Back Clinic Sports Injuries Chiropractic and Physical Therapy Team. Athletes from all sports can benefit from chiropractic treatment. Adjustments can help treat injuries from high-impact sports i.e. wrestling, football, and hockey. Athletes that get routine adjustments may notice improved athletic performance, improved range of motion along with flexibility, and increased blood flow. Because spinal adjustments will reduce the irritation of the nerve roots between the vertebrae, the healing time from minor injuries can be shortened, which improves performance. Both high-impact and low-impact athletes can benefit from routine spinal adjustments.
For high-impact athletes, it increases performance and flexibility and lowers the risk for injury for low-impact athletes i.e. tennis players, bowlers, and golfers. Chiropractic is a natural way to treat and prevent different injuries and conditions that impact athletes. According to Dr. Jimenez, excessive training or improper gear, among other factors, are common causes of injury. Dr. Jimenez summarizes the various causes and effects of sports injuries on the athlete as well as explaining the types of treatments and rehabilitation methods that can help improve an athlete’s condition. For more information, please feel free to contact us at (915) 850-0900 or text to call Dr. Jimenez personally at (915) 540-8444.
�ACL injuries have become a youth sports epidemic and are the No. 1 sports injury we operate on at our outpatient surgical center,� says Jennifer Beck, MD, associate director of the Center for Sports Medicine at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children, in a media release.
�The injury is most common in sports that involve sudden changes of direction�such as football and soccer�but fortunately there are some basic things athletes can do to lessen the chance of injury.�
Beck notes in the release that most ACL injuries are not the result of contact with another player but rather occur during sudden twisting motions (such as when the feet are planted one way and the knees are turned another way), or when landing from a jump. Factors that can contribute to ACL injuries include biomechanical issues such as muscle strength and leg alignment, as well as sport technique and preparation.
Young athletes can reduce their risk for ACL injuries by performing training drills that require balance, jumping, power, and agility.
�Drills such as these also help�improve neuromuscular conditioning and muscular reactions and have shown to ultimately decrease the risk of ACL injury,� Beck adds.
Other exercises could include focused stretches, leg raises, leg lifts, prone hip extensions, and sidesteps.
Along with these tips, the OIC Center for Sports Medicine advises parents and coaches to ensure that young athletes don�t skip the warm-ups, drink enough fluids, use proper equipment, and never play through pain.
�We want children to have fun, but it is also important to have a common sense approach to playing and to not ignore injury,� Beck shares. �While rest, ice, and ibuprofen can help reduce basic soreness, if pain persists parents should contact a physician. Failure to address a sports injury properly and promptly can lead to lifelong problems.�
[Source(s): Orthopaedic Institute for Children, Business Wire]
Sports participation is a major cause of serious injury among youth making sports activities, the second most frequent cause of injury for male and female adolescents. According to John Hopkins Medicine, 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports in which more than 2.6 million children, 19 years of age and younger, are treated annually in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries. Although the majority of athletic injuries (62%) occur during practice, 50% of these injuries can be avoided.
Obviously, some sports, contact sports versus non-contact sports, are more dangerous than others, e.g., football versus swimming. Although death from a sports-related injury is rare, it does occur � the leading cause, brain injury or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). Of all TBIs that occur among American children, including concussions, 21% involve sports and recreational-related activities. In an effort to educate parents, coaches, athletes and healthcare professionals, on injury prevention in youth athletes, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation (NYSSF) was formed in 1989. In 2001, the non-profit foundation designated April as National Youth Sports Safety Month as a means to enhance public awareness for safety in youth sports.
We always urge residents to be vigil in safeguarding the health and welfare of young athletes. �It requires a team effort, McGee states, �it takes everyone from parents, coaches and children working together during practice and during the sporting event to prevent sports injuries.� By following these simple safety tips, adults, as well as children, can prevent sports injuries especially among children:
Parents and Coaches
Try to group youngsters according to skill level and size, not by chronological age, particularly during contact sports. If this is not practical, modify the sport to accommodate the needs of children with varying skill levels.
Match the child to the sport, and don�t push the child too hard; observe the activity and whether she/he may not like or be physically capable of doing it.
Try to find sports programs where certified athletic trainers are present. Athletic Trainers, in addition to healthcare professionals, are trained to prevent, recognize, and give immediate care to sports injuries.
See that all children get a preseason physical exam.
Don�t let (or insist that) a child play when injured. No child (or adult) should ever be allowed to work through the pain.
