Research and News
Archive for September, 2011
Another Successful European Train the Trainer Meeting
Sep 30th
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The Thera-Band® Academy held its 6th “Train the Trainer” meeting in Montebaur, Germany on September 16-17, 2011. The meeting was led by manager of the Academy in Europe, Astrid Buscher at the Schloss Montebauer, a 1000 year-old castle. 36 therapists and sports trainers from 21 countries participated in the 2-day training. The training was held in conjunction with a European Distributor meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to provide hands-on workshops on Thera-Band products in rehabilitation and sports. New participants were certified as Thera-Band Academy instructors, while veteran participants participated in advanced workshops led by master trainers Sue Falsone, Nadja Schott, Suzanne Lingitz, and Jurgen Foerster. In addition to becoming certified to teach the Academy’s international evidence-based workshop, “Bands, Balls and Balance,” new trainers also learned how to use the new Thera-Band Stretch Strap to improve flexibility and range of motion from sports rehabilitation expert, Sue Falsone of Athletes Performance.
At the end of the meeting, awards were given to the top-performing instructors over the past year based on the number of workshops they provide, as well as educational and research contributions.
1st Place Dragan More >
Biofreeze proven better than ice again!
Sep 29th
Topical analgesics such as Biofreeze® are frequently used to reduce muscle pain. The main ingredient in Biofreeze, menthol, is thought to reduce pain through a counter-irritant mechanism and through stimulation of cold receptors. (Watch a video of that explains the mechanism of Biofreeze here). Previous research has shown that compared to ice, Biofreeze topical analgesic results in similar decreases in blood flow (Olive et al. 2010) and greater pain relief in patients with neck pain (Bishop et al. in press).
Dr. David Behm
Thera-Band Academy Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. David Behm of Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada compared Biofreeze to ice in terms of its ability to reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and increase muscle force production. He presented his results at the 2011 TRAC meeting in San Francisco. Two groups, each with 8 subjects, had DOMS induced in their non-dominant biceps. Two days later, either ice or Biofreeze was applied to their sore biceps. Subjects were asked to rate their pain perception and muscle function was measured with maximal voluntary contraction and tetanic force using electrical stimulation.
Biofreeze resulted in significantly less pain compared to ice, causing a 63% reduction in pain perception. While there was no significant difference between Biofreeze and ice on More >
