A South Austin Gym

Latest Entry: Fighters

How do cage fighters and boxers manage to not have their heads knocked clean off their shoulders when they get hit by powerful blows? The sternocleidomastoids (SCM) -- one on each side of the neck -- are paired muscles, composed of the sternomastoid component that runs from the sternum to the mastoid process of the skull, immediately behind and below the ear, and the cleidomastoid muscle that runs from the clavicle to the mastoid. When flexed, the SCM rotates the head toward the opposing side. Flexing both SCMs in alternation shakes the head “no,” as one might if waving off an overly concerned ringside physician. Flexing them simultaneously flexes the neck forward and extends the head -- in the right circumstance resisting the force of a blow to the face.. It’s why fighters often seem to be ducking into a punch. Moreover, arrayed against them are the muscles used in throwing a punch: calves, gluts, lats, pecs, triceps, etc. These are some of the most powerful muscles in the body. It is not surprising then that we rarely see the thrower of a well-placed punch to the head grasping his hand in pain and stumbling back in amazement as his opponent casually flexes his SCMs and smiles; the muscular arithmetic is firmly in the thrower’s favor. When a punch of sufficient force strikes the face, it accelerates the front of the cranium back into the frontal lobes of the brain. This is the irreducible sweet science of brain injury. A gentle blow to the frontal lobes causes various degrees of central nervous system sedation -- it stuns the brain -- and a blow of sufficient force simply shuts the brain off. Seizures are not uncommon. When a blow to the head comes from an angle, as opposed to straight on, only one of the SCMs can resist the force: The resulting acceleration of the cranium and damage to the brain are thus much greater. Worse still, when a fighter is struck on the chin, the mandible creates leverage that magnifies the force and damage. This is the phenomenon of a fighter being hit “on the button.” Incidentally, this is an argument why, all things being equal, fighters with large heads and Cro-Magnon-like chins are at a theoretical mechanical disadvantage in withstanding blows. Lastly, the anatomy of the brain makes blows to the back of the head particularly dangerous. The extensor muscles of the neck are far stronger than the SCMs, but the part of the brain under direct assault is more delicate. The frontal lobes injured in a frontal blow control speech, movement and thought -- all the neurologic skills we see depleted in old boxers. The back of the brain, the hindbrain or rhombencephalon, controls respiration, heart rate, swallowing, blood pressure. Fighters who sustain injuries there never grow to be old. Austin Fitness Center: A South Austin Gym: 3-08-2010

Entry 308: Weight Gain and Prostate Cancer

Results of a new study show that adult weight gain can increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. Prostate cancer is one of the slower progressing forms of cancer, that men are at risk for as they age. The study, performed by researchers from the University of Hawaii shows that men who gain significant amounts of weight as young adults are at risk of developing the disease when they become older. The researchers noted that men who put on weight during adulthood were at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. They also noted that a person’s ethnicity also appeared to play a role in whether or not they were at risk of developing the disease. Japanese men were found to be at a slightly reduced risk of developing prostate cancer, even if they gained weight during adulthood. For black men, the study found that they were at risk of developing a less serious form of the disease than white men, despite the weight factor. Austin Fitness Center: A South Austin Gym: 3-05-2010

Entry 307: Gene Doping

Gene doping is a broad term used to describe any change created purposely to a person's DNA through various means, from injection to a pill. There's several other methods as well, including injecting IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor, a chemical manipulation of naturally occurring IGF. When you lift weights, you cause tiny ruptures in your muscles. That action triggers your body to reproduce multiple copies of cells that merge with muscle fiber, ultimately strengthening your muscle. When the muscle is being rebuilt, another protein called myostatin tells the nearby cells to stop multiplying; your muscle is done growing until you can get back to the gym and repeat the process. When the chemical IGF-1 is injected in rodents, however, their muscles heal at a much faster rate and they are able to lift more weight. IGF-1 can boost that initial strength and healing process, and it's possible in another step to artificially block myostatin production, allowing the muscle to keep growing without putting in half the sweat. Two simpler gene doping methods involve pills. When their existence was first revealed last summer in the journal Cell, an international uproar ensued, with media portraying them as fix-alls for the average person who doesn't want to work out and the competitor who wants an edge. The "couch potato pill," a synthetic protein called Aicar, enhanced nonexercising rodents' endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after four weeks. Another was an experimental substance, GW1516, which improved endurance capability by 75 percent. Neither drug is approved by the FDA. Austin Fitness Center: A South Austin Gym: 3-03-2010

Entry 306: What is Gout?

Gout is a disease that results from an overload of uric acid in the body. This overload of uric acid leads to the formation of tiny crystals of urate that deposit in tissues of the body, especially the joints. When crystals form in the joints it causes recurring attacks of joint inflammation (arthritis). Chronic gout can also lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around the joints and may cause joint destruction, decreased kidney function, and kidney stones. Gout is often related to an inherited abnormality in the body's ability to process uric acid. Uric acid is a breakdown product of purines that are part of many foods we eat. An abnormality in handling uric acid can cause attacks of painful arthritis (gout attack), kidney stones, and blockage of the kidney-filtering tubules with uric acid crystals, leading to kidney failure. On the other hand, some people may only develop elevated blood uric acid levels without having arthritis or kidney problems. The term gout refers to the disease that is caused by an overload of uric acid in the body, resulting in painful arthritic attacks and deposits of lumps of uric acid crystals in body tissues. Gouty arthritis is typically an extremely painful attack with a rapid onset of joint inflammation. The joint inflammation is precipitated by deposits of uric acid crystals in the joint fluid (synovial fluid) and joint lining (synovial lining). Intense joint inflammation occurs as white blood cells engulf the uric acid crystals and chemical messengers of inflammation are released, causing pain, heat, and redness of the joint tissues. Austin Fitness Center: South Austin's Gym: 2- 28-2010