DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I used to have good posture. In high school, I played three sports and excelled in girls basketball. Now I don’t play any sports and spend all my time hunched over a desk. I’m a junior in college, majoring in math. My posture has gone to pot.

Do you have any good exercises for improving posture? — R.C.

ANSWER: You have to keep posture control in the back of your mind when you’re sitting at your desk. When sitting, position yourself with your thighs parallel to the floor and knees above ankles. It’s impossible and not good for your bones and joints to remain locked in one position all the time, but the majority of the time should be in this ideal position. Get up from the desk every so often, and do some stretches.

Some say you should not sit far back in a chair but occupy the front third and keep your back as straight as possible.

To keep your shoulders squared, stand with your back against a wall and your heels six inches from the wall. Raise your arms over your head in the “I surrender” gesture. Pull the shoulders back by trying to make the shoulder blades touch, and hold that position for a count of 10. Relax and repeat many times.

If you make a conscious effort, you’ll regain your former posture.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What’s the recommendation for the amount of rest to take between sets?

I’ve just taken up weightlifting and have gotten many different opinions on how much time you ought to take between sets. — T.R.

ANSWER: You’ll get many ideas on the optimum time to wait before undertaking a second set of lifts. One based on semiscientific evidence is the following:

In five minutes, 99.9 percent of the energy necessary to perform a second set of lifts has been regenerated in muscles. In 2.5 minutes, 95 percent has returned. So the optimum rest between sets is around two to 2.5 minutes.

If you want some more information, it takes one minute of rest to get back 75 percent of muscle energy and 50 percent has been regained in 30 seconds.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: All last summer and fall, I tried to get in five to 10 miles of running almost every day. I did this to improve my wind for basketball. It didn’t do a thing for me. I don’t notice that I am any faster or have any more wind than I had before. What went wrong? — D.K.

ANSWER: Nothing went wrong. Your running did improve your endurance and did increase your heart’s pumping strength. Basketball isn’t a game of long-distance running. It’s a game of short, intense sprints mixed with periods of less-intense activity. Your training was specifically for long-distance running.

If you want to improve sprinting ability, you have to practice sprinting. Run as fast as you can for 25 yards, slow down and get your breath, and sprint again. This is the kind of training needed for basketball endurance.

Sprint training during basketball season isn’t a great idea. Do it in the offseason.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What’s the difference between a strain and a sprain? Are they treated the same? — L.H.

ANSWER: A strain is a tear of muscle fibers. A sprain is a tear of ligaments.

The treatment for both is similar — RICE: rest, ice, compression (an elastic wrap) and elevation.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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