Bienvenidos a la Sección de Salud
Aquí iremos colocando una serie de artículos y recomendaciones sobre salud deportiva de diferentes fuentes tanto en idioma español como en inglés.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Water is good for the following reasons:

1) Over 65% of your body is composed of water (most of the muscle cell is water).

2) Water cleanses your body from toxins and pollutants that would get you sick.

3) Water is needed for all of the complex chemical reactions that your body needs to perform on a daily basis. Processes such as energy production, muscle building, and fat burning require water.

4) Water helps lubricate the joints.

5) When the outside temperature is up, water serves as a coolant to bring the body temperature down to where it is supposed to be.

6) Cold water increases your metabolism.

Calculating Water Intake Needs

In order to know how much water your body needs a day, just multiply your lean body weight by .66. This formula indicates how many ounces of water you need in a day.

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Chondromalacia

Chondromalacia is the softening of the articular cartilage that lies behind the kneecap, or patella.

The condition, which is common among runners, cyclists and skiers, (including karate-ka), usually occurs a a result of direct knee trauma, overuse syndrome and/or muscular imbalances.

Some factors known to increase the risk for developing this condition are:

•Hill or stair running
•Low cadence/high-resistance cycling
•An inadequate warm-up routine
•Poor footwear
•Weak quadriceps relative to your hamstrings
•Ankle pronation

Symptoms:
Pain and inflammation around and beneath the patella (kneecap), as well as a grinding sensation under the kneecap during flexion and extension.

Treatment
Initial treatment consists of RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) plus judicious use of NSAIDs (non-steroids aids) such as aspirin or ibuprofen.
Once the inflammation has subsided, many doctors recommend a stretching regimen combined with low-impact exercises to strengthen the quadriceps.

More....
Because cartilage has a poor blood supply, it does not have the capacity to heal itself to the same degree as other tissues. But research has shown that certain supplements can augment cartilage repair by supplying high concentrations of the essential building blocks.

500 mg of glucosamine sulfate three times daily was shown to improve joint function and retard the progressive destruction of articular cartilage.

SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine)* shows promise in the treatment of joint disease. SAMe is believed to stimulate the production of cartilage cells and matrix and has significantly decreased joint pain in clinical trials. 600 to 1,200 mg of SAMe per day to be taken in three equal doses.

* Find out in GNC as SAMe 100

By Christine Lydon, MD
Physical March 2003
Vol.6 Issue 3

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