A4M Sports Medicine Education Training Clients to Understand Athletes at a Cellular Level

Online, January 22, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Sports Medicine is more than just fixing the wear and tear athletes do to their bodies, but analyzing the body at the cellular level.

A study in The Journal of General Physiology examines the consequences of muscle activity with astonishing results, stating the extracellular accumulation of potassium that occurs in working muscles is considerably higher than previously thought.

Muscle activity involves the influx of sodium ions and efflux of potassium ions. Repeated muscle activity lead to substantial changes in the intracellular and extracellular concentration of sodium and potassium ions. However, the extent of these changes has been unclear. In the study, changes in concentration of sodium, potassium, and chloride ions in working rat extensor digitorum longus (ESL) muscles were analyzed.

When their muscles were stimulated to fire at a rate of 5 Hz (comparable to that in the legs of a person riding a bicycle) for five minutes, sufficient intracellular potassium was lost to lead to an extracellular concentration that would interfere with further excitation. This information suggests accumulation of extracellular potassium is a much larger contributor to muscle fatigue than previously thought.

"This study shows the importance of properly understanding an athlete's body from the organic level. There are toxins that can hinder performance and as this study suggests, the body' byproduct causes a greater chance of muscle fatigue than previously thought," stated Chris Johnson, CEO of On Target Living.

Chris Johnson who educates physicians, certified personal trainers, dietitians, and physiologists on the importance of proper eating programs, body pollutants, and nutritional depletion, states that proper Sports Medicine involves listening to the client's body.

"Every athlete wants to improve something about their trade, be it
run faster or longer, jump higher or further, helping them achieve these goals typically begins with assessing the exercise regimen and creating a plan encompassing nutrition, body toxins, and recovery," said Johnson.

From the weekend warrior to the triathlete, the experts' state, feeding the body properly improves performance and mitigates fatigue and injury.