Health blog Category: sports
‘Do Anywhere Workouts’ – Stretches
School is starting again and your schedules are filling up. But as schedules get busy, it can be tough to keep fitness towards the top of you priority list. So, here are some ‘Do Anywhere Workouts’ and stretches you can perform anywhere without special equipment or a gym. Keep in mind, you don’t need a fancy stretching strap. Some other things that will suffice are:
- belt
- dog leash
- scarf
- towel
For all of these stretches, you will be seated on the floor, a couch, a bed or an exercise table, whatever is comfortable and available for you.
Read full blog‘Runner’s Knee’ or ‘Office Worker’s Knee’
If you’ve experienced pain behind your kneecap or in the front of your knee, you may be suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome or ‘Runner’s Knee.’ Runner’s knee is often characterized by pain behind the knee (retropatellar pain), pain around the kneecap (peripatellar pain) or pain in the front of the knee (anterior knee pain). It is associated with activities that put stress on the knee joint, such as running, sports and recreational activities.
What’s in a Name?
Read full blogRunning Too Much, Too Soon Can Cause Shin Splints
Doing too much, too soon can be a recipe for shin splints!
What are shin splints?
Shin splints, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, MTSS, are an overuse injury caused by repetitive stress to the lower legs. It’s common for runners to get them especially when they don’t gradually increase their mileage. Remember feeling pain in your shins right your first few practices at the start of a sports season?
Read full blogExercises to Strengthen Your Gluteal Muscles
Injuries of your lower back, hips and knees can prevent you from doing the activities you enjoy. Many lower back and lower body injuries can be prevented by maintaining good strength in some key muscle groups. One of the most important groups of muscles to focus on are your gluteal muscles.
These muscles help provide a stable base for your legs and trunk and also are one of the major muscle groups responsible for allowing you to walk, run and jump.
No Movement, No Energy
Do you sometimes feel sluggish, tired, achy, sore or have low energy? Most of these problems can be caused by lack of movement. If you sit still for long hours in your car, at your job, or at home watching TV, you are hurting your body over time.
Without frequent movement, your muscles waste away, joints become stiff, and normal chemical processes in your body change. Your circulation and lymphatic systems slow down causing a backup of toxic wastes, such as cholesterol, that are normally produced and excreted by your body.
Manual Therapy VS. Massage
Manual Therapy VS. Massage, What’s The Difference?
At first glance it is easy to mistake manual therapy for a massage. However, there are significant differences between these two treatment methods. It is important for you to be able to understand these differences, in order to pick the appropriate treatment method.
Massages:
You most likely think of a massage then instantly think of laying on a table of a spa.
Where is Your Pain Coming From?
If you are suffering from aches or pains, it is important for you to be able to determine the root cause of the problem. Here are some important questions to ask yourself in order to determine the causes:
How long have you had your pain?
For example, acute low back pain may be from a muscle strain. Chronic low back pain is typical of restricted joints, tight muscle tissue and weakened muscle strength.
Knee Injuries Don’t Just Occur In Sports
Whether it is sports related or just degenerative changes that occur as you age, at one point or another you have probably experienced a knee injury. Some of the most common injuries are osteoarthritis, ligament injuries and meniscus injuries. All of these cause pain, weakness in your knees and a decrease your ability to participate in some activities.
Ligament injuries more commonly occur with the more active patient population.
Sports such as soccer and basketball that involve jumping, planting of the leg, or a change in direction can cause ACL tears.
Common Sports Injuries
If you have ever played a sport, you have probably experienced some type of injury, whether it be a concussion or a broken foot. The most common sports injuries occur due to acute trauma or overuse of a joint. Acute trauma is an injury that occurs due to force from a fall or tackle. These types of injuries have immediate sharp pain and swelling, and usually lead to a trip to the emergency room.
What are the most common acute trauma injuries?
The ‘Bell Ringer’ Injuries
Concussions are a traumatic brain injury, that alters brain functions such as, concentration, memory, balance, and coordination. When you think of the word ‘concussion’ you probably immediately think of ‘football’ or ‘football tackle’. However it is important to remember that you can get concussions from other sports, and even car accidents.
According to a study in the Journal of Athletic Training, 50% of concussions go unreported, Why is this?
In this study, it was determined that concussion knowledge, had a correlation with why some athletes reported concussion injuries, or ‘bell ringer’ injuries, and why others did not.