The Alter-G helps patients transition back to their normal, active lives by providing an opportunity to walk, jog and run in a controlled environment sans the painful impact on joints, injury and surgery sites.  Muscles stay strong, normal gait is maintained, recovery is expedited, and most of all, patients feel better about how they look and feel while in recovery.

To date, the Alter-G treadmill has been integrated into the rehabilitation programs of over 70 FORMA patients, with most benefitting greatly in both body AND mind.  First-time users like Susan, an active woman experiencing lumbar pain, said walking on the Alter-G gave her a sense of “floating while working out.”  She said it was the first time in a while that she was able to exercise without suffering from the pins-and-needles sensation she typically feels even after walking her dog Teddy, each night.

There is also a consensus among patients that the Alter-G concept makes perfect sense, adding a more active element to therapy.  Mostly, patients like that they are able to stay fit while rehabilitating, or even improve overall fitness, giving them a head start on a new and more active lifestyle.  This is especially true for those who have been nursing old injuries for years. For those who have been carrying around unwanted pounds, the Alter-G “unweights” them so they can experience what it would be like to weigh less.  Talk about a great motivator!

Rocio’s Story

Shortly after taking a spill on her bicycle, 27-year-old Rocio, began having numbness in her right leg.  The timing wasn’t good.  She was training for a marathon, and had nine weeks before the big day.  The FORMA team designed a comprehensive rehabilitation plan including the Alter-G to her help her slowly and safely transition back to running.  She began by using only 40% of her body weight, slowly progressing to 85%, with a few minor adjustments in between to accommodate comfort level.

“This experience has been great,” said Rocio.  “The Alter-G creates a challenge for my body by allowing me to continue functional movement without risking injury. I feel like I’m working with the injury, not against it,” she added.  Rocio has already scheduled another full marathon for this fall.

FORMA provides a variety of rehabilitation and training program packages for patients and visitors to take advantage of this leading edge, anti-gravity technology. The Alter-G is also an excellent tool for those with neurological conditions, and seniors looking to increase their mobility and independence.

 For more information on the Alter-G, or to find out if the FORMA medical staff feels it’s right for you, please call 949.999.0777 today.

Watch an Alter-G demo:

Visit the Alter-G website at http://www.alter-g.com

One of the best gifts you can give your body is to feed it nourishing food full of immune strengthening phytochemicals and traditional nutrients. But what if the apple you eat everyday is hurting you rather than helping? Is it possible for a fiber-filled fruit packed with beneficial antioxidants to kick your immune system into a constant and harmful state of overdrive?

It certainly is! In fact, people are finding everyday the food they once thought supported their health, is slowly deteriorating it. Biochemical individuality plays an enormous role in how our bodies react to certain food and environmental stimuli making what we eat and breathe critical factors in our overall health including, injury recovery, sleeping patterns and weight management.

We also know that eating the same foods everyday, as opposed to rotating foods, can create intolerances and nutritional deficiencies leading to a host of undesirable problems due to an overactive and exhausted immune system. Digestive problems, migraines, sore joints, allergy symptoms, and sinusitis, just to name a few. Can’t loose the 15 pounds that has taken up residence in your body for the past two years? It may not be that you are eating too much; you may just be eating the wrong foods for your body.

Since 80% of the immune system (white blood cells) resides in the gut, food compatibility is crucial. Ingesting incompatible foods pushes the body into a constant “fight mode,” where it continually tries to win over the enemy food invaders. This creates a chronic state of inflammation, and the body loses its ability to properly process ingested foods. This means that instead of efficiently burning fat, the body stores it. The immune system’s job is to attack enemy invaders, but food shouldn’t be one of them.

Medical science now has the tools to detect food, chemical and environmental invaders at a cellular level, in turn, allowing us to assist each patient in customizing their food and lifestyle choices. Typically, within days of initiating an optimum food rotation and irritant elimination plan, patients feel less pain, experience better recovery, begin losing unwanted pounds, and are on the road to a speedy recovery.

The ALCAT Test is one of the amazing tools we use at FORMA that helps pinpoint diet and environmental culprits wreaking havoc on certain bodies. Because the technology measures the body’s cellular response to challenges, the results are incredibly specific making food selection and environmental management easy.

