Archive for sports injuries
Have Fun in the Summer Sun, But Be Smart
Posted by: | CommentsSummer is the perfect time to get involved in physical activities, especially the ones that you can do outdoors like jogging, softball, and tennis. But, becoming active after the “dormant” days of winter carries requires some forethought. So, here are a few tips for getting in shape before getting physically involved, again, with the great outdoors:
- See your chiropractor to make sure your musculoskeletal system is in healthy alignment.
- Always stretch before any type of exercise. Your chiropractor can suggest specific stretches and “pre-sports” exercises that will prepare you body for the types of summer activities you want to get involved in.
- Stay hydrated. Good hydration means drinking plenty of water and replenishing your “electrolytes” as well.
- Don’t do it all on the first day. Start out slowly and pace yourself, and make sure you take breaks and to drink those fluids.
- Be aware of the outdoor temperature. Extreme summer heat can over-heat your body’s systems. Adding exercise to the mix can further increases circulation, raises your heart rate, and makes breathing more laborious.
- Don’t go to extremes. After you exercise or play a sport, don’t take an extra cold shower (even if you want to cool down fast) or an extremely hot shower or sauna (even though you want to relax your well-worked muscles). Again, you don’t want to put your body’s system on overload.
- Have fun. That’s what summer is all about right? healthy exercise can give you a “natural high” that is good for you mentally and physically!
Did you know that chiropractic therapy has been increasing in popularity for a long time and that it’s continuing to increase annually as the favored healthcare option for many people? As a Chiropractor, I can confidently tell you that individuals are choosing chiropractic treatment because of the many positive aspects that such care offers. No other medical practice is less invasive to the body and, at the same time, is able to stimulate the body’s organic capacity to heal itself, instead of masking symptoms with medicines.
Let’s face it, where there’s a musculoskeletal structure, as in the human body, there is the chance of musculoskeletal dysfunction such as low back pain and neck pain, pain in the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee joints, and ankle and foot pain. No one is immune from misalignment of the spine and joint inflammation, though a large number of problems can be the consequence of sports injuries, accidents, and the aging process. Regardless of the cause, any kind of motion on a traumatized area of the body can not simply add to pain or suffering, but will result in inactivity. And, certainly, specific musculoskeletal challenges, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible incapacitation.
It has been claimed of chiropractic treatment that its “many benefits exceed” merely eliminating a specific challenge. And, though correcting a particular problem is fantastic, in and of itself, in actual fact, someone who comes in to see a chiropractor for lower back pain, for instance, not only profits from pain alleviation, but also from increased circulation, a reduction or elimination of lactic acid, smoother travel of oxygen and nutrients within the body, more flexibility, less everyday pain and soreness, quicker recuperation time, a more comfortable sensation, and the deterrence of future harm! Is it any wonder that chiropractic care has become the treatment of preference for so many people?
Besides providing specialized musculoskeletal care, chiropractors also include education and guidelines as it pertains to strengthening your complete health and wellness. Chiropractors are well aware that in order for you to get healthier and remain that way, it is important for to decide on a naturally healthy lifestyle that includes drinking enough water to keep the body well-hydrated, following a nutritious diet program, and developing a basic stretching and exercise routine.
Chiropractic treatment doesn’t exactly work “miracles, ” but it can come fairly close in a considerable number of areas that may perhaps surprise you. For example, chiropractic treatment can help pregnant women deliver more easily. It can strengthen developmental abilities of babies, such as better motor skills, and it can often eliminate scoliosis. Chiropractic adjustments for kids may help relieve asthma complaints, ear infections, and even bed-wetting. Along with the positive aspects just stated, routine chiropractic management can help adults to feel more vital and dynamic, which consequently improves productivity and life enjoyment. And, finally, for maturing baby boomers and the growing senior population, not only can chiropractic therapy aide in reducing age-related problems and keep an individual more active in later years, it can reduce the balance problems that all too often end up in critical injury from falls.
If you’re already visiting a chiropractor, good for you! You have probably experienced many of the “plus points” mentioned above. If so, have you thought to enlighten an associate, friend, or family member about chiropractic? Don’t let someone you care about, who may be living with pain, fall victim to the sort of misinformation regarding chiropractic care that could keep them from living their life more actively. Tell the people you care about to call me. I can help and they’ll thank you!
As a chiropractor, I treat a lot patients who have sustained sport injuries. In fact, injuries are not unusual with any type of sport. You can often avoid getting injured in a certain sport, however, by finding out what injury is likely to occur, and then doing whatever it takes to avoid it. The truth is, though, that sports injuries can’t always be avoided. Consequently, it’s important to be physically fit to make injury less predictable, or less traumatic.
Prior to starting a sport, such as golf, the most critical thing you can do is to be certain that you have the proper fitness level. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, keeping your joints mobile and your muscles limber, preparing your body prior to activity, using proper form and good postures during activity, and giving yourself plenty of cool down and relaxation time, you will probably keep your body safe from injury.
Golf injuries don’t only happen to amateurs. It has been conjectured that close to a third of pro golfers playing in the same time frame are playing injured. The good news is that all-round good health and fitness can reduce the number of injuries that you may experience and might possibly preclude some of them completely.
