tthe POWER MAG NEWSLETTER
monday june 4, 2001
_________________________________________________________________
1.....RICKEY DALE says.....
good day to all of you out there in iron
land.............well we started this newsletter in the fall
of 1998.....so we are in our 3rd year........it hardly seems
like it but 'tis true.........we were sending
out to about 1200 subscribers...then came the virus....so
after a few weeks we are back up to
about 750 or so......and it continues to grow......let your
friends know of it and tell them to give
us a shout to subscribe.....we are looking for new
articles...pics and any other info you all
might like......i pull no punches and all the advice and/or
info i give is backed up by
an unconditional guarantee or your money back (and since it
is free...draw your
own conclusions).....
seriously.....it is here to help you improve your
speed...strength and performance in whatever
sport you are in .........explosive power is the name of the
game......
now on to the meat and a few potatoes (not too many carbs
you know)....
On December 17, 2000, Whit Baskin was involved in a serious
auto accident that left him in a coma. However, showing the
same heart and determination that he is known for in
competitions, Whit has been making a tremendous recovery.
Whit is now back at home and doing therapy.
First, Cards and letters can be sent to Whit at his home at:
1124 Melisa Dr.
Durant, OK 74701
Second, You can post thoughts to Whit and his family and see
updates on Whit at the message board at:
www.mcshane-enterprises.com/positivethoughtsforwhit
Third, You can make a direct donation to Whit’s medical fund
by going to:
www.mcshane-enterprises.com/gifttowhit
Fourth, You can put your name on a waiting list for official
Whit Baskin t-shirts, of which a percentage will go to
Whit’s medical fund:
Fifth, You can go to the board at the North American
Strongman Society, which will be donating a certain
percentage of all shirt, membership and gate proceeds to a
fund for Whit: N.
http://members.boardhost.com/NAStrongman
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and help.
2.....POWERLIFTING PARAPHERNALIA and TRIVIA.....
and the answer of last weeks trivia question is pat malone
and the university of purdue.....
had quite a few on this...more than i thought....but the
first three were.......
dr robert c smith of mississippi state,
ms.....................BETTY LEE OF
SAN FRANCISCO, CA........and "tricky" rick fowler of granite
city, illinois....congrats
you guys (gal)..........
and this week's trivia question is ????????????......
what was the original name of crain's muscle world, limited
(exactly to the
letter) ??????????
Spondylolysis and Sponylolisthesis
What is it?
The spine or vertebral column consists of a series of
vertebrae held together to
give support for the spinal cord and nerves arising from it.
Each vertebra consists of an
anterior vertebral body, and a posterior bony ring with two
superior facets and two
inferior facets that articulate with the neighboring
vertebrae. These articulations form
the posterior facet joints that provide stability to the
spine.
In spondylolysis, there is a defect in the pars
interarticularis (which literally means the
"piece between the articulations"). So spondylolysis means a
defect in the thin
isthmus of bone connecting the superior and inferior facets,
and could be
unilateral (involving one side) or bilateral (involving both
sides). Although the
defect can be found at any level, the commonest vertebra
involved is the 5th
Lumbar vertebra (or L5).
In cases of bilateral spondylolysis, the posterior
articulations can no longer provide
the posterior stability, and anterior slipping of the L5
vertebra over the sacrum could
result. This slip is called Spondylolisthesis.
Spondylolysis is the commonest cause of spondylolisthesis,
and is sometimes
referred to as isthmic spondylolisthesis, since the defect
is in the isthmus. But
there are other causes of spondylolisthesis. In children
born with underdeveloped
facet joints (dysplastic joints), spondylolisthesis can also
result, and is sometimes
referred to as dysplastic spondylolisthesis. More rarely,
any infection or tumor
affecting the posterior bony ring including the facet
joints, can also cause instability
and spondylolisthesis.
What causes it?
The commonest cause of spondylolisthesis is spondylolysis,
and it is the cause
of spondylolysis that is the subject of intense debate.
Some people feel that it is an inherited defect of the pars
interarticularis. In surveys
of asymptomatic school children, spondylolysis is present in
4 to 6%. In certain racial
groups like the Eskimos, the incidence is as high as 40%,
suggesting a genetic factor.
Spondylolysis has been reported in an infant, although it is
rare before age 4.
However, certain other observations point to a repetitive
trauma etiology.
Incidence goes up with age, and incidence is higher in
children involved in certain
kinds of sports like gymnastics, weight-lifting and football
that put a lot of stress
on the back. In gymnastics, the hyperextension position of
the lumbar spine places
excessive stress on the back, leading to stress fractures in
the pars interarticularis.
In an attempt to unify the two etiological theories, most
physicians believe that
most children with spondylolysis may be born with a "weak"
pars interarticularis.
Repeated stress with activities during the years of growth
between 8 and 14
causes the "stress fracture" that leads on the spondylolysis.
What are the symptoms?
Most children with spondylolysis, and even some children
with spondylolisthesis
are aymptomatic, and may grow up not even aware that they
have the conditioin.
