As a chiropractor, I treat plenty of teenagers (as well as adults) who’ve sustained sports injuries. When it comes to the “weekend warrior” syndrome, it seems that teenagers don’t realize, anymore than their parents and other adults who indulge in sport activities do, just how important getting in shape prior to getting fully involved can be. So I was happy to read the following article and recommendations for high school pitchers and I want to pass it along to you.

High School Pitchers Need To Train Properly Before Season To Avoid Serious Injuries

 High school pitchers who go full-speed the first day or week of spring training may be headed down the road to serious injury.

“A large number of high school athletes take the winter off and just go out and start throwing as hard as they can,” said Matt Holland, a physical therapist with The Methodist Center for Sports Medicine in Houston. “The problem is that their arms are not in baseball shape and they open themselves up to serious shoulder and elbow injuries.”

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that act to stabilize the shoulder especially during the throwing motion. An inflamed rotator cuff (tendonitis) can cause pain when lifting your arm and will most likely dramatically affect a player’s performance on the field. Problems with the rotator cuff can not only damage the rest of the shoulder, but may also lead to elbow and other arm problems that shorten the careers of many pitchers. To read more, go to medicalnewstoday.

Posted via email from chiropracticnews’s posterous

Sacramento Chiropractor

Injuries are very common with any type of sport. You can often avoid getting injured in a particular sport, however, by finding out what injury is most likely to occur, and then taking precautions to avoid it. Naturally, there’s no guarantee that, even then, you won’t get injured. That’s why it is beneficial for you to be in good physical shape. It will make your getting injured less predictable or, at least, less traumatic. The most critical thing that you can do is to be sure that you have the proper fitness level prior to starting to play a sport, such as golf. You just might keep your body safe from injury if you follow these general guidelines: Perpetuate a healthy lifestyle; make sure your joints are mobile and your muscles are limber; prepare your body prior to activity; use proper form and good postures while actively playing; give yourself sufficient cool down and relaxation time.

Golf injuries can happen to anyone, amateur or pro. It has been estimated that over thirty percent of pro golfers playing concurrently are playing with injury. On the positive side, general good health and fitness can decrease the number of injuries a person may incur and may possibly prevent them.

Proper body strength in the muscle zones most used when golfing is very important. However, it’s essential to determine that your spine is in healthy alignment and that it has good mobility before you set out to build muscle strength. A proficient golf swing hinges on your spine’s facility to efficiently move in a rotational fashion. Back injuries are the most widespread kind of injuries experienced by golfers. Your chiropractor will establish that your spine is in proper alignment and that there is effectual movement of the vertebrae. Chiropractic care can make a big difference in helping you to avoid back injury.

A day on the golf course that remains injury-free depends on how prepared you are for the game, so once you’re “straightened,” you’ll need to strengthen and gain more flexibility. Warming up your muscles by doing golf-specific stretching and flexibility exercises, is a must in order to make muscle strain less likely. Full body flexibility can be gained fairly quickly through range of motion (ROM) exercises, and elastic band condition can provide targeted golf range of motion advantages and increase needed strengthening of shoulders, hips, and the deep muscles of the core. Your chiropractor and other sports professionals are adding elastic band training to their golf conditioning programs because they supply the dynamic resistance that ordinary weight lifting does not.

“Golfer’s Elbow” is a common golf condition second only to back injuries. The only difference between golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow is that, with tennis elbow the outside of the upper arm is afflicted, the inner arm is impinged with golfer’s elbow. Both can be a reaction to a single excessive action, e.g., in golf it might be thrusting down on the mat at the driving range or striking a hard fairway surface. However, repetitive stress from smaller shocks is usually the culprit. Another exacerbating cause of injury is suddenly starting to play too much golf, such as entering a tournament when you’re used to playing only once or twice a month.

There are more golf injuries because sport makes exclusive demands on the body. The game is usually longer than many other sports and that can result in fatigue. Incorrect posture and clumsiness are frequently the result of body fatigue. Together, these two components can cause a variety of injuries. In addition, the constant swinging of the golf clubs puts the shoulder muscles at risk for injury. Warming up with stretches and resting between games is essential for avoiding unnecessary injury.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be an unforeseen result of the repetitive stress of numerous games of golf played over several months continuously. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be a serious injury creating incapacitation and sometimes requiring surgery. However, discovered at an early stage, chiropractic management and, frequently, the use of a brace will alleviate the problem.