Proper body strength in the muscle areas most employed in a sport, such as golf, is crucial. However, it’s also still prudent to make sure your spine is in good alignment and that it has good mobility prior to setting out to build muscle strength. A proficient golf swing relies on your spine’s capacity to effectually move in a rotational manner. Back injuries are the most common kind of injuries sustained by golfers. To be certain that your spine is in appropriate alignment and there is effectual movement in the vertebrae, see your chiropractor. Chiropractic treatment can make a big difference in helping you to avert back injury.
Once you’ve “straightened,” it’ll be time to strengthen. A safe, injury-free day on the green depends upon your being prepared for your golf game. You can warm up your muscles and make muscle strain less likely by doing golf stretching and flexibility exercises. Whole body range of motion (ROM) exercises will enhance flexibility, often rather fast, in all parts of the body. Furthermore, elastic band conditioning can provide functional golf range of motion advantages and can increase needed energy in the shoulders, hips and deep muscles of the core. Sports professionals, such as chiropractors, are adding elastic band training to their golf conditioning programs because the bands offer dynamic resistance that ordinary weight lifting does not offer.
A large number of golfers have painful “Golfer’s Elbow” in addition to back pain. Despite the fact that golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow are nearly the same injuries, there is a minute difference between them. Tennis elbow affects the outside of the upper arm whereas golfer’s elbow disturbs the inner arm. Golfer’s elbow, like tennis elbow, can be a reaction to a single intense action, such as (in golf) hitting the mat at the driving range or thrusting down on a hard fairway surface. Repetitive stress from smaller shocks, though, is most often the protagonist. Moreover, it can come upon those who abruptly start playing too much golf. For example, if a person that generally plays golf once or twice a month elects to play in a tournament, he or she is conceivably at risk for developing the injury.
Golf makes distinctive requests of your body. The game is generally longer than the majority of other sports and that can lead to fatigue. Whenever the body is fatigued, poor posture and decreased coordination often follow. This combination can produce an assortment of injuries. In addition, the shoulder muscles are liable to injury due to the repetitive swinging of the golf clubs. Just as attention should be given to make sure that your muscles are stretched and warmed up prior to starting your golf game, be sure to rest your body properly between games.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is often a surprising injury associated with golf. But, this injury can be the result of numerous games of golf played over a number of months constantly. As it is an affliction that occurs as a result of repetitive stress, carpal tunnel Syndrome can be a severe injury creating disability and, on occasion, requiring surgery. However, if a health professional, such as your chiropractor, discovers it at an early stage, chiropractic treatment and, sometimes, the use of a brace will relieve the problem.
Quite a few golfers seem to feel that injuries are merely an inescapable part of a golfer’s life. Nonetheless, a healthy, mobile spine, dedicated preparation, specific exercise and muscle conditioning, attaining and maintaining a an appropriate fitness level, and sensible rest and recuperation after your game is over, can make injuries much less a part of your golfing experience.
As a chiropractor, I know that risks are involved in any sport. I can help to relieve the pain of sports injuries you may have already sustained, and I can help you to straighten and strengthen to prevent injuries in the future. Let me help you to get on with your game!
Camarillo Chiropractor Asks: Do You Have "Boomeritis"
Posted by: | CommentsYou know the old saying, “You’re only as old as you feel,” right? And though in general this adage may be true, specifically the young/old feeling seems to vary from day-to-day as we age, especially among baby boomers where sports and athletic activities are involved. In fact, orthopedic surgeons are seeing a “tidal wave” of 45- to 64-year-olds suffering from exercise-related injuries they’ve dubbed “boomeritis,” reports Dr. Ray Monto, an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). “You can’t beat yourself up the way you did when you were 20 because it takes longer to recover,” he said.
According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission exercise-related injuries and injuries sustained through the use of exercise equipment sent more than 166,000 people in the 45-64 age group to the emergency room, clinic or doctor’s office in 2008. Though middle-aged people today are a lot more active than their parents were, and are basically more fit and athletic longer into their lives, older athletes need to take a few precautions to protect themselves from injuries like rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and stress fractures.
Though most of the injuries in the Consumer report appear to be due to people not giving themselves enough time to rest up after tough workouts, Monto and AAOS offer a number of helpful tips to avoid exercise injuries: Check with your physician before starting any type of exercise program (your doctor can make sure you’re healthy and offer advice on sports and activities that fit your fitness level). Don’t do the same workout day after day (this will help to avoid repetitive stress injuries and eliminate chronic injury patterns). Work on your flexibility (it’s crucial to stretch and warm up before a workout, and cool down and stretch again, the AAOS advises). And, be sure to schedule days off into your exercise regimen, especially after a particularly intense workout.
So, Baby Boomers, even though you may feel young, it’s still wise to take extra precautions to protect your body when you’re active. After all, wisdom comes with aging.
Full article by Anne Harding (Reuters Health)
ORIGINAL SOURCE: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, June 22, 2009.
How Can Camarillo Chiropractors Help Sports Injuries?
