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Sciatica: Facts, Symptoms and Treatment

Are you suffering from sciatica? Know all about it here and find how to reduce your pain. Sciatica is defined as the pain caused in the lower extremity resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve. The pain of sciatica is felt from the low back that is the lumbar area to behind the thigh and can radiate down below the knee. The root cause of this pain is irritation of sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in body. It begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the lower limb. 1. Causes While sciatica is most commonly a result of a lumbar disc herniation directly pressing on the nerve, any cause of irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve can produce the symptoms of sciatica. This irritation of nerves because of an abnormal [...]

Josh Hewett2020-06-14T19:56:58-04:00

Will Crossfit Bring You Gains or Pains?

We’ve all heard the expression ” No Pain No Gain.” Unfortunately I’ve seen far too many people have more pain than gain as a result of this philosophy. Part of the problem with an overly aggressive approach to getting in shape is that once you are injured you will have set yourself back significantly. As an example, let’s look at the popular yet somewhat controversial group fitness cult craze called Crossfit. Those who argue in favor of Crossfit insist it is a fun, effective, and intense approach to fitness that delivers fast results. Many believe it is also a terrific way to train for overall “athleticism”. => CHECK OUT MY ARTICLE IN THE TORONTO SUN ON THIS TOPIC! However, Crossfit has also gained a reputation for delivering more than it’s fair share of injuries as well. Part of the reason for this is the explosive nature of many of the exercises [...]

Josh Hewett2014-06-24T23:00:30-04:00

Stretching Can Cause Weakness and Injury

As in many aspects of our society, in the fitness industry there are things that many of us accept as true based on dogma rather than science and facts. An example is the persistent myth that “eating fat is bad for you”. Once an entire system of training (or nutrition) has been developed around a certain (erroneous) belief, it becomes very hard to change, regardless of how much evidence is presented. Cognitive biases are formed over time, which are inflexible by definition. This is why it is SO important to keep an open mind and to become a critical thinker! Stretching and flexibility training is one of the aspects of strength and fitness that really seems to be dragging it’s ass. Despite the abundance of mounting research and evidence to indicate that passive stretching can lead to muscle weakness, joint instability, and increased risk of injury, there still seems to [...]

Josh Hewett2020-06-20T12:52:51-04:00

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