sensory information. Some people are more
hypnotizable than others, although scientists still don’t know why.
Nevertheless, hypnosis is finding medical uses in controlling chronic pain,
in countering anxiety and even–in combination with
conventional operating-room procedures–in helping patients to recover more
quickly from outpatient surgery….

What Hypnosis Is

…….. researchers with very different theoretical perspectives now agree
on several fundamental principles of hypnosis. The first is that a person’s
ability to respond to hypnosis is remarkably stable during adulthood…..
Studies have shown that an individual’s Stanford score remains as consistent
over time as his or her IQ score–if not more so. In addition, evidence
indicates that hypnotic responsiveness may have a hereditary component:
identical twins are more likely than same-sex fraternal twins to have similar
Stanford scores.

A person’s responsiveness to hypnosis also remains fairly consistent
regardless of the characteristics of the hypnotist: the practitioner’s
gender, age and experience have little or no effect on a subject’s ability to
be hypnotized. Similarly, the success of hypnosis does not depend on whether
a subject is highly motivated or especially willing. A very responsive
subject will become hypnotized under a variety of experimental conditions and
therapeutic settings, whereas a less susceptible person will not, despite his
or her sincere efforts. (Negative attitudes and expectations can, however,
interfere with hypnosis.)

Several studies have also shown that hypnotizability is unrelated to
personality characteristics such as gullibility, hysteria, psychopathology,
trust, aggressiveness, submissiveness, imagination or social compliance. The
trait has, however, been linked tantalizingly with an individual’s ability to
become absorbed in activities such as reading, listening to music or
daydreaming.

Under hypnosis, subjects do not behave as passive automatons but instead are
active problem solvers who incorporate their moral and cultural ideas into
their behavior while remaining exquisitely responsive to the expectations
expressed by the experimenter. Nevertheless, the subject does not experience
hypnotically suggested behavior as something that is actively achieved. To
the contrary, it is typically deemed as effortless–as something that just
happens. People who have been hypnotized often say things like “My hand
became heavy and moved down by itself” or “Suddenly I found myself feeling no
pain.”

Many researchers now believe that these types of disconnections are at the
heart of hypnosis. In response to suggestion, subjects make movements without
conscious intent, fail to detect exceedingly painful stimulation or
temporarily forget a familiar fact. Of course, these kinds of things also
happen outside hypnosis–occasionally in day-to-day life and more
dramatically in certain psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Using hypnosis, scientists have temporarily created hallucinations,
compulsions, certain types of memory loss, false memories, and delusions in
the laboratory so that these phenomena can be studied in a controlled
environment…

What Hypnosis Isn’t

As scientists discover more about hypnosis, they are also uncovering evidence
that counters some of the skepticism about the technique. One such objection
is that hypnosis is simply a matter of having an especially vivid
imagination. In fact, this does not seem to be the case. Many imaginative
people are not good hypnotic subjects, and no relation between the two
abilities has surfaced….

In 1998 Henry Szechtman of McMaster University in Ontario and his co-workers
used PET to image the brain activity of hypnotized subjects who were invited
to imagine a scenario and who then experienced a hallucination. The
researchers noted that an auditory hallucination and the act of imagining a
sound are both self-generated and that, like real hearing, a hallucination is
experienced as coming from an external source. By monitoring regional blood
flow in areas activated during both hearing and auditory hallucination but
not during simple imagining, the investigators sought to determine where in
the brain a hallucinated sound is mistakenly “tagged” as authentic and
originating in the outside world.

Szechtman and his colleagues imaged the brain activity of eight very
hypnotizable subjects who had been prescreened for their ability to
hallucinate under hypnosis. During the session, the subjects were under
hypnosis and lay in the PET scanner with their eyes covered. Their brain
activity was monitored under four conditions: at rest; while hearing an
audiotape of a voice saying, “The man did not speak often, but when he did,
it was worth hearing what he had to say”; while imagining hearing the voice
again; and during the auditory hallucination they experienced after being
told that the tape was playing once more, although it was not.

The tests showed that a region of the brain called the right anterior
cingulate cortex was just as active while the volunteers were hallucinating
as it was while they were actually hearing the stimulus. In contrast, that
brain area was not active while the subjects were imagining that they heard
the stimulus. Somehow hypnosis had tricked this area of the brain into
registering the hallucinated voice as real.