Posted by: | CommentsNot too long ago sports injuries were usually limited to professional athletes, boys participating in school sports programs, and the occasional male “weekend warrior. Today, many people of both sexes and all ages are regularly participating in sports and fitness activities. There are women active traditionally men’s sports such as soccer, basketball, and kick-boxing. A large number of both sexes play golf, tennis, basketball, and/or participate in aerobic activities like running. Regrettably, risk of injury is constantly feasible with any sports activity.
Most injuries can be broken down into two fundamental types: injury from trauma such as a slip, fall or collision, and injury as the result of overuse or repetitive stress.
Traumatic Injuries
As the name implies, this sort of injury produces the kind of incapacitation and debilitation most often associated with trauma. As a rule injuries to the ligaments (the tissue that connects bone to bone) and to muscles are the most common, however the trauma of fractures and dislocations regularly occurs in contact sports. Trauma to a ligament is called a sprain, while damage to a muscle or its tendon is a strain. Sprains and strains often occur in the ankles, knees, and shoulders, and less generally in the low back and neck. Injuries to the neck and low back can be quite serious as the spinal cord or spinal nerves can also be affected.
Traumatic injuries can range from a mild “muscle pull” or ankle twist to a serious problem requiring surgery. The severity of the injury depends upon several factors, such as the severity of tearing of the tissues, the whereabouts of the injury, and the age of the person. Some degree of swelling happens with almost all sprains and strains. However, with certain injuries, particularly those of the ankle and knee, there can be some internal bleeding as well. Strains and sprains require competent attention, especially during the initial stages of an injury, to guarantee correct healing and guard against future disability. Attention from a competent health-care professional, such as your Camarillo chiropractor, is highly recommended.
The following is an acronym for the post-injury treatment of sprains and strains expressly if no professional aid is available: PRICE
P Protect injury from further damage
R Rest the injury
I Ice injury to lessen swelling, bleeding, muscle spasm, and pain
C Compress injury with a specifically designed or elastic bandage to support injured tissues
E Elevate the injury, particularly when dealing with ankles and knees
Naturally it is important to get the injury properly evaluated by a chiropractor, or other competent health professional, to find out the degree of damage. The majority of these injuries can recover, although they do need proper treatment during the various stages of healing. If not managed carefully, some sprains and strains can result in long-lasting problems such as joint instability, painful or weak joints and muscles, and lack of mobility. Expert treatment of your sports injury by a chiropractor with plenty of experience in sports injury management will insure that your injury recovers properly. Call your Camarillo Chiropractor if you have sustained a traumatic injury.
Overuse or Repetitive Strain Injuries
These injuries are becoming more and more common, especially among people involved in sports such as golf, tennis, bowling, and any other activity that necessitates the same activity over and over (repetitively). Even running, particularly on a treadmill, can cause such afflictions.
Repetitious activity can frequently create a very small strain to tissues, expressly tendons and muscles. Nevertheless, it is the accumulative effects of the repetition that creates the more serious problem. carpal tunnel Syndrome is one of the most widespread classes of overuse injuries. The pain, stiffness, and disability associated with carpal tunnel problems takes place over a period of time as the muscles and other affected tissue undergo changes that no longer let normal function. There are two types of factors that predispose a person to these types of problems: 1) Intrinsic, i.e., found within a person’s own body, and 2) Extrinsic, i.e., external factors that can generally be changed or controlled by the person.
Some of the most prevalent intrinsic factors for injury
Age is the mostgeneral intrinsic factor for injury. The older a person is, the easier it is for that person to get injured. Congenital abnormalities are another factor. Some people are born with joint or muscle problems. And, ultimately, previous injuries are a factor as they frequently prevent the joints or muscles from functioning normally.
Extrinsic factors for injury
Extrinsic factors are numerous. For instance, sports equipment can faulty–an inappropriate grip size of tennis racket or worn-out running shoes are prime examples, even a playing surface can be a factor, such as a too-hard surface for soccer or an uneven treadmill. Inept technique, like an awkward golf grip or swing, can create stress and strain injuries. All sports activities require a bit of pre-conditioning, which is why people who are deconditioned who continue to extend the duration of an activity without building up slowly, as well as those who lack flexibility, are injured most often. Lack of warm-up, like stretching and suitable preparation, is a common factor in injuries. And, lastly, but perhaps surprising to some, stress is a factor. Muscles that are tense and inflexible as the result of stress are too tight and, as such, unprepared for most sports activities.
It is important to remember that almost all factors are extrinsic and, hence, they are factors that can be individually regulated. Before starting a new sport, or as a way to avoid injury in a current sport, it’s wise to get an assessment of your current body condition. If you’ve been injured, it is vital to seek out a competent professional, like a chiropractor, to assess the nature of the injury and create a plan of treatment. If left untreated, sports injuries can considerably affect a person’s life and limit a favorite activity. Treatment such as joint manipulation, massage, bracing, and specific exercises is generally needed to stabilize the condition. A chiropractor is your best source of help. Call a chiropractor if you’re either thinking of beginning a new activity, you’re feeling pain related to a current sports activity, or you’ve sustained a sports injury. Your Camarillo Chiropractor has years of experience helping people just like you.
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