| Red Hill Physio - Glucosamine, beetroot and spinach power! |
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Interesting Study ReportsGlucosamine and AthletesJoints are well abused in sports such as triathlons. Joints are predominantly made of a substance called ‘collagen’. It is this collagen degeneration and re-synthesis that keep the joints healthy. When we abuse joints with repetitive heavy exercise, injuries occur when joint damage to regeneration ratio is tipped more towards the damaging end. A lot of you have heard of Glucosamine sulphate and fish oils for maintaining joint health. Recent studies are showing again that Glucosamine sulphate intake is helping collagen re-synthesis and more importantly preventing or slowing down its break down in athletes. However, the studies say the effect does not last if intake is discontinued. Shoulder Injuries in SwimmingShoulder injuries are very well known in swimmers. The most common pain is the sharp twinging pain that grabs the front part of the shoulder when the arm is elevated past 90 deg, for example, in swimming, the ‘recovery’ or ‘catch’ position. This type of ‘impingement’ pain can be sourced to many structures – with the rotator cuff tendons that travel through the area being accused majority of the time. The pain initially starts as a mild pain that grabs you intermittently and mostly disappears when you continue exercising. This will continue until one sudden incident increases the pain markedly with post injury aching. Beetroot and Spinach Power!British scientists from the University of Exeter have recently been investigating the power of nitrates and nitrites in vegetables, yes vegetables. Professor Andy Jones and his team of scientists have been looking at the effects of beetroot juice on moderate and high-intensity exercise during an incremental cycling test. Using 16 young cyclists, they found that beetroot juice improved efficiency of oxygen transfer during high intensity exercise (cycling test). It increased the time to exhaustion by up to 16% compared with those who drank black current juice as the control group. Furthermore, the beetroot juice further lowered their already low systolic blood pressure! Why beetroot juice, you may ask? Well, quite simply because it provides a very rich source of nitrate. Studies are showing the benefits of nitrates in helping the blood transfer oxygen to cells. Vegetables such as beetroot and spinach and other greens like broccoli have high levels of nitrates. |
