1-Mile Swim Test of KT Tape Pro

So, we've all seen the Olympic beach volleyball players wearing that funky looking colorful tape on their shoulders and knees. You've probably seen it at local triathlons, marathons and other sporting events as well.

There are several companies out there but one in particular is making a special synthetic tape with a waterproof adhesive. KT Tape's KT Tape Pro has the same elasticity as the original tape but puts it on a more tough synthetic material and keeps it in place with a heat sensitive waterproof adhesive.

Many athletes use this tape to help in the correction of postural dysfunction, to aid the healing of an injury or to give a particular motion some extra assistance (physically and proprioceptively). The problem has always been, when the athlete starts sweating, the tape begins to lose its stickiness and peel off. So, I put this to the test.

I had the KT Tape applied to my shoulder on Saturday. The any hair was shaved and the skin was cleaned with rubbing alcohol. The tape was applied to help stabilize my right scapula (which is winged) and help assist the deltoids in abduction because they've really been working overtime in dealing with the winged scapula.

Anyway, since I had the tape put on, I had taken several showers, ran a 5k, went on a rowing machine (aka: Erg) and rowed 10,000 meters, took a long hot bath after rowing and then, on the 4th day, did a 1-mile swim test.  As you can see from the video below, the tape held up very well. So if you are in the market for some good kinesiology tape, you can't beat the KT Tape Pro. It comes in rolls of pre-cut 10" strips and in a variety of really cool colors & black. For clinicians, it comes in a large uncut clinic roll that allows you to cut the lengths you need.  KT Tape also has a cool desktop display dispensor for your office.

Check out the video of my 1-mile swim test. As I write this, I've also done another 10k run and showered twice more. It's still sticking and still has retained its resiliency and function.

So if you're looking for some extra support for your posture or need to correct some performance dysfunction or simply want to give your muscle and tendons some assistance through a particular movement - then KT Tape Pro is for you. It's a great quality product, reasonably priced and best of all, it looks really cool too!

On their web site you'll even find instructional videos for applying the tape for basic problems. Anything more complex and you'll want to consult with someone like me.

Read more about it at www.KTTape.com

'Nuff Said.

Dr. T

Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.

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What Is Health....Really?

I know I normally write about some aspect of sports medicine, rehab or related nutrition, but I wanted to start 2012 with a basic foundation. I simply want you to be on the same page with me when it comes to health.

Having done consultations on over 10,000 individual patients in my office since starting my practice, I've come across something I think is a bit hypocritical but are completely unaware of. Simply, it's what people define as "Health". Starting on the right foot for 2012 I wanted get a basic understanding of what health is and what health isn't. What better to do on the 1st day of the new year.

In doing a medical history on a patient, it is routine after the "history of present illness or injury" to ask about their personal past medical history, surgical history, allergies and social aspects of their life. Along with those it's critical to ask about their family's past medical history. As it may give you unique insight to why the patient consulted you in the first place.  In doing a family medical history, when asking about the health of their mom and dad, I routinely get the answer that "everyone is healthy". But being the curious person that I am, coupled with a sense that I wasn't getting the whole picture from a particular patient, I asked "are your parents taking any medications"??? The answer was yes.

Both parents were on blood pressure medications and the father was on Lipitor. His father's older brother was also on blood pressure meds, Lipitor and was on medication for non-insulin dependent diabetes.

So I quickly remarked - I thought you said your parents were healthy?

The patient said "the medications make them healthy"

To which I replied: No, the medications don't make them healthy, they just keep their disease under control. They have disease that is controlled by medication, if they were healthy, they wouldn't need the medication. The patient looked at me and (yes, you guessed it) agreed with me.

So now let me give you what I feel is one of the best definitions of health. I had to dig all the way back to 1946 to get it:

1946: The World Health Organization (WHO) "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.


(Notice the word - COMPLETE)



Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines health as "An optimal state 

of physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

To further emphasize my point, I would add: A state in which all the tissues, cells and physiologic functions are working at 100%  Why? Because as pointed out in the 2 definitions above, health isn't merely the absence of disease, health is when you have an optimal state where your body (systems) are working completely.

In order to be healthy, you have to know what health is. If your doctor has put you on medications, it means you have some type of condition or disease.  We are lucky we live in an age where we have the luxury of have a group of professionals that can prolong your life and improve the quality of your life with medications. However, don't confuse being medicated to control a condition with being healthy.  They are not on in the same. You may feel good, you may look good, you may not be in acute distress, but your medication is controlling your condition, not making you health. I refer you back to the 2 definitions above to emphasize my point.

In some cases, people just got a bad roll of the genetic dice and don't have much of a choice. But others, well, just remember the old and real definition of health: a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  Something that you have a lot more control over than you are led to believe.

Having said that, for those that did get a poorer roll of the genetic dice, you can certainly take control over the rest of your health and be as healthy as you are capable of. I have a good friend who is a type II diabetic and he could go to any doctors office (other than his own) today and if he didn't say anything, the doctor wouldn't even know.

Hear's to your health and a great 2012 and the power you have over your own health!

'nuff said

Dr. T

References:
Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International 
Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the 
representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, 
no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.The Definition has not been 
amended since 1948. 

Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine. Click here for Dr. Narson's Bio

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My Birthday Present To You

Posted By Miami Beach Chiropractor & Sports Medicine Physcian, Dr. Todd Narson

Dear Friends,

So, today is my birthday, but today, I want to give you a present. The present is the opportunity for you to learn some valuable information that could improve your health and the health of your family. As you know, I'm a big supporter of the Paleo Diet and "caveman" eating principles. I use these principles when helping my patients find relief from pain, lose weight, increase athletic performance and generally improve their state of health.  I feel the most precious things we have in life are our health, our time and our loved ones...I ask you to take an hour and watch this video presentation by Loren Cordain, PhD, author of The Paleo Diet & The Paleo Diet for Athletes as he presents a body of evidence supporting the validity of our original human diet.

Here's to your health!

Enjoy

Dr. Narson

Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.

#chiropractormiamibeach #MiamiBeachChiropractor #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #DrNarson #ToddNarson #Narson #TriDoc #TriathlonDoc #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #SportsMedicine #SportsChiropractor #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #SportsMedicineMiami #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiChiropractor #Triathlon #Running #Ironman #IFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #MiamiBeachChiropractor #GrastonTechnique #FAKTR #IASTM #Chiropractor #FootPain #Narson #NarsonBodyMechanic #NarsonTool #DACBSP #CCSP #ACBSP #BackPain #NeckPain #ShoulderPain #RotatorCuff #ITBandSyndrome #runnersKnee #PlantarFasciitis #Plantarfascitis #AchillesTendonitis #AchillesTendonosis #GettingAthletesBackInTheGame  #MiamiBeachChiropractor #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #WeFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #ProSportChiropractic #FunctionalMedicineMiami #DrNarson #BackPainRelief #NeckPainRelief #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #LaserTherapy #RockTape #KinesioTape #KTTape #Nutrition #21DayPurificationProgram #DetoxProgram #PaleoDiet #PaleoDoc #FunctionalNutrition #Chirooractor #Chiropractic #ChiropracticPhysician #DoctorOfChiropractic #USATriathlon #USAT #TeamUSA

Is it a Misconception To Think The Pros Get The Best In Sports Medicine???

by Miami Beach Chiropractic Sports Physician, Dr. Todd M. Narson

2008 AVP - "South Beach" Miami Beach, FL

I came across an article this morning about The Minnesota Vikings and their athletic training staff.  It's a nice article - building up their athletic training staff with all their accolades and experience. But something both bothered me and pleased me at the same time; It was this paragraph:

 

"The entire athletic training staff are Performance Enhancement Specialists through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. During the 2010 off-season, the Vikings staff was trained in Graston technique, a patented form of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization that works to effectively break down scar tissue and fascial    restrictions"

Realistically, there's nothing wrong with that paragraph. It's absolutely 100% accurate. They took the courses, did the training and yes, Graston Technique(r) does all those things (and more)... It makes me happy to hear about people advancing their education and skill-set, especially when it comes to improving the health of other people. 

So what's my problem???

Well, what bothered me is here we have a group of medical professionals that have been behind the curve for quite a while, especially for being at the ultimate level in sports competition - The Pro's.

Working on a chronic post surgical knee using FAKTR technique (2006)

I've been certified in IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization) and specifically Graston Technique since 2002...both M1 & M2 certification levels as well as the more advanced IASTM concepts of FAKTR.  Most of the public sits back, watches the games and when their player suddenly gets hurt they rest assured that their getting the best of the latest and greatest technology out there when it comes to sports medicine.  Now it seems that may or may not be true.

Why am I being so harsh on them?

Graston Technique Represented a quantum leap in the technology of treating pain related soft tissue  injuries - a paradigm shift in the way we treat soft tissue injuries.  But this paradigm shift started back in 1994, not 2010.  I first found out about Graston Technique(r) when at a continuing education convention in 2001 and was walking around some of the vendor booths during a break with my friend and sports medicine mentor Dr. Tom Hyde.  This was the first time we encountered it.  Within a year I was sitting in a Graston Technique(r) course. Tom had taken the first course he could find and was already certified and preparing to teach it.  But if you know Tom, well, that's Tom.  He's a walking talking functional sports medicine encyclopedia. If there anything effective and worth while, he dives in head first..learns everything there is to know and ends up teaching the rest of us.