A 2009 study conducted at Baylor University Sports Medicine and Performance Institute in Houston, Texas, found that 98 percent of participants either lost weight and/or improved body composition by following the ALCAT Test.

The ALCAT helps us target each patient’s compatible and incompatible foods, chemicals, and environmental stimuli, as well as outlines a way to utilize this new information. Over 350 foods, medicinal herbs, chemicals, molds, antibiotics, and additives are tested. The process is simple.

• Your doctor at FORMA determines at what point an ALCAT is indicated to aid in your wellness and injury recovery.
• A blood sample is taken in our office and sent to a lab where it is combined with various food, chemicals and other factors.
• Changes in the volume and size of white blood cells are measured in response to the stimuli.
• Results are available in two weeks and outlined in an easy-to-read format showing incompatible and safe foods/elements, which are broken down by level of reaction.
• Each patient receives the Standard Test Results, a Rotation Diet, Results Guide, and Wallet-Size Results Card.
• A four-day rotation diet is specified as a way to reduce or eliminate sensitivities and intolerances over time.
• Each patient meets with Dr. Carvalho to discuss his or her personalized results and to establish an “action plan.”
• Most insurance companies cover the ALCAT Test.

There is often confusion about the difference between food allergies and intolerances/sensitivities. A true food or environmental allergy is typically brought on immediately after ingestion or exposure causing severe symptoms such as shortness of breath, swollen tongue, hives and intense diarrhea. Even a small amount of the offender can’t be tolerated. If you know or suspect you have true allergies to certain foods, chemicals or medications, please check with your primary care physician to undergo specific allergy tests (IgG anti-body tests).

Sensitivities and intolerances generally cause delayed reactions sometimes up to two weeks after ingesting errant food or coming in contact with incompatible stimuli. Because of this delay, targeting the offenders can be difficult and time consuming unless a testing tool such as the ALCAT is utilized.

The ALCAT Test is just one of the many tools available at FORMA to help your doctors treat the whole body in efforts to optimize recovery time, and promote long-term well-being and overall quality of life. There is nothing more rewarding or emotionally charging than seeing a patient’s life change dramatically as he or she moves from a pain-filled to a pain-free life.

For more information on the ALCAT Test, or to find out if the FORMA medical staff feels it’s right for you, please call 949.999.0777 today.

References:

Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 2009; http://www.mejfm.com/mejfmApr09_vol7-iss3/alcat.htm

ALCAT Worldwide, 2012; https://www.alcat.com/clinical_info.php

The Alter G-Trainer offers personalized precision un-weighting benefits that build run specific endurance without the pain and risk associated with full-weight impact on joints, bones, tendons, and muscles. With a simple touch of a button, a runner can reduce bodyweight in 1% increments, all the way up to 80% of bodyweight.

How does it work?

An air sealed cushion around a runner’s midsection uses air pressure to un-weight the runner – imagine a cork being pushed up through a wine bottle.  Meanwhile, the runner enjoys normal run range of motion – minus those pounds that the runner wishes to eliminate.

Who can benefit from running with Alter G technology?

New Injuries

• Rehabilitate AND Train with your natural gait and rhythm
• Reduce your weight to that level where impact is not harmful
• Maintain fitness while undergoing a rehab program
• No more water-run drudgery!

Performance Runners

• Add Volume without the wear and tear
• Over-speed training
• Active recovery runs can see quicker pace for improved turnover

Ironman & Ultra Marathoners

• Unweighting allows muscles of feet, legs, hips and back to sustain training intensity with minimal risk of strains
• Assists the body into remembering quick running gait and core patterns even under fatigue

Old Injuries

• Oh… to feel like before the old injury!  With the Alter G, yes you can!
• Faster and more frequent running without the next day penalty

Post-Surgical

• Transition to earlier walking and eventually running as fractional bodyweight is gradually added
• Greatly speed-up your recovery period
• Maintain basic active movement skills and fitness levels
• Rehab now becomes a more positive experience

Motivational

• Run at your college weight!
• Curious as to how losing 10 pounds would impact your running?  Touch a button and be amazed – and then motivated to drop the extra luggage

FORMA provides a variety of rehabilitation and training program packages for patients and visitors to take advantage of this leading edge anti-gravity technology.  Come join us for a run.

