Carlos Chinchilla Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Hi guys,i recently came across a "global dehydration test" from Kelly Starrett (Mobility WOD). Basically you press your thumb against the flat part of your shin bone for about 10 seconds, if it leaves a dent it means you are (globally) dehydrated and should get some electrolytes back into your system. Here's the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkw3A6_WTXMAny opinions about this? Needless to say, according to this test i'm massively dehydrated/electrolyte depleted at the moment, even though i've been drinking about 2 Liters (66 oz) of fluid everyday, mostly water but including some soup made with homemade gelatinous bone broth and some green shakes. Concerning salt consumption, i'd say it's normal. I use sea salt and use it to taste, but don't supplement my water with it or anything like that.Also, because of a small toe injury i haven't been training (or really sweating at all, for that matter).I'm a bit skeptic about this test and couldn't find any other source to back it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenEagle Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Seriously, don't worry about whether or not you can leave a small indentation any where in your skin. There are other indicators of hydration levels that are better than pressing your finger against a bone. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Schmitter Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I'm just rolling off the cuff here, but perhaps soaking your shin in an electrolyte solution for four hours a day might do the trick. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marios Roussos Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I was only able to watch the first minute of that video as I have a constitutional inability to listen to anything Kelly Starrett has to say; there' s something about someone speaking out of their ass with 100% authority that turns me off more than anything else in this world. The test he's performing is one that is commonly performed to look for "pitting" edema, which is a sign of interstitial fluid retention rather than dehydration. There are many conditions that can cause pitting edema, including heart, liver, or kidney failure, venous insufficiency, severe malnutrition, infections, etc... In general, dehydration or lack of salt is never one of the causes. In fact, one of the mainstays of therapy for people with significant pitting edema due to heart or liver failure is to restrict their salt intake and administer diuretics to help them excrete salt and water via the kidneys. I can provide references if you want, but a quick google search should be enough to confirm that Kelly's got this backwards. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marios Roussos Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Also, I forgot to mention that it's normal to have a little transient indentation when you press over your tibia for a prolonged period of time. The conditions I mentioned above cause this pitting effect to be abnormally pronounced. There's therefore no need to worry if you test "positive". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Chinchilla Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Thanks for your answers. I take everything KS says with a grain of salt, that's why i asked the question here after i didn't find anything to back it up. When i do the test, the dent disappears after 4-5 seconds, so i guess this means nothing at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Douglas Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I really want to like this guy, he has all the right intentions, but the way he presents is just so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Reipert Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 i seriously dont get all the hate he receives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Douglas Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 i seriously dont get all the hate he receivesI don't hate him, but he talks like he is trying to sell me something, so I find it very hard to pay attention to :S 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marios Roussos Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I don't hate him, but he talks like he is trying to sell me something, so I find it very hard to pay attention to :SWhat Jon said. I'm sure a lot of his stretching advice is sound. What I don't like is the way he gives made up explanations about how his methods work, and speaks about them as though they were established facts. He furthermore always seems to be "on" in the sense that he cannot have a conversation without selling his product. Finally, he seemingly is unable to speak without using incomprehensible jargon, though I'm not sure if this comes from only hanging around other crossfitters and therefore losing touch with reality and society at large. If you really want to get a sense of what I am saying, listen to his interview on the Joe Rogan podcast. He ruins any attempt at interesting conversation by persistently hijacking other people's train of thoughts in order to aggressively promote his own ideas, regardless of whether he has any intimate knowledge on the subject at hand. He genuinely seems incapable of saying "I don't know", and appears to get uncomfortable when he's not doing most of the talking. It's horrible; you can tell that Joe Rogan is getting annoyed after a while, and the comments from listeners indicate that most of them felt the same way. If you contrast his interview with that of someone who seems truly at peace with themselves like Alex Honnold (fantastic interview by the way), you get the sense that Kelly's behaviour stems from a deep level of insecurity, which now that I mention it makes me feel bad about writing this rant as he probably deserves more sympathy than contempt. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Schmitter Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 @-MR Sometimes sympathy is worse than contempt. In this case however, I don't think what you wrote denotes contempt. It is an informed, well written, descriptive opinion that (to me anyway) would be welcomed over sympathy always. I feel like you're much closer to empathy anyway...as close as you can get without actually interacting with someone. Empathy is usually misrepresented by "walking in another's shoes" and while that's part of it, by itself it is lacking. You can never fully understand someone's emotions and feelings just for the simple fact everyone has had a different life experience, but you can reiterate their feelings in your own words, showing them you are listening and understand what they are feeling without personally feeling it/having to have had that experience in the past. Descriptive criticism is definitely a big part of it. http://www.readbag.com/xnet-kp-permanentejournal-fall03-cpc http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2005/03/should-doctors-cry-2-empathy-vs.html ...just wanted to keep the rant going . (this was kinda stream of consciousness so please disregard the disconnected thoughts if it suites) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Douglas Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Right. I think we have probably established a general opinion of the dehydration test and can leave it there 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Chinchilla Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 I listen regularly to the Joe Rogan Experience and had the same reaction after the Kelly Starrett podcast. It was cringeworthy. Joe normally is capable of having interesting or at least entertaining conversations with vastly different kinds of people, even people he disagrees with, provided that they're willing to have an actual conversation, which Kelly clearly is not capable of. It's the only time i've seen JR lose interest in a guest, even though the common interest in sports performance and biomechanics should have made for a great conversation. Would love to see Coach Sommer on that podcast:) If you really want to get a sense of what I am saying, listen to his interview on the Joe Rogan podcast. He ruins any attempt at interesting conversation by persistently hijacking other people's train of thoughts in order to aggressively promote his own ideas, regardless of whether he has any intimate knowledge on the subject at hand. He genuinely seems incapable of saying "I don't know", and appears to get uncomfortable when he's not doing most of the talking. It's horrible; you can tell that Joe Rogan is getting annoyed after a while, and the comments from listeners indicate that most of them felt the same way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marios Roussos Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I listen regularly to the Joe Rogan Experience and had the same reaction after the Kelly Starrett podcast. It was cringeworthy. Joe normally is capable of having interesting or at least entertaining conversations with vastly different kinds of people, even people he disagrees with, provided that they're willing to have an actual conversation, which Kelly clearly is not capable of. It's the only time i've seen JR lose interest in a guest, even though the common interest in sports performance and biomechanics should have made for a great conversation. Would love to see Coach Sommer on that podcast:)It's nice to see that I'm not the only one taking crazy pills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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