Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc.

ACL injury Prevention in Gastonia and Statesville, NC

The Physical Performance Center at Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. is proud to offer the S.K.I.P. (Sports and Knee Injury Prevention) program. The S.K.I.P program is a 12 week medically based program designed for both male and female student athletes age 10-17 years old.

Based on the latest research in sports medicine and strength and conditioning, the S.K.I.P. program works to prevent sports injuries, in particular ACL injuries.

S.K.I.P. is designed to address knee stability, overall body strength, balance, proprioception, power, speed, jump training/landing, change of direction training, and flexibility.

Because every athlete is different, the program is designed to meet the individual needs of the athlete while addressing all areas of concern in progressive degrees of difficulty. Each stage builds upon the foundation laid out in the previous weeks. All athletes are assessed every 4 weeks to determine if they are ready to advance to the next stage in the program.

For more information, or to sign up for this program, call (704) 864-4424 (Gastonia) or (704) 768-1013 (Statesville).

Now on Twitter

Both Gaston Rehab Associates and the Physical Performance Center at Gaston Rehab Associates are now on Twitter. For up to date reminders and health information use your twitter account to follow along with "DPTgastonrehab" and "Physicalperform." We will be adding useful information regularly so be sure to check us out.

Alfred and Charlie's Restaurant Gastonia, NC

To say my wife and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day is an understatement. We are expecting our first child and we are both so excited we can hardly wait. Wanting to keep things somewhat subdued we made dinner plans for a Valentine's Day special event at Alfred and Charlie's 815 S New Hope Rd Gastonia, NC 28054-4813 Phone: (704) 864-4446.

Darlene and Alfred out did themselves on this one. We were prepared for a large meal since the menu we had pre-selected had 5 courses on it, but not for how great the food was. We have eaten at Alfred and Charlie's in the past and enjoy the food. The BBQ sauces are top notch. However the menu that was prepared for this evening rivaled some of the 5 star dining choices available in much bigger cities. The dinner salad was followed by Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, which was then followed by shrimp cocktail and crab cakes (I ate my wife's appetizer). The entree we each chose was the filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes and basmati rice, and finally we enjoyed a desert of chocolate covered strawberries and my wife had cheesecake. I am still full and still talking about the dinner. Everything was great and the price was far lower than we would have paid for comparable dinners elsewhere. I can't wait for their next special event, we will definitely be there.

Great job and keep up the great work!

East Gaston High School Wrestling sends four to States

On Saturday February 14th, 2009, four East Gaston High School wrestlers qualified for the 4A State Tournament to be held next weekend in Winston Salem.

John Grigg (Fr., 112 lbs) finished in second place, older brother Jesse Grigg (Jr., 135 lbs) finished in fourth place, Drake Fortner (Sr., 145 lbs) finished in fourth place, and Dillon Smith (171 lbs) finished in 4th place. Congratulations to all of the guys on their hard work throughout the year. John, Jesse, and Drake work out at the Physical Performance Center at Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. and we could not be more proud.

Best of luck at States! For more information go to NCmat.com

iposture: gimmick or real thing?

I have long said that posture is the ultimate overuse injury. We have all heard of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and even Tennis elbow. These are bad, but preventable in many cases. I would argue that poor posture fits in the same category and is preventable.

Think about it, if you sit for 8-10 hours a day slumped in your chair, what is happening to your body?  Muscles are tightening on one side of the body and lengthening on the other side. This imbalance can lead to pain, even worse posture, decreased function, and overall poor health.

There are many devices being sold on the market that claim to help with posture, for both men and women. But many rely on proprioceptive feedback to provide the brain a stimulus to remind the wearer of such devices to correct their posture. Products such as bras for women or figure 8 straps for anyone claim to help by telling the wearer to stand up more erect. The problem is that the brain will adjust to stimulus through out the day. Think about it this way. When you first put a shirt on in the morning you are aware of the texture, the warmth or cold sensation of the material, the fit, and so on. As the day goes on your brain tunes those messages out unless something drastic changes. The same goes for many so called "posture correction" devices. After a while the body just tunes them out or they become so uncomfortable the wearer just removes them.

Well a new product may just revolutionize the "posture" market. A device called iposture is now available for people that suffer from the effects of poor posture. This tiny device is designed to be worn on the body, on a necklace, or even on a bra strap. It sends a vibration alert out to the wearer after it senses that the wearer is slouching (a change in 3 degrees of angle or more). While I have not seen one personally, I do believe that the product has some merit and people that do need reminders may find some benefit from using such a device.

I would love to hear from anyone that has used the device. One of my client's pointed it out to me last evening after she had done some research for products on-line and I would love to hear feedback to see if it would benefit other clients.

Gaston United Soccer Club Ice Breaker Tournament a Success

Gaston United Soccer Club in Gastonia, NC hosted the Ice Breaker Tournament this past weekend, January 31st and February 1st, 2009 at Martha Rivers Park in Gastonia and George Poston Park in Lowell. True to name on Saturday morning it felt like someone was going to have to go out onto the fields to break the frost up with temperatures in the low 20's.

A total of 67 teams registered and attended the tournament and a good time was had by all at this early season outdoor event. Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. was on hand to provide sports medicine coverage at the event. If the injuries that occurred were any indication of how serious teams were taking this tournament, then there were some athletes and teams that were looking to make a statement. Luckily other than only some minor injuries, everyone was healthy and the tournament was a success.

Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. is a leading provider of sports medicine services in the region. While some providers may say they provide "sports" medicine because it is in their name, Gaston Rehab Associates and the Physical Performance Center actually work with athletes from prevention, to rehabilitation for injuries, to performance enhancement. If you would like more information about how Gaston Rehab Associates, Inc. can help your organization, please contact our office at 704-864-4424 for more information.

East Gaston Wrestlers come up big in Conference Tournament

Members of the East Gaston Warrior Wrestling team looked strong in their Big South Conference Tournament win on Saturday January 31, 2009. Three wrestlers who train at the Physical Performance Center at Gaston Rehab Associates, did especially well.

John Grigg moved up in weight to 119 lbs (from 112) and not only won his weight class, but won the Conference Tournament Outstanding Wrestler award as well. Older brother Jesse Grigg was successful in winning his weight class at 135 lbs. in a 6-2 decision and Drake Fortner, who wrestles at 145 lbs., came up big in a 9-4 decision to win his weight class. With a great effort by the entire team, the Warriors were able to win the conference title with 164 points overall.

Congratulations to Coach Scott Goins and the entire Warrior Wrestling team. Best of luck in States!