FitSugar

Sprain vs. Strain

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Injuries suck! But it does help to know the name of your enemy and the difference between a strain and a sprain.

Strain: A strain involves injury to a muscle or a tendon, which attach muscles to bones. Strains, aka "pulled" muscles, are caused by over stretching or tearing a muscle or a tendon.
Common strains: hamstring and back injuries.
Sprains: A sprain occurs at a joint and is the tearing of ligaments, which connect bones to bones. Ligaments are tough and fibrous bands, and can gradually stretch over time decreasing the structural integrity of a joint.
Common sprains: Ankle and knee.

Fit's tip: To avoid both of the above injuries you should stretch after working out to ensure flexible, responsive muscles so your ligaments and tendons have less chance of being pushed beyond their natural limits and tear.

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You Asked: Ouch! I Pulled My Groin

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Hey FitSugar,

I'm usually really good about warming up and stretching before a workout, but last week at the gym, I did something stupid. I excitedly hopped on a weight machine I don't usually use, and while trying to work my hamstrings, I pulled my groin. Ouch!

Now it just won't seem to get well. How can I treat it? Do I have to stop exercising all together? I hope not, because I'd hate to stop working out.
- Groaning About My Groin

Ouch is right. A strained muscle in the groin is very painful, and it's a hard one to avoid using - it can smart every time you walk. This is a very common injury, so for some tips on treating it, read more.

A pulled groin is actually a strain in the muscles known as the adductor group, which connects the pelvis to the femur. The injury occurs when you overstretch a muscle and can result in small tears in the tissue. It usually happens if you haven't warmed up properly or if you're attempting to lift more than you're accustomed to - both of which sound like culprits in your case.

To treat it, try the good, old-fashioned combination of rest and ice. Initially, you should ice the muscle for about 20 minutes at a time. Yes, that means sitting with an icepack on your crotch, but don't worry: After 48 hours, you can transition to heating pads or similar warming treatments. Anti-inflammatory medications can also help with any pain or swelling.

You don't have to stop exercising entirely, but do listen to the muscle, and don't do anything that makes it hurt more. It's especially important to avoid strength training the adductors or stretching them until the pain has subsided. When it does, probably after a week or two, don't forget to try these inner thigh stretches after your are warmed up before resuming your next activity. Hope you feel better soon!

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Weekend Well-Being: Strain Your Own Yogurt

FitSugar — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Yogurt is a great ingredient when you are cooking light. You can use it to substitute sour cream, butter and cream cheese. The problem is that regular yogurt is fairly runny since it contains so much water. To make it a better consistency for cooking and baking you need to strain it. It is easy - it just takes some time.

First off you are going to need:

Yogurt, I prefer to use low fat yogurt over non-fat because the non fat can get a little chalky in its consistency.
A piece of cheesecloth, if you have no cheesecloth you can use a thick paper towel.
A strainer or sieve
A big bowl and space for it in your refrigerator

What you do:

Place the sieve in a bowl.
Line the sieve or fine strainer with cheesecloth / paper towel.
Put the yogurt on top of the cheesecloth.
Lightly salt the yogurt and gently stir - this helps pull the water out of the yogurt.
Place bowl in your refrigerator and wait.

It takes just about an hour for 20% of the water to strain out of the yogurt. This texture is great in salads - from tuna salad as a mayo substitute or fruit salad since the consistency is similar to whipped cream.

Let is strain for several hours and the yogurt will decrease in volume by half and this consistency is great for dips and as a base for marinades.

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Back to School: Back to Eye Strain

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:30:00 -0700

As adults, most of us spend hours on end staring at a computer, which in turn can lead to eye strain. Most of us know how to cope, but children, who are spending more and more time in front of a computer, now (especially since they're back at school) too, may not know how to cope.

The American Optometric Association offers these tips on keeping your children's eyes healthy.