Another objection raised by critics of hypnosis concerns its ability to blunt
pain. Skeptics have argued that this effect results from either simple
relaxation or a placebo response. But a number of experiments have ruled out
these explanations. In a classic 1969 report, Thomas H. McGlashan and his
colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania found that for poorly
hypnotizable people, hypnosis was as effective in reducing pain as a sugar
pill that the subjects had been told was a powerful painkiller. But highly
hypnotizable subjects benefited three times more from hypnosis than from the
placebo. In another study, in 1976, Hilgard and Stanford colleague Éva I.
Bányai observed that subjects who were vigorously riding stationary bicycles
were just as responsive to hypnotic suggestions as when they were hypnotized
in a relaxing setting.

In 1997 Pierre Rainville of the University of Montreal and his colleagues set
out to determine which brain structures are involved in pain relief during
hypnosis. They attempted to locate the brain structures associated with the
suffering component of pain, as distinct from its sensory aspects. Using PET,
the scientists found that hypnosis reduced the activity of the anterior
cingulate cortex — an area known to be involved in pain — but did not
affect the activity of the somatosensory cortex, where the sensations of pain
are processed.

Despite these findings, however, the mechanisms underlying hypnotic pain
relief are still poorly understood. The model favored by most researchers is
that the analgesic effect of hypnosis occurs in higher brain centers than
those involved in registering the painful sensation. This would account for
the fact that most autonomic responses that routinely accompany pain — such
as increased heart rate — are relatively unaffected by hypnotic suggestions
of analgesia. ….

Hypnosis and Memory

Perhaps nowhere has hypnosis engendered more controversy than over the issue
of “recovered” memory. Cognitive science has established that people are
fairly adept at discerning whether an event actually occurred or whether they
only imagined it. But under some circumstances, we falter. We can come to
believe (or can be led to believe) that something happened to us when, in
fact, it did not. One of the key cues humans appear to use in making the
distinction between reality and imagination is the experience of effort.
Apparently, at the time of encoding a memory, a “tag” cues us as to the
amount of effort we expended: if the event is tagged as having involved a
good deal of mental effort on our part, we tend to interpret it as something
we imagined. If it is tagged as having involved relatively little mental
effort, we tend to interpret it as something that actually happened to us.
Given that the calling card of hypnosis is precisely the feeling of
effortlessness, we can see why hypnotized people can so easily mistake an
imagined past event for something that happened long ago. Hence, something
that is merely imagined can become ingrained as an episode in our life story.

A host of studies verify this effect. Readily hypnotized subjects, for
instance, can routinely be led to produce detailed and dramatic accounts of
their first few months of life even though those events did not in fact occur
and even though adults simply do not have the capacity to remember early
infancy. Similarly, when given suggestions to regress to childhood, highly
hypnotizable subjects behave in a roughly childlike manner, are often quite
emotional and may later insist that they were genuinely reliving childhood.
But research confirms that these responses are in no way authentically
childlike–not in speech, behavior, emotion, perception, vocabulary or
thought patterns. These performances are no more childlike than those of
adults playacting as children. In short, nothing about hypnosis enables a
subject to transcend the fundamental nature and limitations of human memory.
It does not allow someone to exhume memories that are decades old or to
retrace or undo human development.

What It’s Good For

So what are the medical benefits of hypnosis? A 1996 National Institutes of
Health technology assessment panel judged hypnosis to be an effective
intervention for alleviating pain from cancer and other chronic conditions.
Voluminous clinical studies also indicate that hypnosis can reduce the acute
pain experienced by patients undergoing burn-wound debridement, children
enduring bone marrow aspirations and women in labor. A meta-analysis
published in a recent special issue of the International Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis, for example, found that hypnotic suggestions
relieved the pain of 75% of 933 subjects participating in 27 different
experiments. The pain-relieving effect of hypnosis is often substantial, and
in a few cases the degree of relief matches or exceeds that provided by
morphine…

Hypnosis can boost the effectiveness of psychotherapy for some conditions.
Another meta-analysis that examined the outcomes of people in 18 separate
studies found that patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy plus
hypnosis for disorders such as obesity, insomnia, anxiety and hypertension
showed greater improvement than 70 percent of the patients who received
psychotherapy alone. After publication of these findings, a task force of the
American Psychological Association validated hypnosis as an adjunct procedure
for the treatment of obesity. But the jury is still out on other disorders
with a behavioral component. Drug addiction and alcoholism do not respond
well to hypnosis, and the evidence for hypnosis as an aid in quitting smoking
is equivocal.

