Why Is There Swelling After an Injury?
Most of us have had an instance where we stepped funny and twisted our ankle or knee, maybe stretched our shoulder too far, or tripped and injured our wrist. These are examples of an acute injury. Acute injuries are usually the result of a single traumatic event. This is in contrast to a chronic injury that occurs with repetition and over time. Swelling is a common occurrence after injury. Swelling is a normal reaction to injury; however, the swelling reaction is excessive sometimes. Let’s look at what happens when your body has swelling after an injury.
Sever’s Disease in Gymnasts
Many young kids that participate in sports can have complaints of pain in their heels. This is more common in children who are actively growing and those who are very active in running and jumping sports. Young gymnasts fall into this category, and they also practice and compete barefoot, which can lead to a higher risk of injury to the foot.
Top Injuries in Male Gymnasts
Male and female gymnasts compete in similar but different events. Men’s gymnastics events place different demands on the body, especially the upper body, for events such as rings, high bar, parallel bars, and pommel horse. Therefore, the top injuries for male and female gymnasts may be different. Current research has shown that adolescent male gymnasts tend to have more lower-body injuries, whereas elite male gymnasts have more upper-body injuries. In general, male gymnasts tend to have more upper body injuries than female gymnasts.
Common Spring Sports Overuse Injuries in High School Athletes
Contrary to what the snow on the ground has told you, spring sports are ramping up at the high school level across the states. And we all know what that means- beginning of season aches and pains. I’ll let you in on a little secret, we athletic trainers see a lot of the same injuries year after year at this time.
In the first few weeks of spring sports, there is a rise in visitors to the Athletic Training Room for overuse injuries. Let’s dig into some of the most common overuse injuries we see in spring and ways to prevent or manage them.
5 Exercises to Improve Shoulder Health
Shoulders are the most mobile joint in the human body, offering a wide range of potential movements and positions they can get into during our daily life. The shoulder’s mobility relies on muscles, ligaments, and tendons as a source of stability rather than bone like the hip joint. Due to their nature, the shoulder is also commonly injured, with 18-26% of the population having some shoulder issues at any given moment. To combat this phenomenon, I will provide exercises aimed at improving overall shoulder health and longevity, with some nice side effects of improved posture and increased muscle tone. A good routine to follow with the following exercises is to perform 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions to supplement your current training routine.
What Does Preventative Physical Therapy Look Like?
Most of us had our first experience with physical therapy after we sustained an injury or underwent surgery. It should be no surprise that we often think of physical therapy as something we do after an injury or post-surgery. But did you know that physical therapy is often used as a preventative tool? Preventative physical therapy may be more valuable than we realize, as the old adage tells us, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let’s dissect what preventative physical therapy looks like.
Common Injuries in the Aging Athlete
More and more health care providers are seeing an increase in “Boomeritis,” a term coined by Nicholas DiNubile in 1999, referring to the musculoskeletal injuries that the aging athlete in the baby boomer generation, 1946-1964, are experiencing. This group of athletes is the first generation to grow up exercising and continue exercising well into their 70s. The musculoskeletal injuries in Boomeritis include tendon, muscle, and ligament tears and stress fractures. While these injuries can happen at any age, physiologic changes with age make this generation more susceptible to developing these problems.
3 Reasons Why You Should Stay Active While Injured
We all understand that sometimes injuries can happen. Most people have experienced pain or an injury at some point in their lives. Although injuries can happen to anyone, how we choose to manage them determines our outcomes. Injuries are often underestimated in severity, and people feel they can “give it time” and wait to see if it will get better. This may work for some injuries, but often people are searching the internet or coming into our clinics looking for more guidance on how to get better, quicker.