An adult computer workstation may not be suited for a child. Invest in a chair that can be adjusted for the child's height. The recommended distance between the monitor and the eye for children is between 18 and 28 inches.
Check for sources of glare by sitting in front of the computer. Windows or other light sources should not be directly visible when sitting in front of the monitor. Holding a small mirror flat against the screen can help pinpoint light sources that are reflecting from above or behind.
Children should take at least a 20-second break for every 20 minutes of computer time.
Take your children for an annual eye exam and discuss computer use with their eye doctor.
Keep your eyes open for signs of eye strain in children, including eye redness, rubbing their eyes, head turns, complaints of blurriness or eye fatigue, or limited attention to visual tasks.

As always, practice what you preach -- Adults should give their eyes a break from computer use at least ten minutes per hour.

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Bugging Out: How to Deal With Computer Eye Strain

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:00:00 -0700

If staring at a computer screen all day has your eyes bugging out, try this simple trick for a little relief.

Start by rubbing your palms together for about 10 seconds to build up heat in your hands.
Place the heels of your hands lightly over your eyes and block out as much light as you can. Allow your finger tips to gently press into your forehead because chances are high it is tense, too.
Hang out in the "dark" for five to 10 slow breaths. While you're breathing, focus on allowing all the tension in your face and jaw to release.

While it is not quite the same as lying on the couch with a lavender eye pillow, it works well in a pinch.

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Computer Eye Strain

FitSugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:15:00 -0800

If you find that you are spending more and more time on the computer these day (the Sugar sites are insanely addictive), your eyes might be paying the price.

It seems that when we stare at a computer monitor for extended periods of time we forget to blink. Weird, huh? Not blinking allows the natural moisture in our eyes to evaporate, then we get dry, irritated eyes. Dry eyes can manifest symptomatically in a variety of ways including: double vision, color fringes and heavy, blurry, gritty or fatigued sensations.

One major eye irritant can be a drastic contrast between the brightness of the screen and the area surrounding the screen. So do not work in a dark room or with a bright light directly behind the screen. Also avoid sun glare on your monitor and do not sit in front of a large window.

Try to take a break for 10 minutes once an hour (that is great for the rest of your body too, but might not be possible with your work load) and blink frequently. Go ahead - BLINK a few times RIGHT NOW. Your eyes will thank you.

You Asked: Pulled Calf Muscle?

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Dear Fit,
I overdid it running on the treadmill a couple of nights ago. I ran hard and was in a rush so I didn't stretch or cool down. Then I put my heels back on to go to a cocktail party. When I got home, my right calf was aching. It hurts a bit when I walk and feels really tight. I think I pulled it. What can I do to help it heal quickly? Do I ice it? Do I heat it? I haven't worked out in a couple of days and I miss the exercise.
Thanks,
- Kink in My Calf

Ouch! I hate exercise injuries and feel your pain, though I usually injure my hamstrings. I think it is good that you're staying off your calf. To see how I think you should treat this injury, just read more.

First off, it sounds to me like you strained your calf rather than pulled it. A strained muscle is when the muscle is overstretched while working and develops micro tears. Usually it happens when the muscle is being asked to simultaneously stretch and bear weight, like when running. In a pulled muscle, the size of the tears are larger and are considered partial tears. A pulled muscle is much more painful, and generally with a pulled muscle you feel the pain immediately upon injury, creating an "OMG! What have I just done?" moment. It doesn't sound like that happened your case.

The good news is that strained muscles heal much more quickly pulled muscles. It generally takes about two weeks for a strained muscle to completely repair. Initially you want to ice your strained muscle for no longer than 20 minutes at a time. But after 48 hours, transition to heat in the form of baths or heating pads. The initial icing will help keep down any swelling that has occurred in the muscle, then the subsequent heat promotes healing. To reduce the sensation of pain, you can take over-the-counter pain medication.

For healing purposes, the best thing you can do is rest the muscle by avoiding impact activity, like running, and don't try to stretch the muscle until the pain is gone. While I am not sure that wearing heels is what you want to subject your injured calf to, wearing flats with this kind of injury is not beneficial either. You want to keep the heel lifted a bit, so wearing running shoes would be ideal. If that is not your style, you can put a little heel lift in your shoe, but be sure to put one on the non-injured side to keep your legs even. Lifting the heel takes pressure off the calf muscle, and can help during the recovery process.