Get the child medical attention if needed. A child who develops any symptom that persists or that affects athletic performance should be examined by a healthcare professional. Other clues that a child needs to see a healthcare professional include inability to play following a sudden injury, visible abnormality of the arms and legs, and severe pain that prevents the use of an arm or leg.
Provide a safe environment for sports. A poor playing field, unsafe gym sets, unsecured soccer goals, etc., can cause serious injury to children.
Children
Be in proper condition to play the sport. Get a preseason physical exam.
Follow the rules of the game.
Wear appropriate protective gear.
Know how to use athletic equipment.
Avoid playing when very tired or in pain.
Make warm-ups and cool-downs part of your routine. Warm-up exercises, such as stretching or light jogging, can help minimize the chances of muscle strain or other soft tissue injury. They also make the body�s tissues warmer and more flexible. Cool-down exercises loosen the muscles that have tightened during exercise.
If your child is involved in youth sports, the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) advises parents to become educated about the risk of injuries, especially concussions and any other injury that is particularly associated with your child�s chosen sport to include meeting the Athletic Trainers on staff. If there are no Athletic Trainers available, advocate for one.
For more information on how to prevent sports injuries, visit John Hopkins Medicine hopkinsmedicine.org/, Center for Disease Control and Prevention cdc.gov/, Safe Kids Worldwide safekids.org/, American Academy of Pediatrics aap.org/, National Institute of Health Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) niams.nih.gov/, and Stop Sports Injuries stopsportsinjuries.org/.
Sprains, strains and tears are different types of injuries, and it’s important to know how they differ, a sports massage therapist says.
A sprain is the overstretching or tearing of ligaments, which are the tissues that connect bones to each other and stabilize them.
“Sprains occur when the joint is forced into an unnatural position. They happen most often in the ankle but can occur at any joint, such as the wrist or knee,” said Martin Mufich. He is also a clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M College of Nursing. Symptoms of a sprain include joint or muscle pain, inflammation, hampered movement, tenderness and bruising. “A mild sprain should take approximately seven to 10 days to heal,” Mufich said in a university news release.
“A torn ligament is considered a severe sprain that will cause pain, inflammation, bruising and result in ankle instability, often making it difficult and painful to walk. Recovery from a torn ligament may take several weeks, and should be done under the supervision of a health-care provider,” he explained.
A strain is the overstretching or tearing of a muscle or a tendon, which connects the muscles to the bones. It can occur from a single incident or over time. “An acute strain is an instantaneous stretch or tear of the muscle or tendon, whereas, a chronic strain stems from repetitive motions over time that place stress on the muscle or tendon,” Mufich said. Symptoms of a strain include muscle spasms, weakness, cramping, immobility, pain, bruising and swelling. It can take a few weeks for symptoms of a mild-to-moderate strain to ease, he explained.
A tear is the ripping of tissue in ligaments, muscles or tendons.
“Typically, the worse a tear, the more inflammation and pain a person will experience, and the longer it will take for the injury to heal,” Mufich said. In general, the treatment for sprains, strains and tears involves a plan called “RICES” — Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation and Stabilization. However, for some severe tears, such as those of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee, surgery may be needed.
Mufich said that it is normal to experience some discomfort during the healing process from any of these injuries, but there should not be any sharp pain. “If you are not seeing improvements within 24 hours or it is getting worse, contact a health-care provider,” he advised.
SOURCE: Texas A&M, news release, Feb. 23, 2017�
For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Preventing Sports Injuries
Many athletes largely depend on chiropractic care to enhance their physical performance. New research studies have determined that aside from maintaining overall health and wellness, chiropractic can also help prevent sports injuries. Chiropractic is an alternative treatment option utilized by athletes to improve their strength, mobility and flexibility. Spinal adjustments and manual manipulations performed by a chiropractor can also help correct spinal issues, speeding up an athlete’s recovery process to help them return-to-play as soon as possible.
Whether your doctor recommends surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon may depend partly on your age and activity level, foot experts say.
The Achilles tendon is a band of tissue that runs down the back of the lower leg and connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. A rupture is a complete or partial tear of the tendon that leaves the heel bone separated or partially separated from the knee.
Length of recovery from this type of injury varies depending on whether a patient undergoes surgical or nonsurgical treatment.
“Treatment processes are dependent upon a patient’s overall health, activity level and ability to follow a functional rehabilitation protocol,” said Dr. Jeffrey McAlister, a foot and ankle surgeon in Sun City West, Ariz. Advances in treating Achilles tendon rupture were discussed by McAlister and other specialists at a recent meeting of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, in Las Vegas.
Typically, less active and unhealthy patients receive nonsurgical treatment, since they are not trying to return to active sports, McAlister said in a college news release. But this approach usually involves a long rehabilitation/recovery period (9-12 months). Also, these patients may be at increased risk of potentially dangerous blood clots due to inactivity during this period.
“For more athletic and younger patients, the surgical option may be best,” said Dr. Michael VanPelt, a Dallas foot and ankle surgeon. “We anticipate these patients have shorter healing times.”
But because there is low blood flow to the Achilles tendon, healing after surgery can be tricky.
“Advances in surgical techniques to repair Achilles tendon ruptures include limited incision, or smaller incision, surgical approaches to help patients have smaller scars, and less of a chance of wound complications,” said Dr. Jason Kayce, a Phoenix foot and ankle surgeon.
For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Preventing Sports Injuries
Many athletes largely depend on chiropractic care to enhance their physical performance. New research studies have determined that aside from maintaining overall health and wellness, chiropractic can also help prevent sports injuries. Chiropractic is an alternative treatment option utilized by athletes to improve their strength, mobility and flexibility. Spinal adjustments and manual manipulations performed by a chiropractor can also help correct spinal issues, speeding up an athlete’s recovery process to help them return-to-play as soon as possible.
All marathon runners eventually slow down. But, a new study finds that whether a runner is average or elite, or whether they are a man or a woman, may determine at what age and how much their pace will decline.
The researchers reviewed 2001-2016 data from three of the largest U.S. marathons — Boston, Chicago and New York City.
“We found that marathon performance decline begins at about 35 years old,” said study lead author Dr. Gerald Zavorsky, of Georgia State University. “For top runners, we determined the slowdown is about 2 minutes per year beginning at age 35 for men. And for women, it’s actually a little bit statistically faster of a slowdown, around 2 minutes and 30 seconds per year beginning at the age of 35,” Zavorsky said in a university news release.
He is an associate professor in the university’s department of respiratory therapy. The researchers also found that marathoners aged 25 to 34 had the fastest times, with overall champion males at 28.3 years old and overall champion females at 30.8 years of age.
However, people with “average” marathon times don’t see a big impact on their performance until later in life, the findings showed.
“If you’re an average runner finishing in the middle of your age group, statistically the slowdown starts at age 50. It’s similar if you’re a man or woman. The decline with aging in average runners is around 2 minutes and 45 seconds per year beginning at age 50,” Zavorsky said.
The researchers suspect the reason that average runners see a decline later in life is that they likely started running later in life.
“Elite athletes realize their potential when they’re young, and they’re able to maximize that potential when they’re young. But average runners might not realize their potential until they’re a lot older and by that time physiological aging comes in. They try to reach their maximum potential, but they’re trying to reach it at a much older age and their ceiling for improvement is not as high,” Zavorsky suggested.
The rate of marathon performance decline between ages 35 and 74 is fairly steady, and female age-group winners have a 27 second per year larger decline than male age-group winners, according to the study. Although you might never reach elite status if you start running in your 50s, the researchers don’t want to discourage older people from getting involved in marathons.
“If you’re an older person and you want to pick up marathon running, yes you can still improve because you’ve just now begun running. There’s always room for improvement, but physiologically, you were probably at your prime somewhere between 25 and 34 years old,” Zavorsky said.
“But people who are older can still train to achieve personal goals and get the health benefits of exercise, such as lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol and enhanced psychological well-being,” he added.
The study was published online recently in the journal PLoS ONE.
For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Preventing Sports Injuries
Many athletes largely depend on chiropractic care to enhance their physical performance. New research studies have determined that aside from maintaining overall health and wellness, chiropractic can also help prevent sports injuries. Chiropractic is an alternative treatment option utilized by athletes to improve their strength, mobility and flexibility. Spinal adjustments and manual manipulations performed by a chiropractor can also help correct spinal issues, speeding up an athlete’s recovery process to help them return-to-play as soon as possible.
Stress fractures to the ribs occur in rowers, golfer, canoeists, lacrosse players and baseball pitchers. They are more common in sports involving an element of trunk rotation with scapula movement across the rib cage.
A stress fracture is described as an overload to the bone caused by repetitive loading due to a particular movement. Any load on the bone will create a stress in the bone. However, given enough recovery time the bone heals and ends up stronger. This is known as Wolfe�s law. But, if the bone load is too high or too frequent, then the bone does not repair quickly enough, a stress response occurs and a fracture follows.