Same thing, just a close up (still 2006)

It took some time to become proficient in the technique and after mastering it, it eventually it became one of my main tools when treating various pain syndromes - especially long term chronic ones.  Conditions like chronic hamstrings strains, I.T. band syndrome & plantar fasciitis in runners and triathletes, rotator cuff injuries in swimmers and "throwing" athletes, bicipital tenosynovitis (what most people call bicipital tendonitis), Post surgical adhesion pain as well as other pesky aches and pains that don't seem to respond to typical physiotherapy, stretching, exercise, pain/anti-inflammatory meds or chiropractic care.  With Graston Technique as a base and FAKTR I was helping conditions that were extremely difficult to treat that took months and months of treatment previously. Now in as little as a few treatment sessions or only a few weeks. 

So why am I explaining this to you? Why does this "press release" erk me so much?  Because I use to think just because they work with the Pro's they were automatically the best. However it turns out you can often find (at least) the same quality physicians, trainers and therapists as the professionals use, right in your neighborhood.  And... you don't have to be a pro athlete to be treated like one.  It's taken over a decade for the Vikings to adopt this wildly successful technique, but I bet there's an advanced IASTM provider right in your neighborhood who is more experienced and more proficient.  

Team Jamaica's Orthopedic Surgeon Assisting Me With IASTM

Want to find a great chiropractic sports medicine physician right in your neighborhood?  Click here to begin your search 

'nuff said

Dr. T

Below are some great resources to find physicians and therapist with advanced degrees and certifications in sports medicine and/or advanced soft tissue treatment techniques like Graston Technique and FAKTR:

1. American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians(r) 

2. ACA Sports Council

Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.

#chiropractormiamibeach #MiamiBeachChiropractor #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #DrNarson #ToddNarson #Narson #TriDoc #TriathlonDoc #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #SportsMedicine #SportsChiropractor #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #SportsMedicineMiami #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiChiropractor #Triathlon #Running #Ironman #IFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #MiamiBeachChiropractor #GrastonTechnique #FAKTR #IASTM #Chiropractor #FootPain #Narson #NarsonBodyMechanic #NarsonTool #DACBSP #CCSP #ACBSP #BackPain #NeckPain #ShoulderPain #RotatorCuff #ITBandSyndrome #runnersKnee #PlantarFasciitis #Plantarfascitis #AchillesTendonitis #AchillesTendonosis #GettingAthletesBackInTheGame  #MiamiBeachChiropractor #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #WeFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #ProSportChiropractic #FunctionalMedicineMiami #DrNarson #BackPainRelief #NeckPainRelief #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #LaserTherapy #RockTape #KinesioTape #KTTape #Nutrition #21DayPurificationProgram #DetoxProgram #PaleoDiet #PaleoDoc #FunctionalNutrition #Chirooractor #Chiropractic #ChiropracticPhysician #DoctorOfChiropractic #USATriathlon #USAT #TeamUSA

Dr. Narson Announces The Opening Of The New Office

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Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.

#chiropractormiamibeach #MiamiBeachChiropractor #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #DrNarson #ToddNarson #Narson #TriDoc #TriathlonDoc #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #SportsMedicine #SportsChiropractor #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #SportsMedicineMiami #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiChiropractor #Triathlon #Running #Ironman #IFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #MiamiBeachChiropractor #GrastonTechnique #FAKTR #IASTM #Chiropractor #FootPain #Narson #NarsonBodyMechanic #NarsonTool #DACBSP #CCSP #ACBSP #BackPain #NeckPain #ShoulderPain #RotatorCuff #ITBandSyndrome #runnersKnee #PlantarFasciitis #Plantarfascitis #AchillesTendonitis #AchillesTendonosis #GettingAthletesBackInTheGame  #MiamiBeachChiropractor #MiamiSportsMedicine #MiamiBeachSportsMedicine #WeFixPeopleInPain #TrainWithoutPain #ChiropracticSportsMedicine #ACASC #ProSportChiropractic #FunctionalMedicineMiami #DrNarson #BackPainRelief #NeckPainRelief #SportsInjuriesFixedHere #LaserTherapy #RockTape #KinesioTape #KTTape #Nutrition #21DayPurificationProgram #DetoxProgram #PaleoDiet #PaleoDoc #FunctionalNutrition #Chirooractor #Chiropractic #ChiropracticPhysician #DoctorOfChiropractic #USATriathlon #USAT #TeamUSA