Other interesting articles:

• Alter-G G-Trainer Anti-Gravity Treadmill (YouTube)
• Lab Rat: Tread Lightly – With the help of a gravity-busting treadmill, the Lab Rat endangers a world record

Prior to any competition , the science of exercise and human performance have shown that better performance is achieved if the athlete schedules a well planned tapering of his or hers training intensity and volume (quantity) just prior to competition, and will follow with a psychological and nutritional preparation, in order to aim for their “peak” in performance on the day of the event. On course, every athlete is a different person and all sports will have a distinct tapering strategy. The objective of the tapering is to maximize ones training gains allowing the body to be fully restored and “recharged”, with a focused mind in order to provide the best output, which the body was trained to do. Veteran athletes and those with a well coach-supervised training plan will for sure have their tapering workouts in their planner.

As with any training plan the individualization is the key to the specificity of a successful training schedule. If you had to recover from running related injuries during your preparation, it is very important to avoid “overloading” your joints and ligaments as these structures take much longer to recover from the exercise stress than your muscles, and your heart and lungs.

Very important:

Accept the fact that all your hard training is complete. Your next goal is the nurture your body in preparation for the race.

Do not experiment with new activities this close to the race date. This includes no new routes for training, no new exercises (including new stretches), no new type of exercise equipment that you have not used during your normal training.

Here is a simple example of a tapering program TWO WEEKS PRIOR to a marathon or half marathon event on a Sunday:

Week before the last:

Sun: your last strong run (10-12 mi);

Mon, Wed and Fri: Active Rest : Unloading activities (light swimming, stretching, massage);

Tue, Thus and Sat: The ideal is to avoid the ground-pounding running to save the joints and ligaments for the big day. Plan for lower intensity non-impact cardio, for 40-50 minutes, using a bike out-doors or at the gym in a stationary bike or elliptical machines. This followed by stretching sessions.

Last Week before the Race:

Sunday: Rest – Prepare goodies for the racing day;
Tue and Thu: lower intensity non-impact cardio, for 30 minutes, followed by stretching;
Wed and Fri: Active Rest : Unloading activities (light swimming, stretching, massage). You may want to get to your racing destination on Friday. Start carbo-loading meals.
Sat: Rest. Continue Carbo-loading meals.
SUNDAY: Give your best!

Good Luck!

We are always available for questions, and we welcome all comments

We all understand that skeletal muscles are made up of thousands of cylindrical muscle fibers that are bounded together by connective tissue and are responsible for the movement of our bodies. It is also the primary responsible for maintaining our respiratory health through the diaphragm, and dictates our body posture throughout the years. With the exception of the muscles in our heart and the smooth muscles in our arteries, veins and digestive organs, the contraction of skeletal muscles is voluntary, controlled by the spinal cord and orchestrated by the brain. Therefore, by diversifying the exercises with our muscles, we are also promoting the health of our nervous system.

Skeletal muscles make up the largest organ mass in our bodies and it is the main responsible for regulating our metabolic rate (how many calories a day our bodies are capable of “burning” with and without exercising). Hence, the greater muscle mass, also called the lean body mass, the higher the rate of calories burned, even when resting on the couch! On the contrary, lower muscle mass will lead to an increased difficulty to shed unwanted fat even with exercise, as the exercises become less vigorous when the muscles are weak.
Skeletal muscles have an abundant of supply of blood vessels and are important assistants to the circulatory blood flow from our legs back to our heart. In addition, several hormonal controls are affected by our muscle’s activities. Skeletal muscles store away the excess of sugar in our blood stream in form of glycogen. And, with less muscle mass to maintain adequate physical activity, we increase our risk of developing type-2 diabetes, which will add to the potential complications with our cardio-circulatory health.

