Health blog Category: sports injuries
Taking Care of a Fracture
What is a fracture? The word, ‘fracture’ is a medical term that refers to a crack or break in a bone. Bones are made of calcified materials, which give them their hard rigid structure.
There are several types of fractures:
- Greenstick- when a bone is bent, but not broken all the way through.
- A buckle fracture results from compression of two bones driven into each other.
- A growth plate fracture occurs at the joint and can result in shorter bone length.
Three Common Shoulder Problems
How do common shoulder problems occur? Rotator cuff tears, shoulder impingement and frozen shoulder are three conditions we see often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. We often don’t realize how much we move our shoulders throughout our day until we feel pain or are unable to move them. There are many conditions that may cause us to experience pain, loss of range of motion or stiffness in our shoulders. These problems don’t have to happen following a traumatic injury.
Read full blogWalking to Improve Bone Health
Walking is a great step to improve bone health and fitness. Springtime is a good time to get outside and be active. What better way to kick the winter blues and enjoy the beautiful spring weather than to go for a walk! Walking is one of the easiest ways to get a workout and it offers many physical and mental health benefits. It’s why the American Heart Association designates April as National Walking Day. So, lace up your shoes and go for a walk.
Read full blogOveruse and Repetitive Motions
By Angie Austin, LPTA
What exactly are overuse injuries? These types of injuries occur when you try to too much at once. Do you remember the last time you started a new exercise program or did a lot of the same physical activity at once? It probably resulted in pain or tendonitis. Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon due to repetitive trauma or overuse. In most cases, if you stop the activity, your symptoms will resolve as the tendon heals.
Common Knee Conditions and How PT Can Help
In general, knee pain and common knee conditions occur due to muscular imbalances, how well your kneecap moves and abnormal kneecap tracking.
Two common knee conditions we treat at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center are ACL tears and subsequent repairs as well as quad tendon tears and subsequent repairs.
What is the ACL? The ACL is made up of dense fibrous connective tissue that supports the front of the knee joint.
Footwear Staples
“Have you recently purchased new sneakers or other footwear?”
“Have you recently started running to get in shape for summer?”
“Do you happen to wear anything other than those flip flops?”
These are all common questions Loudoun Sports Therapy Center clinicians will ask patients who come in with foot and ankle pain. Each question brings forth additional information that allows the clinician to determine why the patient may be experiencing the pain.
Why is Cross Training Important?
By Xavier Thompson, ATC
Cross training. What is it and why is it important? If you follow the headlines of any sports’ stars in the off season, you’ll likely see multiple stories about how an athlete is doing something besides their professional sport to prepare for the next season. You can find videos on the internet of star basketball players boxing or doing core work. Articles are written about football players taking up ballet or yoga.
What is Shoulder Tendonitis?
By Misha Gilani, DPT
Shoulder tendonitis is a very common problem for every age group and one we treat often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. Tendonitis is inflammation of the tendon that attaches the muscle to the bone. With respect to the shoulder, the muscles that are most frequently inflamed are your rotator cuff and bicep tendon. Our patients will typically complain about pain along the front of the shoulder. Patients often complaint of pain with overhead activities, lifting items, reaching behind their back or pain when washing their hair.
Rotator Cuff Tears, Impingement, and Frozen Shoulder, Oh My!
By Alyssa Burke, PTA
Rotator Cuffs, impingement, and frozen shoulder, Oh My! It’s not as catchy as the original tune but these are just a few shoulder conditions we treat at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. We often don’t realize how much we move our shoulders throughout our day until we feel pain or are unable to move them. There are many conditions that may cause us to experience pain, loss of range of motion or stiffness in our shoulders.
Knee Pain: How to be Proactive and Prevent Long Term Issues
Knee pain is a very common problem that we treat here at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. It can can result in difficulty with many daily activities. The number one complaint for knee patients is pain that is under or around the knee cap. This pain can greatly limit your functional mobility. Some people also experience stiffness in and around the knee causing difficulty moving the joint and generalized weakness in the affected leg. Having pain or stiffness in your knee can cause quite a few problems:
- Difficulty walking
- Pain going up or down the stairs
- Pain squatting
- Difficulty standing up from a chair
- Inability to kneel
Most likely you will also have trouble lifting, pushing or pulling objects.
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