For those with symptoms, back pain is probably the most
common symptom, and
presents during the adolescent growth spurt. There is often
a history of trauma at
sports, usually trivial, and an X-ray reveals the
"fracture". If the child continues to have
good range of motion of the back, it is probably safe to say
that the
spondylolysis is not due to that particular injury, but a
result of years of
cumulative stress of the back.
Sometimes the child is brought in by the parents because of
poor posture or
funny gait. This is usually due to spondylolisthesis,
causing muscle spasm in the
back that makes the back stiff, and tight hamstrings causing
the child to walk with the
knees bent, and a short stride. Sometimes, there is an
associated scoliosis that is
more obvious to the observer than the spondylolisthesis.
How do you prevent it?
There is not too much you can do about your genes, but there
is certainly
something you can do about your activities. Avoiding sports
in the growing
years is usually not an option, but you can choose your
sports wisely. For your
little gymnast, limiting the number of hours of practice
(unless she is an aspiring
Olympian), or alternating gymnastics with another sport like
swimming or
bicycling may be helpful. There is no place for
weight-lifting in the
pre-pubertal child.
If your child was incidentally found to have spondylolysis
with no symptoms, there
is no need to restrict his or her activities. The chances of
an aymptomatic
spondylolysis developing a slip is not high enough to
justify restriction of activities.
What does your doctor do about it?
If your child presents with any of the symptoms described
earlier, you doctor will order
an X-ray of the lumbo-sacral spine to rule out spondylolysis.
Very often, the oblique
views are best for revealing the defects in the pars
interarticularis. If there is
spondylolisthesis or slip, the lateral view will show it
best.
If your child has spondylolysis, treatment is directed
towards reducing the backpain by
use of anti-inflammatory medications like Ibuprofen, and
stretching and strengthening
exercises for the back and abdominal muscles. In more severe
cases, a lumbosacral
support and Physical therapy may be ordered. After 1 to 2
weeks of rest, the pain
usually goes away, and the child may resume sports.
In the most severe cases where there is severe trauma and
muscle spasm, a
nuclear bone scan may be done to check if the pars defect is
indeed a fracture.
If so, it may be necessary to place the child in a rigid
lumbosacral orthosis or even a
body cast. Sports will be curtailed for 3 months to allow
time for healing.
In patients with spondylolisthesis, the treatment depends on
several factors,
depending on age, sex, and severity of slip. The younger
child has a higher chance of
further slip with growth. Girls are more prone to
progressive slip than boys. Severity
of slip is estimated on the lateral view on X-ray, and
depends on the amount of
contact left between the L5 and S1 vertebral bodies. Grade 1
indicates more
than 75% of contact. Grade 2 indicates 50 to 75% of contact.
Grade 3 indicates
25 to 50% of contact. Grade 4 indicates less than 25% of
contact. The higher the
grade of slip, the more serious the problem, and the higher
the chances of further slip.
A CT scan or even an MRI may sometimes be needed to further
elucidate the bone
and nerve problem before treatment is started.
For Grades 1 and 2, conservative treatment is usually
instituted. This will be
similar to treatment for spondylolysis, except for use of a
rigid Lumbosacral
orthosis LSO or thermoplastic brace), and intensive physical
therapy to
strengthen the back and abdominal muscles, as well as
stretching exercises for the tight
hamstring muscles. X-rays (lateral views only) are done
every 3 to 6 months
to check on the severity of the slip. If the patient
responds to conservative
treatment, the pain resolves, the hamstring tightness
improves, and the patient
may return to limited sports. Gymnastics, weight-lifting and
football should be
avoided. If the pain does not improve, or if follow-up
X-rays demonstrate
further slip, surgery may be needed.
Surgery consists of fusing the L5 to the S1 vertebrae to
prevent further slipping.
Depending on the degree of slip and other factors, your
surgeon may fuse the
vertebrae "as is", or fuse the vertebrae after attempting to
reduce the slip. This l
atter technique entails significant risk to the spinal
nerves, and will have to be
taken into consideration in the pre-operative planning.
What can be expected after treatment?
If your child has spondylolysis discovered incidentally, and
has no symptoms at
all, there is no need to restrict his or her activities. As
long as he or she has no
symptoms, no regular follow-up is needed.
If your child has spondylolysis discovered because of back
pain, and he or she
responds to treatment, there is no need to restrict
activities as long as there is
no pain. The chances of this developing into
spondylolisthesis is indeed very small,
with or without participation in sports.
If your child has spondylolisthesis (slip), care needs to be
exercised, especially
in girls of young age. Up to the age of 14 or 15, the risk
of further slip is the
highest, and regular follow-up is needed. Sports
participation is allowed, but
strenuous sports like gymnastics, weight-lifting and
football should be avoided.
If surgery is needed, spine fusion is the procedure most
often done, and results
tend to be good.
NOTICE: The information presented is for your information
only, and not a substitute for the medical a
dvice of a qualified physician. Neither the author nor the
publisher will be responsible for any harm or
injury resulting from interpretations of the materials in
this article.
thought you guys might like this article...it is very biased
against athletes but it
does have some good points.....and explains what
Spondylolysis and Sponylolisthesis is.....
it does seem to be one of the problems many lifters
have...because of injury.....so at least it will give you
ideas about it and some ideas of how to treat it????