Statistics have shown that, as most of us age, our bodies experience a decline in skeletal muscle strength and muscle mass, in combination to changes in our ability to fully use our neuromuscular system. These changes our bodies experience, appears to be related to a decline in movement stimulus responsible for sending the messages all the way from the brain down to the muscles fibers it connects to. With the decline in movement there is a decline in the stimulus to the motor nerves, which in turn will affect the size, and latter in the number, of our muscle fibers. These will lead to a decrease, and later a loss, of lean body mass, which will be experienced as a decline in body strength. This decline is shown to be gradual in healthy persons. The direct correlation between the decline in lean muscle mass and our body’s ability to properly function will affect our ability to enjoy our once normal activities to the same intensity, in addition to increasing our chances for injuries.
An important known fact is that as muscles decrease in mass (atrophy), their blood and nerve supply also decrease, and if the atrophy becomes long-term the muscles are often replaced by inactive fibrous tissue. At this stage, the muscle fibers are not able to be regenerated.
What has also been statistically shown is our bodies begin to lose muscle mass as earlier as our 30s most often due to a sedentary lifestyle and poorly rehabilitated injuries. But the aging process in terms of muscle loss and the ability to retain efficient muscle function can be altered, regained, improved, and even reversed. When mass of the heart muscle was compared amongst exercising individuals of the same sex and age, the study showed that those individuals with higher heart muscle mass were those who were the most consistent with their exercise, and age and gender were second and third factors.
It has been shown individuals in the later years (70+) will regain lean body mass and strength in their muscles, facilitating they function, decreasing their risk of falls, improving their health reserve (the ability to recover from illnesses), and most importantly their quality of life.
The biological progression that occurs as we age cannot be completely stopped. But many of us can opt to alter these statistical figures. By maintaining and regaining the lost muscle mass through the combination of proper exercise, healthy nutrition and adequate rest, we can positively improve our entire neuromuscular system, including strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination. These will facilitate better balance, proper posture and fluid movement, which will lower the risk of injuries and will add confidence and enjoyment to remain physically active in all our stages of life.
To maintain good quality of life to our longevity, we need not to forget to fully rehabilitate all injuries, and to consistently maximize the functional strength training in our weekly exercise routines.
For more information on how muscle strength can support your longevity. Call the medical staff at FORMA today at (949)999-0777

References:
Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle. Ransdell Pierson, –April 2, 2011
Sarcopenia – The silent crippler. Loma G. Davies Silcott, September, 2008.
The physiology of aging: what you can do to slow or stop the loss of muscle mass. Michael G. Bemben, May, 2002.
www.sarcopenia.com: an online forum and sharing of good information.

We have all heard the saying, “no pain, no gain.”  But WHAT are we truly gaining from the experiencing of muscle pain?

To begin answering this question, an important concept needs to be understood in that muscles are the “final organ” of the neuromuscular system. To better explain, nerves are connected in a very tight network with all muscles, which depend on the nervous system to properly function to their optimal control and with the desired strength capacity. In addition, cellular organs within the muscles and tendons provide an automatically direct feedback to the nervous system to maximize one’s performance.  Our brain, being the organ where all sensations are interpreted and decisions are made, has the capacity override the neuromuscular control if needed. The brain will facilitate fluid movements if it feels safe and pleasant, and will inhibit or “guard to compensate” movement if there is a threat for injury or if pain is present.

Before we even feel muscle pain during exercise, we first experience fatigue and discomfort–like a tolerable burning or tightness. But even at the stage of feeling the fatigue, our neuromuscular machine is challenged to maintain balance and control while executing the best muscular performance. If our mind drives our body to continue exercising in this case, the neuromuscular system reorganizes the contractile activities within our muscles, which in turn, will require more energy from the body to keep up with the increased demand. This will trigger the signals for adaptation not only in the muscles, but also in the entire body in order to meet the increased demands for a higher level of performance.

Therefore, the goal of training is to drive our bodies to the point of fatigue while maintaining our proper form and control during exercise. This will result in developing the capacity for our bodies to adapt assuring our desired results for an improved performance.

Beyond the stage of fatigue and discomfort during exercise, pain is acknowledged.  Our bodies  react to it as a signal of impending or occurring injury.  If the pain becomes intense, we will not be able to continue to move, much less perform.  However, we can choose to “push” and keep on exercising with some level of pain.  As a result, our bodies will come up with strategies to guard and protect  ourselves by minimizing the weight to the painful areas of the body while in motion.  Additionally to compensate, our movements will begin to slow and become less efficient.  Pain during exercise also interferes with our natural posture by affecting our “core stability”, making it harder to breathe and causing increased stress on our cardiovascular system. These reactions to pain are the innate responses, learned to protect our bodies, but only short term.

