The more severe the pain or illness, the more severe will be the necessary changes. These may involve breaking bad habits, or acquiring some new ones.
For many, negative thinking is a habit, which over time, becomes an
addiction... A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative
thinking is addictive to each of the Big Three -- the mind, the body,
and the emotions. If one doesn't get you, the others are waiting in the
wings.
The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little. JKZ
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― Paul F. Davis
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Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers
It is widely known that a lack of sunlight can sometimes cause a
deficiency in vitamin D. But how does a lack of this vitamin affect
athletes who train indoors, especially during the winter months? To find
out, researchers in the UK studied vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers
and observed whether supplementation helped.
The study, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport,
was conducted through a collaboration between researchers at the Royal
National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), the University of Wolverhampton
and dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
These three institutions are founding partners of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science (NIDMS).
To conduct their study, the team split 24 elite classical ballet dancers
into two groups. During the 4-month study, one group took oral
supplementation of vitamin D3 to the tune of 2,000 IU per day, while a control group did not take any supplements.
Isometric muscular strength and vertical jump height were measured at
the start and end of the study. Additionally, the in-house medical team
recorded any injuries the dancers experienced.
The researchers found that the dancers who took vitamin D
supplements showed greater improvements in muscle strength and vertical
performance, while also experiencing fewer injuries, compared with the
control group.
Dr. Roger Wolman, consultant in rheumatology, sport and exercise medicine at the RNOH, says:
"Vitamin D
is important for bone development and has a wide range of functions. In
a deficient state, dancers are at increased risk of bone injuries, and
this latest research indicates an increased risk of muscle injury, which
can be detrimental to their health and their careers."
Following on from their findings, the researchers suggest that medical
staff and instructors monitor vitamin D levels in dancers throughout the
whole year and provide supplements for them during winter months.
This can help their serum levels return to normal, they say, ultimately leading to improvement in overall performance.
'Findings could cover other sports'
Ballet dancers from the Birmingham Royal Ballet participated in the
study, which revealed vitamin D supplements improved their muscle
strength and resulted in fewer injuries. Photo credit: RNOH
While a lack of it can lead to bone deformities, such as rickets, we can get it for free from the sun - vitamin D is made by our body under the skin as a reaction to sunlight.
However, individuals who live in areas of the world with low annual
levels of solar irradiation have difficulty getting enough sunlight for
their body to efficiently manufacture the vitamin.
The alternative - vitamin D supplementation - has been widely debated in the medical community.
Still, the researchers from this latest study say supplementation may be the way to go for dancers.
"These findings could also be extrapolated to cover other sports and
training activities that take place indoors," Dr. Wolman adds.
Helen Laws, NIDMS Manager at Dance UK, says:
"Traditionally dancers spend between 6 and 8 hours training indoors for 6
days a week throughout the year, and they need to be able to execute
highly technical movements during high intensity periods of training and
when performing.
This study provides important advice on performance enhancement as well
as offering vital insights into the overall health and well-being of
dancers."
NIDMS, the first specialist dance clinic in partnership with the NHS,
provides a novel approach to the health care of dancers. Injury
treatment of dancers costs the dance sector an average of £900,000 ($1.4
million) each year.
Written by Marie Ellis
Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without the permission of Medical News Today.
The influence of winter vitamin D supplementation on muscle function and
injury occurrence in elite ballet dancers: A controlled study, Wyon MA,
Koutedakis Y, Wolman R, Nevill AM, Allen N, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, published online 2013, Abstract
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report: MLA Ellis, Marie. "Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 30 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. APA Ellis, M. (2013, November 30). "Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers." Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269535.
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Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers
