Power of Shea – Blog

“Joints are like car parts,” says a recent New York Times health column about joint pain. “With proper care and maintenance, they last longer.” And like cars, joint repairs can take a serious hit on your wallet.

The Times column advises people to go easy on their joints, and, difficult as it may sound, avoid injury, in order to avoid costly joint replacement surgery. A joint replacement can cost as much as $40,000 without health insurance, and $4,000 with insurance.

Fitness is key to avoiding serious joint injuries, according to the article, which promotes low-impact exercises, like swimming and cycling. “Fortunately, you can act to protect your joints now, to reduce your chances of needing to replace them later.”

Remember those mini trampolines that everyone used to have kicking around their basements and garages 15 or 20 years ago? Turns out they can give you a good workout… and they’re great for your joints.

Mini trampolines have been a staple of aerobics classes for years, and they’re gaining in popularity again. For those who suffer from arthritis and joint pain is the low-impact nature of trampolining. “Walking and running on the ground you get what we call a ground reaction force. About half one’s bodyweight is sent back up the body as a reaction,” exercise physiologist Pete McCall told Reuters recently.

In fashionable New York fitness clubs, trampoline aerobics is called “rebounding.”

“What I love is that it’s less shock for your knees and joints. You bounce, you don’t jump. You’re pushing down, fighting gravity, abs engaged, knees bent in a power stance,” one trainer told Reuters.

Fitness trends come and go every day (remember that Jazzercise video from the ’80s I posted recently?), but many people like to keep up with the latest workout fad. Here are five popular workouts that probably won’t be around five years from now:

1. Strip Aerobics / Fitness Pole Dancing: Easiest way to make stripping un-sexy: Add a sports bra. Fitness instructors are always looking for the next cutting-edge workout regimen, and nothing sounds more risqué than slithering up and down a stripper pole. But as strip aerobics is becoming more mainstream, it’s losing some of its shock value.

2. Karaoke Spinning: This is one of the more unusual fitness fads to have emerged in recent years. “Spinning,” in this case refers to riding a stationary bike, and participants sing karaoke songs as they huff and puff on the bikes.

3. Kangoo Jumps: Sick of rollerblading? Then strap on a pair of Kangoo jumps, ski boots attached to a circular spring, and start bouncing the pounds off. Jumping can be a great cardio workout, and Kangoo jumps are basically like portable trampolines.

4. Disco Yoga: Bikram yoga? Check. Power yoga? Done it. Couples yoga? Yawn. In an attempt to take the ancient Hindu tradition where it’s never been, fitness clubs around the country have been bringing in sound systems and disco balls and cranking up the Bee Gees abd ABBA.

5. The Bar Method: This one’s new to me. For ballet lovers, it’s a blend between traditional ballet bar work, “strength training and orthopedic back exercises,” according to a recent article. And, “You get that nice little peach butt,” according to one practitioner.

Exercise and physical activity are key to good health and happiness, according to Dr. Ian Smith and weight loss coach Jonny Bowden, but it’s difficult to move if you’re joints are bothering you.

That’s why in a recent health segment on Fox News they recommend taking FlexNow Joint Formula, a natural joint care supplement made from shea nut butter. “Shea nut oil is found to be very anti-inflammatory, and it lowers the pain of arthritis,” Bowden explains. If you’re pain-free, you’re more likely to want to exercise, which in turn will produce endorphins, a natural drug produced by the body.

“If I could only prescribe one thing to everybody, it would be physical activity,” says Dr. Ian Smith in the video. “Just getting out and moving and grooving makes such a difference.”

Try free, 30-day trial of FlexNow Joint Formula today!

It’s always better to take extra care of your teeth in order to avoid a root canal, and the same goes for the rest of your body. Instead of waiting for slight aches and pains to develop into more serious injuries that will land you in the operating room, more medical professionals are recommending that people get in touch with their bodies, and take simple daily measures to prevent injury.

Military.com’s heath columnist describes “prehab” like this:

“Many physical therapists and athletic trainers are using pre-hab as part of a daily program to help prevent nagging injuries as well as the larger ones that require surgery. To be specific, a pre-hab program to prevent injuries focuses on a person’s body imbalances.”

Balance can be achieved by not working one set of muscles too much more than any other, and by adequately stretching and warming up before physical exertion. But the most important thing is to listen to your body, and to avoid movements that put too much stress on vulnerable areas, like your joints.

Perhaps the best thing about springtime is dusting off my bike, taking it in for a tune-up, and riding around the city. Urban biking can be exhilarating (and sometimes a bit dangerous).

If this video by Daniel Leeb of Cinecycle Productions doesn’t inspire you to go for a ride, I don’t know what will.

We’ve talked about sports injuries and shoes that can cause joint pain, but in some cases joint pain occur naturally, especially if your legs are of unequal lengths. I know that sounds strange, but it’s not as uncommon as you might think, as medical columnist Dr. Donohoe explains:

Everyone has legs of slightly different size, just as arms are not the same length. If the difference causes no pain, you can ignore it.

However, it can cause problems. It can lead to low back pain, arthritis of the knees and hips, and hip bursitis. The unequal legs cause the generation of great pressure when the feet strike the ground, and the abnormal pressure load exists for both the longer and the shorter leg. The inequality also causes the pelvis to twist and brings on back pain. Furthermore, when standing, unequal legs distort posture, and that can produce back and joint pain.

The inequality doesn’t have to be all that great. In a recently published article on knee osteoarthritis, a difference of 1 centimeter (two-fifths of an inch) was linked to knee arthritis. I have to let you know that other authors define significant inequality at half an inch to four-fifths of an inch.

If your legs are different lengths, you can fix the problem with something as simple as heel lifts, or special shoes that will even your legs out.

I never thought rock climbing was easy, but I also never realized that it could be as difficult as climber Daniel Woods demonstrates in this video by filmmaker Cedar Wright.

In bouldering, the rock faces, or “problems,” are graded on a V scale, ranging from V0 to V16. According to Woods, this rock in Boulder Canyon is the only known V16 in the country, “and arguably the universe!!!” Looks pretty tough.

If you suffer from joint pain associated with arthritis or an injury, I just want to remind you to try a free 30-day trial of FlexNow Joint Formula.

FlexNow is a clinically-tested joint supplement made from shea butter extract that is proven to reduce pain and inflammation, and help rebuild damaged cartilage. Shea butter contains triterpenes (nature’s steroids), a naturally-occurring substance that helps manage inflammation and reduce pain.

Order today, and get a 30-day supply of 90 softgels (normally priced at $39.96), and pay only shipping & handling ($8.95). Special bonus: you’ll receive a bottle with one of the new labels (at right)!

I’ve probably heard the word “Jazzercise” a thousand times, but until seeing this video, I didn’t know exactly what it entailed. Of course, not every Jazzercise instructor has Judi Sheppard Misset’s moves and sass.

Her ad-libbing gets weirder as the video progresses, to the point where, halfway through, she says: “You ain’t got nothing but time… but I’m here with ya!”

And moments later: “We’re gonna have a good time– a mighty fine good time!”

In all seriousness, dancing is a fantastic workout, and ’80s-style aerobic dance classes are coming back in style. Just this week I heard about a program in Chicago called Dance It Off!, which is described as “part exercise class, part underground dance club.” That sounds like a fitness club I could get down with!