Long term, adaptations to pain can be potentially harmful.  It tends to lead our nervous system to operate in fear of moving the affected area or body part, and then, our movements become compromised. The changes within the body brought on by constant pain will also cause a redistribution of the natural loads during exercise, requiring the body to compensate.  If the pain is left unresolved, these compensatory movements will lead to repetitive stress.  Affecting not only the painful area, but also the healthy body tissues, which is the basis for the cause of most “overuse injuries”.

Another consideration of not properly dealing with the cause of the pain is the exponential increased time necessary to recover from an injury once it becomes chronic.  In addition, painful sensations in any part of our bodies will affect our ability to rest and restore energy, thus, compromising the potential improvements from exercise that could have been made to the entire body.

A common example is to continue running or walking with some pain in one foot, knee or hip that forces the athlete to adjust his or hers “natural form” in order to complete a planned walking or running session. By doing this, not only is the athlete affecting the desired results they were determinate to achieve from the time spent training, but they are also greatly increasing the chances of worsening a potential injury. And, if this same pain is not resolved, and keeps coming back while the athlete continues to train, another healthy body part, such as the other limb or lower back, will potentially develop an injury.

So next time, you are pumped up and ready to push through that “muscle burning”… go ahead as long as the proper exercise form is maintained.  However, if the exercise becomes painful…..Stop and listen to what your body is telling you.

And remember, “NO PAIN, THEN GAIN.”

For more information on Ways to Improve Performance or to check to see if the medical staff at FORMA can assist that push for you, call the office today at (949)999-0777

References

Arendt-Nielsen, L., & Graven-Nielsen, T. (2008). Muscle pain: Sensory implications and interaction with motor control. Clin J Pain , 291-298.

Cote, J. N., & Hoeger Bement, M. K. (2010). Update on the relation between pain and movement: Consequences for clinical practice. Clin J Pain , 754-762.

Hodges, P. W. (2011). Pain and motor control: From the laboratory to rehabilitation. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology , 220-228.

Hodges, P. W., & Tucker, K. (2011). Moving differently in pain: A new theory to explain the adaptation to pain. Pain , S90-S98.

Special Thanks to:

Jung Hee Han, Osteopathic Medical Student for her initial research and references, and to Christy Shaver for editing patiently.

The event in Mumbai was a first for such a large gathering of barefoot runners and already the folks at the Guinness World Records have taken note of its success. But that’s not the subject of today blog post. What we thought we’d do is pose some thoughts about the advantages of running without shoes, and encourage you talk with us here at the FORMA physical therapy office in Costa Mesa before choosing to do so.

The primary difference between running with shoes and running barefoot comes down to how our feet strike the ground. Harvard University’s Skeletal Biology Lab has conducted studies that show our heels will almost always strike the ground first when we’re wearing shoes. That’s why we tend to purchase running shoes with well-cushioned heel areas. This artificial cushion absorbs most of the shock during the heel strike phase.

However, most barefoot runners avoid landing on the heel, instinctively preferring instead to land with a forefoot or mid-foot strike. To the layman, that means the balls of the feet or the middle of the foot. This style of running doesn’t generate the sudden, large impact that occurs when your heel strikes the ground first. As a result, Harvard University found, barefoot runners can sprint on the hardest surfaces without discomfort from landing.

In addition, by using the balls of the foot or mid-foot running style, a runner realizes an increase in mechanical efficiency and a decrease in energy waste. That means less twisting and sling moments to the knee and less impact to the leg, hips, lower back and neck areas as you become efficient at running barefoot. In other words, those who run barefoot tend to land on the middle or front of the foot, thus causing a spread of the impact forces to the foot and possibly reducing the chances of injury.

Due to social constraints, many of us live in our shoes, which in turn braces and leads to a degree of de-conditioning of our feet. Our walking habit commands us to contact the ground first with our heel and not with the mid-foot, which only reinforces this habit when we run. And when we train for barefoot running for the first time, well… stand by for trauma to the unprepared foot!

But here’s the rub. Adapting to barefoot running requires a slow, gradual progression, an easing into the habit. Start slow and start on the sand. We’re blessed with miles and miles of the stuff here in Orange County and your best bet is to run on the soft sand — the dry and flat part of the beach — where the natural cushion of the ground will decrease impact on the feet, knees, hips and spine.

