Sports Injuries

Participation in sports or exercise is an important step in maintaining your health. Exercise strengthens your heart, bones, and joints and reduces stress, among many other benefits. Unfortunately, injuries during participation in sports are all too common. Often, these injuries occur in someone who is just taking up sports as a form of activity, doesn’t use proper safety equipment, or becomes overzealous about the exercise regimen.

The more commonly injured areas of the body are the ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, and spine. Remember that you should discuss any exercise program with your doctor of chiropractic before undertaking such activities.

Strains and Sprains
Although bones can sometimes be fractured with acute sports injuries, the most commonly injured structures are the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Tendons attach muscles to bones, and ligaments attach one bone to another.

An acute twisting or overextension of a joint can lead to tears of muscles and tendons, called “strains,” and tears of ligaments result in “sprains.” These tears range from mild to severe. In mild injuries, just a few fibers are torn or stretched. Severe injuries, where there is a tear through the full thickness of the structure, are most often considered unstable injuries and frequently require surgical intervention. The intervertebral disc, a ligament between the vertebrae of the spine that works as a shock absorber, can also be torn, resulting in a disc bulge and/or herniation.

Ankle sprains most often involve tears of one or more of the ligaments along the outside of the ankle. Knee ligaments, including the larger external supportive ligaments and the smaller internal stabilizing ligaments, can also be torn. The cartilage on the back of the patella (knee-cap) can also become eroded from overuse, leading to a condition termed chondromalacia patella.

Tendinosis
In those who are training too much, overuse of a particular joint or joints in the body can result in pain and dysfunction. These injuries are called “overuse syndromes.” A common overuse injury is tendinosis, also called tendinitis. In this condition, the tendon becomes inflamed from repetitive use. In the shoulder, the rotator cuff (a complex of muscles that stabilizes and moves the shoulder) becomes inflamed, resulting in rotator cuff tendinitis. Tennis elbow is another form of tendinitis that occurs along the outside of the elbow, most commonly in tennis players. In golfer’s elbow, the tendons on the inside of the elbow are affected.

Stress Fractures
Some athletes may experience a stress fracture, also called a fatigue fracture. This type of fracture occurs when an abnormal amount of stress is placed on a normal bone. This might occur in a runner who rapidly increases the amount of mileage while training for a race. Stress fractures also occur in people who begin running as a form of exercise but overdo it from the start, rather than gradually progress to longer distances.

One final common injury is worth mentioning, and that is shin splints. This overuse injury is caused by microfractures on the front surface of the tibia (shin bone). This is most often seen in runners, although other athletes can also be affected.

Diagnosis and TreatmentSports injuries are most often diagnosed from the history of the activity that brought on the pain, along with a physical examination. In some cases, x-rays are necessary to rule out a fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diagnostic ultrasound are also used in finding soft-tissue injuries, like tendinitis and sprains.

Fractures require the application of some stabilizing device, such as a cast, after the bone is put back into position. Rarely, surgical intervention is required. There is a relatively standard treatment protocol for most of the other overuse types of injuries. This protocol involves the following:

Rest
Generally no more than 48 hours of rest and/or immobilization is needed, depending on the severity of the injury. In most cases, the sooner the person becomes active after an injury, the more rapid is the recovery. In fact, long-term immobilization can sometimes be harmful to recovery. Your doctor of chiropractic will guide this process, as too early a return to activity, choosing the wrong type of activity, or excessive activity can be detrimental.

Ice or heat
Ice or heat can be helpful with pain reduction and tissue healing.

CompressionCompression of the area may reduce the amount of swelling from the injury. Your doctor of chiropractic will determine if this will be beneficial in your case.

Elevation
Elevation of the injured arm or leg above the level of the heart is thought to be helpful in reducing swelling.

Pain relievers
Recent research has demonstrated that some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may actually slow the healing process by restricting the body’s natural healing mechanisms, so they should be used sparingly.

Joint manipulation
Recent research has shown us that, in some cases, joint manipulation can be helpful with pain reduction and more rapid recovery. Your doctor of chiropractic will determine if this procedure will be helpful in your case.

A Word about Prevention
In many cases, sports injuries can be prevented. Proper conditioning and warm-up and cool-down procedures, as well as appropriate safety equipment, can substantially reduce injuries. Understanding proper techniques can also go a long way toward preventing injuries.

Sufficient water intake is also an important preventive measure.

Please visit ACA for more information.

Please visit our website for more information - click here -
or call our Chicago office:  312-269-5556
or our Homewood office 708.798.5556

Not getting enough sleep?

A good night’s sleep is essential for good health and many of the body’s functions. Sleeping helps our bodies recharge and prepare for the next day's mental and physical activities. It is important for the brain, nervous system, and the hormonal system to operate properly.

Although individual sleep needs vary, most healthy adults need an average of eight hours of sleep.  However, the quality of sleep is as important as the amount of sleep. Having enough uninterrupted, restful sleep helps maintain the body's natural sleep pattern and results in more restorative sleep.

Inadequate amounts of sleep can lead to reduced productivity, poor concentration, impaired memory, decreased learning and reasoning abilities, and difficulty in all areas of life due to stress. Irritability, looking tired, reduced reaction times, too much dependence on caffeine, and difficulty concentrating are some of the signs of inadequate quality sleep.

Insomnia is the most common sleep-related problem affecting up to 40% of the population according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH.) Insomnia includes difficulty falling asleep, waking up often with difficulty falling back asleep, waking too early in the morning, or poor quality of sleep.

Chiropractic care can help reduce sleeping disorders by providing treatments that offer the promise of a better night's sleep. Chiropractic adjustments help to restore the natural flow of nerve impulses to every area of the body. This helps to improve natural deeper relaxation for a more restful sleep. Many of the underlying causes of poor sleep such as stress, back pain, neck pain, and headaches can be controlled through chiropractic therapy. Massage therapy and acupuncture are also effective methods of promoting relaxation and reducing stress.  

Without enough quality sleep, the body is unable to heal properly thus perpetuating illness. This may become a vicious cycle with pain preventing sleep and lack of sleep preventing proper healing. Chiropractic care is a good option if you don't want to rely on prescription drugs. Give us a call if you would like to discuss treatment options such as chiropractic care, massage therapy and acupuncture.

Please visit our website for more information - click here -
or call our Chicago office:  312-269-5556
or our Homewood office 708.798.5556