Quite a few golfers seem to assume that injuries are just an unavoidable part of a golfer’s life. Nonetheless, a healthy, mobile spine, dedicated preparation, proper exercise and muscle conditioning, attaining and maintaining a a suitable fitness level, and prudent rest and recuperation after your game is over, can assisting in making injuries far less a part of your golfing experience.

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, glof injuries, sacramento chiropractor

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.

Technorati Tags: exercise, rotator cuff tears, sports injuries, stress fractures, tendonitis

Traumatic Injuries

These injuries can cause the debilitating type of problems often associated with trauma. Most of these injuries are usually to the ligaments, the tissue that connects bones to bones and or to muscles though fractures and dislocations do occur at times especially with the contact sports. A strain is any injury to either a muscle or its tendon and a sprain to ligaments. The most common areas for these types of injuries are the ankles, knees, and the shoulders though other areas can be affected including thelow back and neck. Of course, injuries to the neck and low back can be quite serious as the spinal cord or spinal nerves can also be involved.

Traumatic injuries can vary from a mild “muscle pull” or ankle twist to a serious problem requiring surgery. It all depends upon the degree of tearing of the tissues, the location, and the age of the person. Most sprains and strains are associated with some degree of swelling and sometimes internal bleeding especially with the ankles and knees. With all strains and sprains proper management is very important especially during the initial stages of the injury to insure proper healing and no future disability.

The following is an acronym for the post-injury management of sprains and strains especially if no professional help is available: PRICE
P -Protect the injury from further damage
R -Rest the injury
I – Ice the injury to reduce swelling, bleeding, muscle spasm and pain
C -Compress the injury with a specialised support or elastic bandage to support the injured tissues
E – Elevate the injury if necessary when dealing with ankles and knees.

Of course it is important to get the injury properly assessed by a chiropractor or other professional so to know the extent of damage. Most of these injuries can recover though do need proper care during the various stages of healing. If not manage carefully some sprains and strains can leave us with long lasting problems of joint instability, painful or weak joints and muscles, and lack of mobility. A Chiropractor who is trained in the management of sports injury can give you the proper advice and treatment to insure that your injury will heal in the best possible way.

Overuse or Repetitive Strain Injuries:

These injuries are becoming more and more common especially among people pursuing sports such as golf, tennis, bowling or any other activity that are requires one to do the same activity over and over. Even running, especially on a treadmill can cause such problems. Some of these problems have been discussed in greater detail in other sections of the website one beingtennis or golf elbow.

Basically these conditions occur when we are involved in a repetitive activity that causes a very slight strain to tissues especially tendons and muscles that alone would not cause a problem but done many times has an accumulative affect. carpal tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common types of overuse injuries. After some time the muscle or other affected tissue develops changes that no longer allow it to function properly resulting in pain, stiffness and disability. There are two types of factors that predispose one to these types of problems one being intrinsic or found within one’s own body and extrinsic or external factors that can often be changed or controlled by the individual.

Common Intrinsic factors of Injury:
Age – the older we are the easier it is to get injured
Congenital abnormalities – some people are born joint or muscle problems
Previous injuries – previously injured joints or muscles often lack proper function

Common Extrinsic factors of Injury:
Equipment – improper grip size of tennis racquet, worn out running shoes
Playing surface – playing soccer on hard surfaces, uneven treadmill
Improper technique – improper golf grip or swing
Poor conditioning – doing activity when out of shape
Lack of warm-up – not stretching or preparing for activity
Increased frequency or duration – not building up slowly
Flexibility – too stiff to do activity correctly
Stress – being tired or stressed can cause number 3 or 7

As we can see there are more factor that are extrinsic and therefore within our control. However most of us need assessment by a qualified health professional to determine the nature of the injury as well as the solution to the problem as left untreated these injuries can greatly affect ones life and limit a favorite activity. Besides eliminating the cause treatment is often required to stabilize the condition. The treatment might include joint manipulation, massage, therapy modalities, bracing and specific exercises.

Technorati Tags: chicago chiropractor, chiropractic care, repetitive stress, sports injuries