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Strength training? Or Endurance training?

Strength vs. Endurance

Improving strength and endurance are both beneficial - in different ways.

When it comes to exercise and fitness, there are basically two types of training or exercise – strength and endurance. Most athletes combine both for maximum performance.

So…what’s the difference between strength and endurance?

Strength involves the ability to do something that takes a lot of energy or “muscle” over a relatively short period of time, such as picking up and moving a heavy box.

Endurance involves the ability to do something that takes only a moderate amount of energy, or doing something repetitive, over a longer period of time, such as running a marathon.

Strength training, which involves the use of weights, has a number of benefits:

• Builds lean muscle, which increases metabolism to help you lose weight
• Strengthens muscles to assist with everyday activities, such as lifting bags and carrying children, and strengthens bones, which in turn lowers your risk for osteoporosis
• Strengthens ligaments and tendons to help you avoid injury
• Helps to reduce joint pain, such as arthritis pain
• Assists in physical therapy for injuries resulting from accidents, as well as after hospital stays
• Adds variety to your exercise routine
• Reduces stress, builds positive body image, increases confidence

Endurance training generally involves some type of aerobic exercise, such as running, cycling, circuit training or swimming to build stamina. The benefits of endurance training are primarily cardiovascular – it increases oxygen-rich blood flow throughout your body, reduces plaque in the arteries (cholesterol) and reduces the risk for stroke, heart disease and high blood pressure. It also helps you to lose weight and it releases brain chemicals (endorphins) that improve mood and reduce depression/anxiety symptoms.

Most people combine both types of training for maximum benefit. When addressing neck and back injuries, endurance training is most beneficial for reducing pain and increasing function. Along with regular chiropractic care, we can suggest appropriate exercises for you if you are suffering from back and neck pain.

Shoreview, MN Chiropractor

Getting On Your Nerves. Could that pain in your legs be sciatica?

Getting On Your Nerves

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, so when it's inflamed the pain is profound.

Someone you know may have complained about a condition known as sciatica, but what is it? To understand the condition, it’s helpful to know a bit about the anatomy of the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body. It begins at the base of the spinal cord and extends down the length of each leg to the toes on each foot. The sciatic nerve is really made up of five separate nerves that come together, and at one point is the same diameter as your thumb!

The sciatic nerves provide sensation and strength to the leg and connect the spinal cord with muscles in the thigh, lower leg, and feet. Muscle weakness or a tingling sensation in the legs can result when the sciatic nerve has been compromised or compressed in some way.

An inflammation of the sciatic nerve or compression on the nerve can cause profound pain. This is the condition known as sciatica; symptoms of sciatica include a dull ache to moderate or even severe pain, shooting pains, numbness, or a tingling feeling in the legs. Individual symptoms and their severity can usually be traced back to where one of the five nerves originates in the lower back.

While treatment in the past may have included muscle relaxants, pain medicine and even surgery that had only a 60% success rate, chiropractic care has been shown to be quite effective in relieving the nerve interference and irritation that is causing the pain in the first place - the root cause of what's getting on your nerves!

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, and feel that sciatica may be the problem, please call our practice to schedule an appointment. A thorough examination will determine whether or not you have sciatica and we can discuss what can be done to help.

Sports Chiropractor Shoreview