Running on the soft sand will increase the demands on your feet, and require extra work from your calves and Achilles tendon, thighs, hips and core muscles. Your heart and lungs will feel the extra workload too leading to increased burned calories!

The advantage of this type of cross training is the ability of increasing the work load to the body parts required for running, which will lead to increased muscle strength and neuromuscular control (stability) and power when performing sports or other activities on any ground surface. But as with any new exercise, watch for excessive soreness to your feet and calves as you begin running on the sand.

The key is to talk with an experienced coach or trainer about how to use barefoot running in your training program and how to transition to running barefoot. This way you will be guided to how to properly and efficiently take advantage of this great natural way of running and to enjoy your healthy active lifestyle. However, if you have questions about possible health limitations on introducing or continuing barefoot running, talk to us here at FORMA.

To sum up, some of the benefits of running barefoot might include:

• Less impact to the legs and plantar fascia
• Less chance of developing shin splints
• Better limb compliance with a more natural gait
• A reduction in calf pulls and Achilles tendinitis
• Improved balance
• In addition, running shoeless can make you feel more in tune with your environment.

For more information on barefoot running in southern California or to check to see if the medical staff at FORMA feels barefoot running is right for you, call the office today at (949) 999-0777.

Botulinum toxin injection therapy — popularly known as Botox — was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April of 2002 as a means of temporarily improving the appearance of frown lines between the eyebrows. The nod from the FDA resulted in widespread cosmetic use of the product, with many advocates seeing it as less intrusive and costly than plastic surgery.

A little bit of background for you: What Botox does is block the neurotransmitters that tell muscles to contract. As a result, it decreases severe muscle spasm and pain for about three months, and in some cases, up to six months. Botox injections that work to reduce the contraction of the muscles in our face, provide smooth appearance to the wrinkles. That’s made a lot of people — from politicians to plumbers — very happy.

But since its original development, Botox injections have also been used by skilled physicians to treat painful conditions caused by muscle spasms, and that’s where FORMA and Dr. Claudio Carvalho step into the picture.

Most recently, Botox has received FDA approval to treat the severe muscle contractions in the arms and hands of people who have suffered from a stroke. Botox has also been used successfully to treat such symptoms as neck pain, headaches, mid- and lower-back pain, bladder spasms and arm and leg spasms. In addition to that, there have been several studies looking into the mechanism by which Botulinum toxin may also block the neurotransmitters that ‘tell’ the nerves to send painful signals from injured areas.

At FORMA, we stay on top of the latest developments in pain management at our physical therapy offices in Costa Mesa, Calif. And that includes the use of Botulinum toxin injection therapy because we understand that precisely planned pain management is an important part of maximizing one’s performance in physical rehabilitation therapies. And, of course, our ultimate goal is improving your overall physical performance and quality of life.

Ask our own Dr. Carvalho about Botox and he will first explain that in physical rehabilitation, Botulinum toxin is used to target the muscles, which have not improved after other methods have been used. These methods might have included moist heat, soft tissue manual therapies, active and passive stretches, oral muscle relaxants, among others.

Botox injections are carefully planned to decrease the tension of muscles that are affecting the body part needing rehabilitation. In the case of shoulder and neck pain, for example, some common muscles will make it difficult for someone to bring the shoulder blade backwards, which is needed to reduce the sensation of “tension” on their neck area. In this case, the pectoralis minor muscles would normally be too “tight” and are good targets for the Botox treatment.

Following a week or two of Botox treatment, the results can be noticeable during physical therapy sessions. And with the neck pain decreased with improved use of the arm, life becomes much more productive and enjoyable.

For additional information on how Botox may help in expediting your recovery through physical rehabilitation therapies, schedule an appointment with Dr. Carvalho at our Costa Mesa Medical Physical Therapy Office, or call us at (949) 999-0777.

You may not have ever considered medical food as a solution to an injury or to relieve pain or inflammation, but by utilizing Targeted Cellular Technology (TCT) to deliver natural amino acid precursors found to promote efficient functioning of specific cells, these prescription medical foods can fulfill the nutritional needs of a specific disease or injury that cannot be met with a simple shift in diet.