Once the pain is gone, be sure to stretch and strengthen your calves with some heel raises; I would also do some basic walking before hitting the treadmill again. If you allow the muscle to fully recover, you decrease the chances of reinjuring your calf. A proper warm-up will help prevent injury, too; do some light cardio, then stretch the muscle before running hard. If in two weeks you are still in pain, make an appointment with your doctor to make sure you haven't torn the muscle or tendon.

Sure do hope this helps.

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5 Things: Icing an Injury

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:00:00 -0700

If you've ever pulled a muscle, you know it can hurt like crazy and interfere with future workouts. One of the best, easiest, and cheapest ways to treat a muscle strain is with ice, which reduces both the pain and the inflammation. Ice is also a great treatment for chronic, nagging pain like runner's knee. But although it's a simple process, it's very important to do it right. Here's how:

Start icing ASAP. Icing is most effective if you do it immediately after the injury and continue over the next 48 hours.
Do not apply ice directly to your skin; instead, wrap it in a towel or place it in a cute ice pack.

To see the rest, read more.

No cute ice pack? Bags of frozen veggies, such as corn and peas, make great ice bags. Not only are they already packed and frozen, but they also conform easily to the body.
Ice for no more than 20 minutes at a time. If your tissue gets too cold, it can cause further damage, so be sure to warm up for at least 45 minutes between icing sessions.
If you're training hard for a marathon or other big event, icing after workouts can prevent future soreness. You might even try an ice bath if you're prone to full-body aches.

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Pulled Muscle 101

FitSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Suddenly sprinting now that it is Spring, may feel like a good idea, but your hamstrings may have a different idea. If you rush your training, something we have all done at least once in our lives, you're bound to strain something. Straining or pulling (the more intense of the two injuries) a muscle is a fairly common injury and both occur when a muscle is stretched too far. This over stretching actually causes tears in the muscle fiber.

The tears can be divided into three categories and at About.com they describe the different levels of severity like this:

Grade I: Mild discomfort and not much loss of range of motion. Usually does not limit activity.

Grade II: Moderate discomfort, stiffness, tenderness, swelling, and bruising in the area. You may also notice a bump or indentation at the site of the injury. You won't be able to contract the muscle fully without feeling pain.

Grade III: Severe injury that can cause significant pain. Often patients complain of muscle spasms, swelling, significant bruising, and internal bleeding. You will be unable to contract the muscle and surgery may be required to repair the ruptured muscle.

Usually you can feel the pain of a pulled muscle immediately during exercise, but it can also be the kind of injury that gradually happens from repetitive movements. Either way, if you want to know what you should do if you pulled a muscle then read more.

If you are exercising and you feel a sudden pain, stop what you're doing and rest immediately.
Ice the area with a compressive bandage to help reduce swelling, control bleeding, and to ease the pain. Make sure not to ice the area for longer than 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
If the swelling is really bad, take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen.
If the pull is minor and the pain subsides start moving again. You will have a decreased range of motion, but you don't want to lose strength. Gentle stretching and low impact exercise will help to treat pulled muscles by getting blood flowing to the area. Proceed with caution because you don't want to make the injury worse.

I have pulled my hamstrings many times and have learned (knock on wood) the limits of my legs. If I feel a strain coming on, I chill out for a day and it really helps the healing process. Also, I wanted to remind you that the best way to avoid a pulled muscle is to warm up properly.

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Don't Forget to Blink

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0700

When working at a computer we tend to blink about five times less than usual. Blinking might seem like an unimportant activity, but it lubricates eyes. Having dry eyes is not only irritating, but it can interfere with your ability to get your work done and get out of the office.

Here's a handy little exercise to help you remember to blink. Every 20 minutes, slowly close your eyes 10 times. These slow, steady blinks will help lubricate your eyes and lessen any computer strain you might being feeling in your peepers.

Fit's Tip: If you drink a lot at your desk while working on the computer, slowly blink your eyes whenever you take a sip of your beverage.

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