23 posts · 5,109 views
Site/blog by a BBoy (a.k.a. break-dancer) / Physical Therapist about exercise science, injury prevention and management, dancing, and science.
Tony Ingram
23 posts
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- May 21, 2013
- 03:39 PM
- 14 views
How Pain Works, Part III – Nociception
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
There is actually no such thing as a "pain sensor" or "pain fiber" - but there is the fascinating system of nociception! An important concept in understanding pain.... Read more »
Basbaum AI, Bautista DM, Scherrer G, & Julius D. (2009) Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pain. Cell, 139(2), 267-84. PMID: 19837031
- April 22, 2013
- 04:21 PM
- 84 views
How Dance Illuminates the Mind – The Brain Areas of Dance
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Dancing beautifully integrates complex movement and motor learning, rhythmic musical synchronization, creative emotional expression, and interpersonal communication.
Because of this complexity, studying the neural basis of dance is a challenge - but it may have important implications in rehabilitation and therapy.
So how do we study the neuroscience of dance?... Read more »
Brown S, Martinez MJ, & Parsons LM. (2006) The neural basis of human dance. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 16(8), 1157-67. PMID: 16221923
- April 1, 2013
- 02:48 PM
- 136 views
Dancing Makes You Smarter? How Dancing may Prevent Dementia
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Making the rounds throughout social media is a popular statistic claiming that dancing makes you smarter. Specifically, it cites a study that found that elderly people who dance frequently had a substantially lower risk of developing dementia.
At first glance, I happened to agree – duh! of course dancing makes you smarter! I may be a little biased though… so I’ve looked into the study further.
As usual, some of the statistics in these social media memes are wrong – but it turns out the actual study is positive and has some interesting information...... Read more »
Verghese J, Lipton RB, Katz MJ, Hall CB, Derby CA, Kuslansky G, Ambrose AF, Sliwinski M, & Buschke H. (2003) Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly. The New England journal of medicine, 348(25), 2508-16. PMID: 12815136
Akbaraly TN, Portet F, Fustinoni S, Dartigues JF, Artero S, Rouaud O, Touchon J, Ritchie K, & Berr C. (2009) Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly: results from the Three-City Study. Neurology, 73(11), 854-61. PMID: 19752452
Spruance SL, Reid JE, Grace M, & Samore M. (2004) Hazard ratio in clinical trials. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 48(8), 2787-92. PMID: 15273082
- March 18, 2013
- 03:03 PM
- 121 views
Nutrition Skepticism – Worry less and be healthy
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Q: Why don’t I write much about nutrition? A: I barely believe anything I read about it. After spending the last decade with my head in the ‘health and fitness’ industry, I’ve developed a healthy skepticism – literally. It’s probably because I’ve seen so many fads come and go, myths busted, and contradictory research. Now, I take most of what I read with a grain of salt – and I’m probably healthier because of it.
Here’s why:... Read more »
Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, & Gluud C. (2012) Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases. Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online). PMID: 22419320
Smith-Spangler C, Brandeau ML, Hunter GE, Bavinger JC, Pearson M, Eschbach PJ, Sundaram V, Liu H, Schirmer P, Stave C.... (2012) Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional alternatives?: a systematic review. Annals of internal medicine, 157(5), 348-66. PMID: 22944875
Casazza K, Fontaine KR, Astrup A, Birch LL, Brown AW, Bohan Brown MM, Durant N, Dutton G, Foster EM, Heymsfield SB.... (2013) Myths, presumptions, and facts about obesity. The New England journal of medicine, 368(5), 446-54. PMID: 23363498
- February 4, 2013
- 05:36 PM
- 267 views
The Dunning-Kruger Effect – when you don’t know that you don’t know
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Ever notice how those who seem to know the least about something tend to be the most confident in their knowledge?
It’s known as the ‘Dunning-Kruger effect’, and I see it every day… especially in online discussions...... Read more »
Kruger J, & Dunning D. (1999) Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of personality and social psychology, 77(6), 1121-34. PMID: 10626367
Ehrlinger J, Johnson K, Banner M, Dunning D, & Kruger J. (2008) Why the Unskilled Are Unaware: Further Explorations of (Absent) Self-Insight Among the Incompetent. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 105(1), 98-121. PMID: 19568317
- January 7, 2013
- 02:59 PM
- 131 views
Ankle sprains… caught in the act!