That said, there is strong, but not yet definitive, evidence that hypnosis
can be an effective component in the broader treatment of other conditions.
Listed in rough order of tractability by hypnosis, these include a subgroup
of asthmas; some dermatological disorders, including warts; irritable bowel
syndrome; hemophilia; and nausea associated with chemotherapy. The mechanism
by which hypnosis alleviates these disorders is unknown, and claims that
hypnosis increases immune function in any clinically important way are at
this time unsubstantiated….

————

The following website offers a great deal of information on the history,
applications and theories of hypnosis:

<http://www.institute-shot.com/hypnosis_and_health.htm>

————–

Dr Mel  Siff

Isokinetic action does not take place under any natural daily life
conditions, but is the result of movement that is controlled by a special
type of accommodating resistance machine (such an hydraulic clutch or
feedback-controlled motor). Even then, the process of muscle contraction is
exactly the same as action during eccentric, concentric and isometric
conditions. Any differences in movement are a result of various neural
processes, not different types of muscle action.

So, we see that no muscle can voluntarily lengthen relative to its RESTING
length. Of course, if a joint has not quite reached its greatest possible
angle in any given plane (such as the elbow joint at rest), the maximum
length of a muscle may be reached by means of passive loading or the action
of antagonistic muscles. This will cause slight lengthening, but no further
lengthening is possible under eccentric action.

It is a common misconception that a muscle lengthens under conditions of
eccentric action. What actually happens is that the relevant muscle is still
contracting while the joint angle is increasing, so it appears as if the
muscle is contracting and lengthening at the same time. The muscle is simply
returning actively to its original resting length under eccentric conditions.

In typical stretching or yogic manouevres, the muscles is being passively
stretched to its anatomical limits. Bear in mind that the situation for
rotational displacement (e.g. of the trunk and neck) is very different from
flexion-extension, abduction-adduction and so forth, because the limits are
not necessarily determined by one bone comprising a joint butting up against
an adjacent bone. In such cases we indeed may have passive action taking a
muscle beyond its resting length.

Dr Mel C Siff

Many have militated against all spinal hyperextension, but they seem to
forget that McKenzie techniques (as variants of the ancient yoga Cobra asana)
actually comprise controlled forced hyperextension of the spine in a posture
which does not allow the lower body to sway and dissipate stress as in the
standing Olympic Press. Sure, we have pointers such as the
peripheralisation or centralisation of pain symptoms to guide us to the
suitability of McKenzie, but why are many folk adamant about avoiding all
forms of hyperextension, irrespective of such guidelines?

Then, we also must distinguish between the strictly controlled hyperextension
of the spine in the sagittal plane during the Olympic Press, compared with
the complex lumbar hyperextension, trunk rotation, lateral pelvic tilting and
asymmetric foot impact actions involved in cricket bowling, tennis serving,
gymnastics and so forth. Are we justified in comparing simple hyperextension
in one plane with complex trunk actions in several planes?

All too often, it seems to be forgotten that even small torque about the
vertebrae can produce more strain in the peripheral annulus of the disk than
far more extensive flexion or extension. This tends to reflect itself in
training and rehabilitation programs drawn up for athletes and workers – the
(often machines-controlled) movements and stretches very rarely involve
significant use of rotatory actions, especially under progressively
increasing conditions of resistance and range. Yet, all physical therapists
have been exposed to the well-known patterns, pacing, procedures and
principles of PNF with all of its emphasis on the regular use of spiral and
diagonal patterns.

This may well explain why the incidence of injuries associated with forceful,
sudden, ballistic or large range rotation of joints may be so rife in sport -
witness for instance, the mainstays of sports therapy with its epidemic of
rotator cuff, ACL and similar injuries. Machine training and even free
weight training seems to concentrate largely on linear or uniplanar actions,
and if rotation is involved in training, it takes place only in the sport
itself or in the gym via the use of gentle yoga-like stretches and warmups.

It is not only exposure to a stressful action that can cause injury, but also
religious avoidance of so-called dangerous actions (which might occur during
actual sporting conditions). One cannot expect the body to cope with the
immense structural and functional demands placed on the body in sport unless
one methodically conditions the body to cope with progressively greater
structural and functional stresses.

Dr Mel C Siff