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The fascinating science behind cross-education

Icy streets and slippery sidewalks lead to a multitude of fractures and we are looking for ways to enhance recovery

By Amanda Davenport

The promise of spring is upon us but that brings variable weather and inevitable icy patches where we least expect them.

You are in rush one morning and forget to step carefully around that spot by the corner of the garage. Your bag and coffee mug go flying in different directions and, out of instinct, you put your arm out to catch you as you fall. Two hours and a few x-rays later, you are waiting in the ER for a cast on your left arm and wondering what to do about your golf tournament at the end of May. What will six weeks in a cast do to the golf swing you have spent countless hours perfecting over the winter?

The answer might lie in focusing on strengthening exercises for your unbroken arm.

Dr. Jon Farthing speaks about the benefits of cross-education in a podcast discussing a recently published article by his graduate student Justin Andrushko and co-authors from Kinesiology, Unilateral strength training leads to muscle-specific sparing effects during opposite homologous limb immobilization (Justin W. Andrushko, Joel L. Lanovaz, Kelsey M. Björkman, Saija A. Kontulainen, and Jonathan P. Farthing; Journal of Applied Physiology). Justin’s article was selected for a publication award from The American Physiological Society, which prompted the podcast.

Cross-education is a neurophysiological concept; by targeting one side of the body and engaging in strengthening exercises, an increase in strength can also be found in the opposite limb. Justin’s article focuses on a study that showed a measurable decrease in the amount of muscle loss when one arm was immobilized in a cast and the participant engaged in strength training exercises with the opposite arm. Click here to listen to the podcast and learn more about the science behind this concept. With applications for rehabilitation science, and saving your golf swing in time for the tournament, this could be the answer to ensuring a full recovery after an accident or injury.

For more about Justin Andrushko's M.Sc. reasearch, check out his 3 Minute Thesis (3MT®) Presentation: