THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR TRAINER’S ROOM. Special to WPCNR from Brian Jay, ACSM, IFPA, ISCA CPT, CSN, of Strata Health Club, White Plains May 25, 2008:  Recently in The New York Times Magazine, there was an extensive article on the soaring rate of women athletes’ knee injuries compared to male athletes at the high school level. WPCNR invited Brian Jay of White Plains to address this serious subject and growing concern. Here are Mr. Jay’s suggestions on how coaches can limit the risk of knee injuries in female sports. WPCNR introduces Mr. Jay:

Although some Women would disagree, Men are stronger then Women, at least from a physical standpoint. This is why the number of sports related knee injuries, (ACL injuries in particular), is much higher in Females then in Males.

As children grow into young adults, Boys’ levels of the Testosterone rise significantly. Since Testosterone is the most important factor in muscle growth, boys will generally have more muscle then Girls, therefore protecting the bones, and to some extent, the tissue, and ligaments of the body more effectively then the Female counterparts.

 

 

To take a more scientific look at this problem, and why Girls are more prone to injury, one simply needs to look at biomechanics of a Girl.

Because Women have  a wider pelvis, the angle at which the top bone of the leg (from the hip to the knee, the Femur), connects to the lower bone of the leg (from the Knee to Ankle, the Tibia) is a sharper angle. Imagine a horizontal beam, now connect two support beams straight down at the end of the horizontal beam. That is closer to the biomechanical make of a Male body.

Now, if you angle the bottom of the two side support beams in approximately 5% degrees towards center, you are closer to the Female biomechanical make up.

As the angle increases, so does the pressure and stress on the joint at which those beams meet. Just like on a human Female body and its knees, hence, the increase in injuries.

 There is hope however for Girls of all ages: Weight training, plain and simple.

By adding muscle to a Girl’s frame, like concrete is added to a building frame, she can pad, and insulate her bones from the impact and force of sports, as well as daily life.

The four primary muscles of the front of the leg (Femur) are the Quads (Quadriceps). The most important of these to strengthen, in order to prevent ACL injuries, may be the Vastus Medialis, or outermost lateral muscle of the leg.

 Stretching, which is the most overlooked vital part of health and fitness, is immensely important to the Female athlete in her quest to reduce the likelihood of injury. The muscles most often associated with knee injuries, and those which are most often tight, as the Quads (Quadriceps), Hamstrings, Iliotibial (I.T band), Calf (Gastrocnemius). 

 At Strata Health Club (White Plains / West Harrison, NY) I am constantly using Foam Rollers, massage, and stretching, as a great way help to keep the bodies of my clients (particularly Female clients) limber, and relaxed.

 It is especially important to warn up before exercise. I usually advise my clients to do a 10 min. warm up, as it is usually sufficient to warn up cold muscles, and lubricate stiff joints. When we complete a session, we stretch thoroughly to elongate the muscle since we have shortened it (concentric contraction) during our exercise session.

 Following these simple steps can be thought of as PRE-hab, as opposed to RE-hab, which is the most likely stop for those that do not heed this simple advice.

 

 

 

WPCNR’S The Real Deal  — Weddings by The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik, Cap and Gown Weddings. May 24 , 2008: Often in this column, we refer to the “olden” days of weddings – when things were relatively easier, the guest list was shorter and the costs much lower.  Rehearsal dinner planning is the quintessential example of how things have changed from then to now.  

 

The Weddding Jeannie

Jeannie Uyanik

Wedding Planner to the World

 

 In the good old days, when few guests could or did travel for weddings, the rehearsal dinner was not only a time for everyone to gather after practicing the run through for the wedding the following day, it was also a way to reward the guests who were participating in the bridal party for their dedication to the wedding and to thank those who had traveled from so far away.  Generally, the rule of thumb for who to invite was clear; bridal party, immediate family and out of town guests. 

 

 

These days however, out of town guests can mean the entire wedding list.  More people travel father every year for a wedding and to consider using the original guidelines often means having a dinner that resembles and costs as much as a second wedding.  In that respect, take comfort in changing the rules a bit.  And even if you don’t, we have included a few tips to make the planning slightly easier!

 

When considering the rehearsal dinner guest list, it’s totally appropriate to limit it to immediate family and bridal party only.  This ensures the intimacy of the event (read small) unless your bridal party is 30 people and also helps to mitigate explanations as to how the guest list was created.  Having a hard and fast rule like the one suggested above allows you to limit the invitation pool, but also allows you to explain how you arrived at a decision. 

 

One caveat; if you hope to use this rule, but then invite 4 or 5 guests for which it does not apply, be prepared for backlash!  The beauty of this strategy is that it is self explanatory and trying to deviate just a little does not work when you are dealing with two sets of families and a brides’ cousin who does not understand why the groom’s side got to invite their cousin.  If you use a rule, stick to it. 

 

In the past, rehearsal dinners often included no more than 30 people and were treated informally; held at the groom’s home or a location of the groom’s family’s choosing.  And yes, the rehearsal dinner, according to traditional etiquette, is the responsibility of the groom’s family both in planning and paying for it.  That often is not followed today though for a host of reasons, but we find that 50% of the time, this tradition still stands.  Ironically, the primary reason for the rehearsal dinner has lost its significance in modern day – congregating just after the rehearsal itself, usually at a house of worship, to thank everyone for participating. 

 

For most weddings these days, because bridal party schedules are tougher to coordinate, and because more and more couples feel that their participants are able to handle the processional and recessional, rehearsals themselves take place on the day of the wedding just before the ceremony.  We find this is a good idea given that many people remember and feel more comfortable, doing a quick walk only hours before they have to perform!  

 

But even without the backdrop of a rehearsal, dinners the night before the wedding are still very common place.  90% of the time, regardless of who is paying and organizing it and regardless of why, a rehearsal dinner will happen.  We think that they are a great outlet to allow for a small group of key players to gather, meet before the wedding and celebrate the couple more privately.  A good rule of thumb is that the rehearsal dinner should not in theory exceed 50% of your guest list EVER, but a more comfortable number to work with that we find makes both brides and grooms more excited about the event is a threshold of no more than 30% of your guest list at most. 

 

We have executed a number of rehearsal dinners for larger and more extravagant affairs where the rehearsal dinner guest list mirrors or comes close to that of the wedding, but we have found time and again that the bride and groom are often exhausted the next day and that the intimacy of the event and the ability of guests to really get to know each other is lost.

 

Regardless of the numbers, once you have a list, try and make the vision of the rehearsal dinner totally different from that of the wedding – i.e. if you are doing a ballroom event, go for something more casual in nature (barbeque) or something with a view and or outdoor/open space for the night before.  Give guests a change both in menu and atmosphere and DON’T think that guests need to be wowed by extravagance.  Some of the most successful rehearsal dinners have been those on lower budgets but with a lot of heart.  Be creative; this is the time to have fun with décor, food choices, service method and execution. 

 

Whimsical for the rehearsal dinner is always a success, especially if anchored by thoughtful planning (i.e. a family style dinner is great, but make sure you have enough food on each table and multiple dishes of the same thing).  Try and have the event, even if extravagant, have a more relaxed overtone so that guests don’t come away feeling there was no outlet for fun the entire weekend.  And plan to start on the earlier side; guests and the couple drinking until wee hours the night before a wedding don’t always have enough stamina to party two nights in a row!  Next week’s column will provide specific ideas for the prenuptial dinner. 

 

And finally, when you send out rehearsal dinner invitations, don’t include them in the invitation for the wedding.  These are two separate events and whatever postage you might save in only having one envelope, you will loose in the significance of creating a separate night for you to celebrate with guests.  That’s one rule that has not changed from the good old days of simpler planning and smaller guest lists.