Health blog Category: injury prevention
The Leg Bone’s Connected to the Knee Bone
The joints in our body have a relationship. A “joint” refers to any location in the body in which two bones meet together. They pick up the slack for each other when our mobility or stability is impacted in a particular area. Remember that song ‘the leg bone’s connected to the knee bone, the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone…’ and so on and so forth? It’s a catchy children’s tune that also paints a pretty comprehensive picture of the relationship between the various joints in our bodies.
Read full blogWhat our walking says about our muscles and joints
When an expert assesses your walking they are looking at what referred to as your gait. This term “gait” takes into account what all of the joints in your legs and also your trunk are doing when you move one leg and stand on the other for support. Any change in your walking pattern can cause a problem in any part of your body, even if that problem seems to be isolated to just one body part.
Read full blogComputers and Phones causing your Neck Issues?
Is your computer and phone causing your neck issues? One of the biggest contributors to neck pain and stiffness is our poor posture. A lot of us sit at a desk for work or school for several hours throughout the day. We’re often not aware of our posture. We might not have a workstation that is set up ergonomically; our computer screens are too high or too low; we’re on our phones or our tablets and looking down.
Read full blogProtect Your Shoulder when Swimming and Gardening
More and more of us are planning to spend an increased amount of time outdoors. This also means that we need to be more cognizant of our bodies when participating in outside activities such as gardening and swimming. It is important to protect your shoulder when enjoying outdoor activities such as swimming and gardening this summer.
Some common injuries that are associated with the shoulder is due to overuse or improper lifting techniques. A great example is when working outside in the yard or swimming for competition or everyday exercise during the summer months. Whether it’s picking up heavy bags of mulch or planting flowers, or preparing for the upcoming swimmers meet, it is important to be mindful of your body mechanics as well as repetitive movements.
Tennis or Golf…
Many people have heard of and will use terms like ‘tennis elbow’ and ‘golfer’s elbow.’ But what exactly are these conditions?
Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are both overuse injuries that are caused by any activity that requires repetitive motion of the arm and wrist. The difference between the two conditions lies in where the elbow is inflamed. Both of these conditions are forms of epicondylitis, which is a medical term for inflammation of a tendon that attaches to the bone (epicondyle) of the elbow joint.
Why Do I Feel Off Balance?
Having good balance means being able to control and maintain your body’s position comfortably – whether you are walking, climbing stairs, standing or even sitting still. To have good balance, your muscles need to be working together in response to your sensory systems, which include: vision, inner ear and proprioception, or the sensation you get from nerves in your skin, muscles and joints.
We have three systems that all work together so we have good balance. We have our:
- Balance organ, which is our vestibular system in the inner ear.
Hip Discomfort when Climbing Stairs & Lying in Certain Positions
Pain in the hip region can contribute to difficulty lying in certain positions, walking, climbing stairs, and standing up from a seated position. Hip problems make daily activities like simply walking difficult and painful. It’s important to be able to describe exactly where your pain is located. This helps confirm that your hip is actually the problem. It’s not uncommon for someone to say ‘my hip hurts’ and then find they are actually having a back-related problem.
Read full blogReach for Our Toes
To be able to reach our toes, we need the help of our hamstrings! While hamstring injuries can happen to an athlete during a practice or a game, it’s actually much more common for all of us to experience hamstring problems related to everyday activities.
A hamstring injury will start to make you feel stiffness and soreness throughout your leg which will make everyday things more difficult, such as:
- Walking
- Changing positions (getting in and out of the car or a chair, etc)
- Bending
The hamstring muscle can be quite temperamental when we don’t give it enough attention.
Read full blogTendonitis & Bursitis: Cause of Joint Discomfort
Tendonitis and bursitis can restrict you from heading to your weekly tennis or racquetball games, carrying your groceries to the car, and exercising. Baseball pitchers can develop tendonitis in the muscles in the shoulder from throwing pitches with poor mechanics. A parent may develop tendonitis from repeatedly lifting their child with similarly poor shoulder mechanics.
Tendonitis and bursitis are inflammatory issues that can appear anywhere in the body there is a joint such as the elbow, knee, shoulder and hip.
Is there a difference between a strain and a sprain?
Spring is finally here; we are enjoying the warmer weather, and also engaging in more activities. It’s also that time of year we start seeing some minor injuries occur with all age groups. Sprains and strains are pretty common minor injuries. People usually like to use them interchangeably to describe the same injury, however there are differences.
A sprain involves the ligaments in a joint. Ligaments attach bone to bone and are there for stability. A strain involves the muscles that attach to a joint. A strain can involve a tendon or a muscle itself. Tendons are the connections between muscles and bones. The other main difference between the two is that a strain will involve some sort of bruising around the joint, whereas a sprain will possibly cause some muscle spasms. Both injuries will likely involve swelling, limited range of motion, and pain.
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