Newsroom Hospital for Special Surgery

From desk jockey to weekend athlete: preparing for a new sport regimen

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 19:36:00 -0400

Westfair Online discusses how to prepare for a new fitness routine after months of inactivity, and includes guidance from experts Daniel H. Blatz, MD, physiatrist at HSS, and John Giametta, physical therapist with HSS Sports Rehab at Chelsea Piers in Stamford.

According to Dr. Blatz, “If you’ve been relatively inactive for a period of time, and we’ve all been hibernating over the winter, you really want to get out there and run around on the first day.”

He added, “But a lot of times what people do is they overdo it, especially on that first day or week or even month.”

“One of the main things is just trying to slowly ramp up your activity regimen. So, if you were running five miles a day in the fall but stopped in the winter, you wouldn’t want to start running as far right from the get-go,” Dr. Blatz explained.

According to Dr. Blatz, the necessity of warm-ups and cool downs stem from tissues throughout the body taking time to adapt to changing conditions. Tissues such as muscles or the cardiovascular system, which haven’t been used in a while, will take a while to become “perfused” with good blood flow and ready supply of nutrients.

Giametta agreed with the necessity of warming up before exercises as a way to avoid injury and ensure health.

He said, “People always ask me what kind of warm up to do, and what I usually recommend is some sort of dynamic warm-up that kind of simulates what you’re going to do.”

According to Giametta, passive stretching before activities is no longer recommended, and Dr. Blatz explained that an ideal warm-up should be rigorous enough to break a light sweat.

Dr. Blatz underscored, “If you start to modify your gait while running or modify your stroke while swimming because of a pain you should stop.”

“If you start to limp because of discomfort, you should call it quits because that’s going to throw off your entire biomechanics and could cause a separate injury,” he noted.

Read the full article at Westfaironline.com. A subscription is required to access.

Health & Wellness

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 10:02:00 -0500

Daniel H. Blatz, MD, HSS physiatrist, answers a question on how to stay active and joint healthy during the winter for Westchester Magazine.

“Try mixing in some biking and swimming with your running schedule as part of a cross-training program,” he explains. “If the weather obliges, take a vigorous walk or jog through the snow for a bit more resistance and aerobic benefits than your usual sidewalk or street walks.”

Read the full article at WestchesterMagazine.com.

HSS Adds Physicians in Stamford, Westchester

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:18:00 -0400

Stamford Patch reports HSS is expanding its staff of specialists at its Stamford and Westchester locations, welcoming spine surgeon Evan D. Sheha, MD, hip and knee surgeon Brian P. Chalmers, MD and physiatrist Daniel H. Blatz, MD.

Drs. Sheha and Blatz will practice at HSS Stamford and HSS Westchester. Dr. Sheha specializes in spinal surgery including minimally invasive techniques, to treat the full range of degenerative spinal conditions involving the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Dr. Blatz believes in minimally invasive methods to help patients recover, and is trained in regenerative medicine techniques including the use of platelet rich plasma to optimize healing.

Dr. Chalmers joins HSS Westchester and specializes in hip and knee musculoskeletal care, including hip and knee replacement, partial knee replacement and periprosthetic fractures and infections.

Read the full article at Patch.com/Connecticut/Stamford.