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Learning how injuries happen can help us prevent and treat them. Unfortunately, you can’t just do a study asking people to hurt themselves on purpose… those pesky ethical committees would never approve of your brilliant study. Then how are we …... Read more »
Gehring D, Wissler S, Mornieux G, & Gollhofer A. (2013) How to sprain your ankle - a biomechanical case report of an inversion trauma. Journal of biomechanics, 46(1), 175-8. PMID: 23078945
Fong DT, Ha SC, Mok KM, Chan CW, & Chan KM. (2012) Kinematics analysis of ankle inversion ligamentous sprain injuries in sports: five cases from televised tennis competitions. The American journal of sports medicine, 40(11), 2627-32. PMID: 22967824
- January 3, 2013
- 03:10 PM
- 123 views
How Pain Works, Part II – Acute vs. Chronic
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
As you learn more about how pain works, you’ll notice a distinction is made between ‘acute’ and ‘chronic’ pain. What does this mean? Is it just a matter of time? Or is there something different happening when pain persists?... Read more »
Apkarian AV, Baliki MN, & Geha PY. (2009) Towards a theory of chronic pain. Progress in neurobiology, 87(2), 81-97. PMID: 18952143
Bonezzi C, Demartini L, & Buonocore M. (2012) Chronic pain: not only a matter of time. Minerva anestesiologica, 78(6), 704-11. PMID: 22467050
Finan PH, Buenaver LF, Bounds SC, Hussain S, Park RJ, Haque UJ, Campbell CM, Haythornthwaite JA, Edwards RR, & Smith MT. (2012) Quantitative sensory tests of central sensitization are associated with discordance between pain and radiographic severity in knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis and rheumatism. PMID: 22961435
- December 17, 2012
- 03:20 PM
- 142 views
How Pain Works – What Is It?
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Before diving into the science of how pain works, it's helpful to have an idea of what pain really is, and what it's for!... Read more »
Moseley, G. (2007) Reconceptualising pain according to modern pain science. Physical Therapy Reviews, 12(3), 169-178. DOI: 10.1179/108331907X223010
- November 5, 2012
- 02:51 PM
- 150 views
Outdated Pain Theories, Conclusion – “What’s the harm?”
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
It’s great to be nerdy picking apart how things work for the sake of learning science, but what really drives a point home is discussing it’s relevance.
Why is it bad to hold on to outdated pain theories?... Read more »
Darlow B, Fullen BM, Dean S, Hurley DA, Baxter GD, & Dowell A. (2012) The association between health care professional attitudes and beliefs and the attitudes and beliefs, clinical management, and outcomes of patients with low back pain: a systematic review. European journal of pain (London, England), 16(1), 3-17. PMID: 21719329
- October 29, 2012
- 03:28 PM
- 226 views
Outdated Pain Theories, III – Muscle Imbalances & the “Core”
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Chronic pain is often blamed on muscle imbalances and core instability - super popular in physical therapy and the fitness industry. But where's the research?... Read more »
van Middelkoop M, Rubinstein SM, Verhagen AP, Ostelo RW, Koes BW, & van Tulder MW. (2010) Exercise therapy for chronic nonspecific low-back pain. Best practice , 24(2), 193-204. PMID: 20227641
- October 22, 2012
- 03:57 PM
- 240 views
Outdated Pain Theories, Part II – Posture and Body Structure
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
People are often told their pain is due to poor posture, uneven bones and out-of-place joints... but is this really what causes pain to persist?... Read more »
Bohns, V., & Wiltermuth, S. (2012) It hurts when I do this (or you do that): Posture and pain tolerance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 341-345. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.05.022
- October 15, 2012
- 03:31 PM
- 266 views
Outdated Pain Theories, Part I – Damage and Degeneration
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Back in the early 1600′s, a famous philosopher and mathematician named René Descartes came up with a theory to explain pain.
Prior to this, people believed that pain was caused by spiritual or mystical forces. With Descartes new theory, pain finally had a physical explanation.
Innumerable treatments for pain are based on this model of “pain receptors” (nerve endings) detecting damage or degeneration, and sending “pain signals” to the brain. Many people continue to think this way – including a lot of healthcare professionals.
It is thought that pain can simply be killed by using medications to numb pain receptors. If pain persists (becoming chronic), some sort of degeneration or mechanical problem must exist that continues to aggravate pain receptors, and therefore must be corrected through surgery.
How well does this model explain pain?
More importantly, how well do these treatments work?... Read more »
Finan PH, Buenaver LF, Bounds SC, Hussain S, Park RJ, Haque UJ, Campbell CM, Haythornthwaite JA, Edwards RR, & Smith MT. (2012) Quantitative sensory tests of central sensitization are associated with discordance between pain and radiographic severity in knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis and rheumatism. PMID: 22961435
- October 8, 2012
- 08:12 PM
- 248 views
Myth Busting Ain’t Easy – The Science of Correcting Misinformation
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
I thoroughly enjoy myth-busting. It’s a good way to learn, it potentially saves you time and money, and it’s just plain fun. It’s also a big part of why I love science.
