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Muscular

Mitochondria and Relationships to Health

INTRODUCTION Mitochondria are organelles (subcellular structures conducting specific tasks) found within the cells of our bodies. Such organelles are involved in several critical processes to include reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, cell survival, cell signalling, apoptosis (cell death), several metabolic pathways, and energy production via adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis; its most widely known contribution.1,2 As…

Benefits of Instrument Assisted Self-Massage

WHAT IS SELF-MASSAGE? Self-massage is a technique, which often implements foam rollers, massage balls, and massage bars (otherwise known as instrument assisted self-massage, or IASM) to induce sweeping and direct pressure upon soft tissue (i.e., muscles); a process, which induces friction, and stretching.1 IASM techniques have gained popularity over time due to their ease of…

Environmental Pollutants, Sweating, and Detoxification

Sears, Kerr, and Bray (2012) indicated that several elements exist in the environment that provide no known benefit, physiologically. Such elements include arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) (Sears et al., 2012). However, said elements have the capacity to bioaccumulate in the body producing aberrations in multiple regions to include the cardiovascular,…

Connective Tissue; Structure and Function

Tissues of the human body can be classified under 4 major sub-types: epithelial, nervous, muscle, and connective (Delforge, 2002). Connective tissue bind cells, other forms of tissues, and organs in a way, which provides mechanical support, strength, integrity, and form to structures found within the body (Delforge, 2002). Finally, connective tissue is composed of 3…

Androgen Replacement Therapy: Time and Place?

Aging has been associated with many signs and symptoms observed in elderly men. Some of these symptoms include: decreases in work capacity, energy, strength, muscle mass, libido, sexual activity, nocturnal penile tumescence, virility, decreased bone density, increases in abdominal body fat, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis (Vermeulen, 2000). It is possible that some or all of…

Tendinopathy: Characteristics, Causes, and Treatments

Tendinopathy is characterized as an overuse injury, occurring in close proximity to the tendinous regions of muscle bellies (Andres & Murrell, 2008). Unlike tendonitis, which is characterized by inflammatory markers, tendinopathy has minimal-to-no inflammation present (Andres & Murrell, 2008; Mayo Clinic, 2016). Thus, it is imperative to discern the two pathologies and appropriately characterize the…