3.....FORM.....STYLE.....TECHNIQUE.....and ROUTINES.....
again i would suggest some sensible thought provoking and
meaningful common sense in
preparing for your workouts.........i constantly have to
reprimand the younger lifter
(my son included) about not warming up properly and
stretching properly before training....
even though it is needed less in your teen years it will
save you that chance of a bad tear...
pull or annoying problems that can periodically occur when
not paying attention to
properly preparing one's self for lifting or running...etc..better
safe than sorry.......
no cliche', just fact..........
THE RICK GAUGLER WORKOUT>>>>>
rick gaugler was a phenom and INCREDIBLE competitor in the
70's and 80's in the
148/165/181/198 lb classes...one of three 165 lb'ers to
squat and deadlift 700 and still
bench over 450........
his workouts consisted of 4 week mini cycles......as
follows...
warmups
145 x 10
145 x 5
235 x 3
235 x 1
week 16 week 15 week 14 week 13 week 12 week 11
295 x 1 305 x 1 320 x 1 325 x 1 300 x 1 325 x 1
350 x 3 375 x 3 400 x 3 370 x 1 375 X 3 400 x 3
350 x 3 375 x 3 400 x 3 425 x 3 375 X 3 400 x 3
300 x 3-3 sec 325 x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec 425 x 3 325 X 3-3
sec 350 x 3-3 sec
300 x 3-3 sec 325 x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec 375 x 3-3 sec 325
x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec
375 x 3-3 sec
week 10 week 9 week 8 week 7 week 6 week 5
325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1
375 x 1 390 x 1 400 x 3 425 x 3 390 x 1 400 x 1
425 x 3 450 x 3 400 x 3 425 x 3 450 x 3 475 x 3
425 x 3 450 x 3 350 x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec 450 x 3 475 x 3
375 x 3-3 sec 400 x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec 350 x 3-3 sec 400
x 3-3 sec 425 x 3-3 sec
375 X 3-3 sec 400 x 3-3 sec 400 x 3-3 sec 425 x 3-3 sec
week 4 week 3 week 2 week 1
325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1 325 x 1
375 x 1 390 x 1 400 x 1 415 x 1
425 x 3 450 x 3 475 x 3 500 x 3
425 x 3 450 x 3 475 x 3 500 x 3
375 x 3-3 sec 400 x 3-3 sec 425 x 3-3 sec 450 x 3-3 sec
375 x 3-3 sec 400 x 3-3 sec 425 x 3-3 sec 450 x 3-3 sec
happy lifting and recovery..........AND REMEMBER A GOOD
WORKOUT IS NO SUBSTITUTE
FOR BAD FORM...STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
4.....NUTRITION and SUPPLEMENTS.....you are what you
eat.....
it seems lifters in general are coming back to their senses
a bit and have quit running off to
the nearest gnc or other health food store and spending
ridiculous amounts of money on
products they do not need........or that do not
work............at least if you are bent on
spending the money...buy some products that will
work....ones that have stood the
test of time.....
remember........the very first thing to spend your hard
earned cash on is a high
potency vitamin and mineral supplement........ and some
extra vitamin c............
next is the extra protein source........high
calorie...medium protein for the skinny high
school kid.........high protein and low carb/low fat for
most and the ones who want to gain
no weight but get more solid (and stronger).....go the amino
acid route..(like me)....
this is a rehash of previous posts...but needs to be gone
over again every few months for the
new readers and the stubborn ones who refuse to follow sound
nutritional advice.....
.....and check out the incredible supplement specials at
www.crainsmuscleworld.com/supplements.asp
5.....PARTING THOUGHTS.....
many..many meets are on the horizon...........if you are not
lifting at one...go to one
and help out...the meet promoter......a lifter....or just
spectate and yell for everyone....
a quick sidenote....many people say powerlifting meets are
too long........i personally
enjoy them.......i just had a phone call from someone whose
daughter is a gymnast........
and one of her comments was gymnastic meets are too long and
too boring.......after
relaying the same meesage about powerlifting, we talked how
golf and bowling was even
longer and more boring......work your sport to improve
it.....each sport should not cater
to any other group of people.....it is your sport with it's
own idiosyncracies (sp?)....forget
the criticism and go judge or help out...that will do more
good than anything else i know
......and if you choose not to do any of these things you
absolutely have no right to gripe
or criticize
now that i have gotten that off my chest...hope you all have
a great week of training....
train smart.......and train for the long run..not the short
run...
IN HIS NAME
Rickey Dale Crain
5 time world champion
2000 powerlifting hall of fame inductee
CRAIN'S MUSCLE WORLD, LIMITED
www.crainsmuscleworld.com
APPLETREE MINISTRY
www.appletreeministry.com
3803 north bryan road
shawnee, oklahoma 74804-2314 usa
800-272-0051
405-275-3689
405-275-3739 fax
405-627-0134 cell
rcrain@charter.net
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