But it's not always all fun and games...... Read more »
Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U. K. H., Seifert, C. M., Schwarz, N., & Cook, J. (2012) Misinformation and Its Correction. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(3), 106-131. DOI: 10.1177/1529100612451018
- October 1, 2012
- 04:25 PM
- 238 views
Injury Prevention Research – What works, and what doesn’t?
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
What doesn’t work is a recurring theme on this website. There are good reasons for that – myth busting is a good way to learn science, it prevents you from wasting time and money, and it’s actually quite fun. But … ... Read more »
Zambraski EJ, & Yancosek KE. (2012) Prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries during military operations and training. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength . PMID: 22728983
- September 24, 2012
- 04:25 PM
- 256 views
Why Learn How Pain Works? – Seriously Useful Science!
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
If you’re going to learn about injury prevention and recovery, or even health and fitness in general, learning how pain works should be considered fundamental knowledge.
Plus, it’s just really super duper mega interesting.... Read more »
Louw A, Diener I, Butler DS, & Puentedura EJ. (2011) The effect of neuroscience education on pain, disability, anxiety, and stress in chronic musculoskeletal pain. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 92(12), 2041-56. PMID: 22133255
- September 10, 2012
- 09:02 PM
- 268 views
Mental Imagery: Imagine yourself being awesome – it works!
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
With my injury last week, and a competition coming up this weekend, I’m being forced to get creative. It’s a good thing. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?
To improve (or at least maintain) my skills without aggravating my injury, I’ve decided to give “mental imagery” a try...... Read more »
Schuster C, Hilfiker R, Amft O, Scheidhauer A, Andrews B, Butler J, Kischka U, & Ettlin T. (2011) Best practice for motor imagery: a systematic literature review on motor imagery training elements in five different disciplines. BMC medicine, 75. PMID: 21682867
Bartolomeo P. (2008) The neural correlates of visual mental imagery: an ongoing debate. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 44(2), 107-8. PMID: 18387539
Monsma E, Mensch J, & Farroll J. (2009) Keeping your head in the game: sport-specific imagery and anxiety among injured athletes. Journal of athletic training, 44(4), 410-7. PMID: 19593424
- August 22, 2012
- 03:34 PM
- 347 views
The Dancing Plague of 1518 & Mass Psychogenic Illnesses
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Apparently, the people of Strasbourg, France suffered a "dancing plague" in 1518. Some actually danced themselves to death! What happened? Can we explain this any better now?... Read more »
Feinstein A. (2011) Conversion disorder: advances in our understanding. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal , 183(8), 915-20. PMID: 21502352
- August 14, 2012
- 07:26 PM
- 257 views
Does cold air affect breathing during exercise?
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Does exercising in cold or dry air affect breathing, and therefore athletic performance? What can be done about it?... Read more »
Evans TM, Rundell KW, Beck KC, Levine AM, & Baumann JM. (2005) Airway narrowing measured by spirometry and impulse oscillometry following room temperature and cold temperature exercise. Chest, 128(4), 2412-9. PMID: 16236903
- August 5, 2012
- 11:15 AM
- 324 views
Does science “catch up”? Example: Bloodletting Works … wait, what!?
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
A new study shows promising results for an ancient medical treatment... so has the science finally "caught up"? An annoying statement that indicates a misunderstanding of science.... Read more »
Houschyar KS, Lüdtke R, Dobos GJ, Kalus U, Broecker-Preuss M, Rampp T, Brinkhaus B, & Michalsen A. (2012) Effects of phlebotomy-induced reduction of body iron stores on metabolic syndrome: results from a randomized clinical trial. BMC medicine, 54. PMID: 22647517
- July 29, 2012
- 11:31 AM
- 290 views
How does altitude affect athletic performance?
by Tony Ingram in BBoy Science
Higher elevations can lead to sickness and decreased athletic endurance. What's the best pre-acclimatization strategy? And does "altitude training" actually improve performance at sea level? A review of current research.... Read more »
Fulco CS, Beidleman BA, & Muza SR. (2012) Effectiveness of Pre-Acclimatization Strategies for High Altitude Exposure. Exercise and sport sciences reviews. PMID: 22653279
Lundby C, Millet GP, Calbet JA, Bärtsch P, & Subudhi AW. (2012) Does 'altitude training' increase exercise performance in elite athletes?. British journal of sports medicine. PMID: 22797528
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