What’s up Strong Beach? I just wanted to thank you for all the kind words and positive feedback. I really appreciate it! I would also like to invite you out to my book signing this weekend (December 18th; 5:30pm) at Borders Bookstore at the Pike in downtown Long Beach! I’d like to meet you, shake your hand, put some faces to the names I have given advice too, and kiss a few babies! Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s video blog. I promise it will be entertaining! Now, lets get to work!
Hello Dr. Dossman
I’m writing to you concerning my son. He plays JV basketball as a freshman. He is very talented! He complains about lower back pain all the time. I took him to visit a doctor of chiropractic who then told us that my son really needed to work on his flexibility. He mentioned something about his hamstrings and gluts locking up his back.
Well he stretches and stretches but he is always stiff as a board! I figure we need to do something more drastic. I was wondering if I should put him in yoga classes? Do you think that would be all right for a 15-year-old child?
Cindy
Hello Cindy,
Hamstring and glute tightness are very common problems with athletes complaining of lower back pain. Stretching is a good step in the right direction, but flexibility doesn’t come overnight. He might need six weeks of consistency to see any result. Stick with it! Also, make sure he is drinking about 32 ounces of water for every 50 pounds of his body weight. For even more information, be sure to check out my video blog on “Static Stretching” to make sure he is covering all bases.
What are my thoughts on Yoga for the youth? Why not? I encourage all athletes to give yoga a shot. It’ll not only help with is flexibility, it will help balance, coordination, and core development. Every athlete could use enhancement in those areas! So go ahead. Why not? Keep me posted on his progress!
Hi Doc!
I learn something new every time I read your column. Keep up the good work! I hope my question isn’t silly. I wanted to know if I could get muscle cramping from drinking too much Gatorade? Okay that is all. Congrats on your book signing this weekend! I know it will be awesome!
Raquel F.
Hi Raquel!
Thanks for the love and support! I hope to meet you in person at the book signing! Your question is not silly. Yes, I do believe that there are silly questions but this is not one of them. I hear this quite often.
The answer to your question is YES! Muscle cramping isn’t necessarily a result of electrolyte “depletion”. It is the result of an electrolyte “imbalance”. Therefore, you can have too much as well as too little. I give a rule of thumb to only drink the sports drink when you have visible evidence of electrolyte loss. This is evidenced by the appearance of sweat. If you are sweating, you are losing electrolytes. Replace them. If you are watching television or on the computer, drink water! Hope that’s simple enough. See you this weekend!
Hey Doc,
I noticed everyone’s mother is writing you. I hope its okay for me to ask you my question directly (athlete to doc). I’m just kidding. So anyways, I am 6’5”, 315 pounds. My left knee has been bothering me for over a year now. All that doctors do is tell me that I need to lose weight to take pressure off of my knees if I don’t want to end up in surgery. I am not getting any other help. I’ve tried ultrasound and cold laser and electrical stimulation and everything else without much success. Is losing weight really my best option? I am really not a bad looking 315. I don’t consider myself to be overweight. I’m a pretty solid dude. Any suggestions?
Devon H.
Wassup D!
That’s pretty funny! I do get a ton of mothers asking questions. I guess they care the most! Maybe they care more than the athlete? So YES, you are indeed a big guy. I’d like to think that if you are not obese or have some outrageously high body fat percentage, you should have large knees to accommodate such a large frame.
I encourage weight loss when the patient is overweight. If you are a solid 315, you might not be considered overweight at 6’5”. Make no mistake; if you lost weight, your body would notice the difference. All of your joints might appreciate a lighter load. I just don’t think it’s necessarily the answer in your case. My concern is the fact that you only complain of a single knee (and not both). Both knees carry 315 pounds everyday. Why pain in one knee? This tells me that you might have some sort of hip imbalance causing you to place more weight on a particular side of the body than the other.
I get runners coming in the office complaining about how their one knee hurts after a 10-mile jog. I ask them if the other knee went along for the run! Once I balance their hips, they seem to do so much better. I am willing to bet that you just need some pelvic balancing. I wonder if your lower back tightens up on the opposite side of your knee pain? I guess that’s all I can say with the information provided. Hope this helps!
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Well that was pretty fun! I love this stuff! Of course I always wish I had more information. My perception of things is limited to the information you give me, so be careful when taking my recommendations over your own physician who actually examines you regularly. The more information you give me, the more I can help. It helps me to give you the best recommendations when you provide information like age, sex, date of injury, past injuries, and things of that nature. Well that is all we have time for today folks! Until next week, stay STRONG BEACH!!!
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