In rowing, the repetitive loading is created by a number of factors. Muscles such as the serratus anterior and abdominals that directly attach to the ribs can lead to loading on the ribcage due to contraction. Bad rowing technique, perhaps caused by poor hip flexibility, which then requires an excessive compensatory thoracic rotation, may then lead to rib breakdown.
Other causes include equipment issues such as the oar type (lighter carbon oars increase rib loading), bigger boats with more drag and position in the boat (bow rowers have less incidence due to lower stroke rate and force). Rib cross section and density also influence the chance of stress fractures, and women have a higher chance due to greater likelihood of bone density issues. Finally, training variables such as volume, intensity, type of loading and off water training can also be factors in stress fracture development.
The signs and symptoms are usually straight forward. These include generalised rib pain with a focused spot of tenderness, pain rolling onto the ribs whilst sleeping and pain with deep breathing. They can be confirmed with bone scan (black spot) and/or MRI (white spot).
Unfortunately for the rower, the immediate management of the injury involves rest. Usually 4-6 weeks away from rowing will be enough to allow some bone healing and this is followed by a progressive increase in rowing load over another 4 weeks before the athlete is back to full training.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Chiropractic and Athletic Performance
Chiropractic care is a popular, alternative treatment option which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries and/or conditions associated to the musculoskeletal and nervous system, primarily the spine. Many athletes, and civilians alike, seek chiropractic care to restore their natural health and wellness, however, chiropractic has been demonstrated to benefit athletes by increasing their athletic performance.
Plantar fasciitis is a common affliction affecting many athletes, in particular runners. Adam Smith has written a great piece in the September issue of Sports Injury Bulletin outlining the relevant anatomy, how the injury occurs, how to differentiate from other similar pathologies, such as neural irritation in the tarsal tunnel, and finally how to manage it.
Speaking from experience as a former sufferer of plantar fasciitis, it can be a frustratingly recalcitrant condition and I have heard of some extreme measures to manage it. Read on for a story on the drastic measures an AFL player took to overcome the problem, and to understand more about the condition.
Many years ago an elite level AFL player had suffered a 2 year history of plantar fasciitis with no relief from any form of treatment. In the end the sports doctor at the club involved injected the plantar fascia origin with a corticosteroid injection the day before a game.
The hope was that as the plantar fascia weakened due to the steroid injection, the player would rupture it, go through the standard week rehab protocol, and then be pain free for ever more.
And yes, the player did rupture the plantar fascia during during the game and was consequently placed in a boot for about 10 days. He soon was walking, then running, and was playing again within four weeks with no more problems. The podiatrist made an orthotic to control the dropped arch and all the problems went away.
What has happened to that player now is anyone’s guess. He may now suffer from long term issues due to a poorly controlled arch that have caused other issues such as achilles tendon, knee pain and/or hip pain.
So do we really need the plantar fascia and why is it such a problem when it is injured?
Being bipedal (walking on two leg) animals, the plantar fascia gives the natural plantar arch support in weight bearing positions. It is a passive structure that acts like a high tension wire to keep the arch bones supinated as we push off.
Without a plantar fascia in place, we would need a better active system to create the arch support, such as the intrinsic plantar arch muscles, and also the extrinsic long arch support muscles such as the tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis longus (FHL) and the flexor digitorum longus (FDL). These muscles would need extra work to improve their arch control abilities. Alternatively, we could use a passive support mechanism in the form of an orthotic to control the arch position.
The majority of plantar fascia problems stem from a build up of tensile and compressive forces that degenerate the plantar fascia origin against the heel bone. The combination of tensile (stretch) force due to overpronation and the added compressive force as the plantar fascia is pushed against the heel bone leads to a pathological state whereby the plantar fascia degenerates and creates dysfunction and pain.
Therefore like other degenerative tendon issues (such as Achilles tendons) once the patient starts to feel pain often the injury has been building for months to years. Which explains why it then becomes so problematic to deal with.
Proper management takes time to not only correct the muscle imbalances that cause it � such as tight calves, poor hip control, poor pronation control � but due to its degenerative nature it requires a huge amount of time to even slightly change the existing pathology.
For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic care is an well-known, alternative treatment option utilized to prevent, diagnose and treat a variety of injuries and conditions associated with the spine, primarily subluxations or spinal misalignments. Chiropractic focuses on restoring and maintaining the overall health and wellness of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Through the use of spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, a chiropractor, or doctor of chiropractic, can carefully re-align the spine, improving a patient�s strength, mobility and flexibility.
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