Our own Dr. Claudio Carvalho (you know him as “Dr. C.”) says these medical food capsules include specifically selected amino acids — the backbone of protein chains — that stimulate the body’s process to produce specific neurotransmitters (natural proteins) that have been found to increase the natural ability of the body to utilize the medication ingredients a thousand times more efficiently at the targeted cellular level. As a result, the medication ingredient in each medical food capsule is so small that it nearly eliminates the possibility of undesired side effects and interaction with other drugs.

At FORMA, the main classes of medical foods that are currently available by prescription include:

• AppTrim: Aids in weight control and low energy from fatigue
• AppTrim-D: Aids in weight control while you rest at night at sleep
• GABAdone: Prescribed for sleep difficulties with anxiety (racing toughts)
• Sentra AM: Recommended for attention difficulties, tiredness, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain
• Sentra PM: Helps for sleep and with depression (sedness feelings)
• Theramine: Great for the treatment of pain and inflammation
• Trepadone: Used to assist in the treatment of joint degeneration  related Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Hypetensa: Helps in the management of hight blood presure and metabolic syndrome
• Lister-V: Assists to enhance the ability of the cells to ward-off viral illness, modulate allergic reactions and modulate the immune response

For instance, a prescription for Theramine might decrease pain and inflammation from a knee injury with few if any side effects. That’s not the case with NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen, naproxen, etodolac, etc.), which can cause kidney injury, or Tylenol, which can cause liver damage, or a stronger pain medication that can lead a person to perform through their pain, thus worsening their condition.

Dr. C. says Sentra AM can be used to manage the pain generated from hyperactive nerves — neuropathic pain. Thus, Sentra AM would prove advantageous for someone with sciatica symptoms.

In the case of an athlete who can’t sleep, is anxious about an upcoming race or suffers depression, GABAdone capsules might be prescribed. Pain, anxiety and depression are common symptoms that affect our ability to get a good night’s sleep. Dr. Carvalho says that for sleep difficulties with underlying depression, Sentra PM is a great alternative for some patients.

The use of the Targeted Cellular Technology process also prevents the development of tolerance to a particular drug. Unlike pharmaceutical agents that lose their effectiveness in a relative short period of time, Targeted Cellular Technology maintains its effectiveness and does not weaken.

In case you’re wondering, medical foods are supported by clinical trials, and are regulated by the FDA where they are listed as GRAS — Generally Recognized As Safe — products.

In addition, these medical foods can be used in combination with most already prescribed medications needed for existing or other conditions. In many cases, Dr. C. can modulate prescribed dosages of the pharmaceuticals in order to maintain effectiveness with decreased side effects. That’s because medical foods increase the production of neurotransmitters, which in turn, optimize cell’s utilization.

Currently, most private insurance plans and Medicare cover the medical foods available at FORMA. For more information, visit the Medical Foods section of our website, or, the next time you’re in the FORMA office in Costa Mesa, ask Dr. Carvalho if the Medical Foods are right for you.

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UPDATE (Dec. 10, 2010): Learn more about Medical Foods on the FORMA Medical Foods Page

That being said, here’s a recent note from someone we helped:

Just on the basis that I’m an active individual, I’ve come to accept the fact that I’m bound to spend part of my life recovering from one injury or another. That’s one reason I’m glad to know about FORMA. With their help, I spend the least amount of time in the injured phase.

I’ve been through their facilities on a number of occasions, each time for a particular injury. The doctors were quick to point out the problem (weak) areas in order to apply therapy and get me out running again — and each time I left the office stronger than the last.

Because Dr. Carvalho and Dr. Bakman are both running coaches, they know how to adjust your training regimen in order to speed up healing without compromising your training goals.

As an employee of A Snail’s Pace Running Shop, I’m comfortable in sending our customers who are experiencing pain or injury issues to FORMA for a free screening.

Ben Cardenas, Assistant Manager & Running Academy Coach

A Snail’s Pace Running Shop Fountain Valley, CA

Ben and hundreds of other athletes have been able to recover and strengthen, and are now back competing and enjoying an active lifestyle because they choose to be a participant in their recovery.

You can contact us to schedule an appointment and together we can see if our approach, the FORMA Difference, may help you achieve your goals for an active lifestyle.