Dear BodyTekers,

I’ve been reading a lot about spinal injury and rehabilitation. I’m
wondering why with so many Americans (2.5 million chronically disabled)
suffering from back injury and so much money being spent (12 billion
annually) on rehabilitation that Americans, who make up the most powerful
nation in the world, aren’t any more educated on the problem.

These numbers are fantastic but not surprising. Just listen to the people
around you. Virtually everyone we know has some spine related on going
disablement. The upside to all this down is that it doesn’t have to be
that way! The more I read the more I am encouraged.

You don’t have to be a statistic! There are too many types of injuries so
I won’t try to cover them all. But understand that degenerative disc
disease is much too common to ignore. It’s most common forms - Spondylosis
and Osteoarthritis - cause rounding of the spine, crippling its victim.

At the very top of the rehabilitative and preventative list are these ACSM
guidelines to overall fitness. The following are recommended by Stephen H.
Hochschuler, M.D. (Rehabilitation of the spine science and practice):

Frequency of training: 3 to 5 das per week
Intensity of training: 60% to 90% of max heart rate
Duration: 20 to 60 minutes of continuous activity
Mode of activity: those activities that involve large muscle groups
Resistance training: strength training to develop fat free weight. The
recommendation is for 8 to 12 repetitions of 8 to 10 exercises for the
major muscle groups twice per week.

Your ticket costs the same as anyone else’s. Cardiac fitness, muscular
strength, endurance and flexibility, that’s it. My intent is to lead by
example in every way possible. Where do you see yourself in five years,
ten, twenty…?