Author: yesadmin

Sports Injuries and Chiropractic Care

Many musculoskeletal complaints arise from injuries sustained in sports. Each year we see athletic performance draw closer to the limits of human potential. Understanding the biomechanical principles involved helps us to prevent injury and restore functional integrity and stability through rehabilitation.
Sports injury treatment is designed to achieve optimal results for patients with a quicker recovery time. The Chiropractor combines chiropractic adjustments to realign the spine and help restore mobility with exercises to help injured muscles, tendons and ligaments by strengthening and returning them to normal. If you have suffered from a sports injury, proper rehabilitation is necessary to result in a healthy return to an active lifestyle.
Goals of Treatment and Rehabilitation

• Protect the injured tissues to allow healing and to control the early inflammatory phase.
• Rehabilitate flexibility, strength, proprioception, and muscle imbalance, and control physical activities with the aid of taping and splinting.
• Sport-specific activities must be tested to ensure the athlete can return to sport safely.

If proper rehabilitation is not undertaken, the athlete may be competing too soon, with residual instability, proprioceptive disturbance and muscle weakness and imbalances. Individual programmes must be planned and implemented per athlete. This would include sport-specific exercises, adaptation to new postures to correct muscle imbalance, taping and strapping and a home exercise programme.
Overtraining must be very carefully avoided in all of these phases, and training is monitored so that full activity does not occur before full recovery has taken place.
It is obvious that prevention is better than cure and your Chiropractor will always advise the patient on how to prevent recurrence of the injury on return to sport.
Helpful Tips for Athletes:

• Never train hard when stiff from the previous effort.
• Introduce new activities very gradually.
• Allow lots of time for warming up and cooling off.
• Train on different surfaces, using the right footwear.
• Shower and change immediately after the cool down.
• Stay away from infectious areas when training or competing very hard.
• Be extremely fussy about hygiene in hot weather.

Monitor fatigue. If tired, ease off training.

What is a Trigger Point?

Did you know that there are around 600 muscles in the human body and skeletal muscles account on average for 60-70% of your body weight. So, it is not surprising that muscles are often a source of pain.
Chiropractic training includes many techniques to deal with muscle pain or myofascial pain. When pain is present muscles always go into a degree of spasm, this is a protective mechanism. So muscle pain is often not the primary problem but you still have to treat it to ensure a full and speedy recovery.
When a muscle gets injured it is referred to as a strain. A muscle strain is graded from 1-3 depending on the severity and a complete tear of a muscle, is called a rupture. There is a constant process of breakdown and repair in the body and most of the time the muscles injuries we get on a day-to-day basis are mild. The injuries cause small strains, so called micro-ruptures.
Following injury to a muscle, a bmyofascial trigger pointb or Trigger Point (TP) may form. This is a small area within a muscle, which, after injury, can remain for many years (long after the original injury has healed), and may cause chronic pain and stiffness.
As chiropractors we diagnose and treat trigger points on a regular basis and they can be a significant source of pain.
What causes a Trigger Point?
Trigger points are most commonly the result of overuse or trauma:

• This may be acute, e.g. sudden overloading of a muscle when having to take an unexpected weight.
• It can be gradual from chronic abuse of a muscle. This might be a repetitive strain, e.g. from typing, or from a postural problem such as rounded, hunched shoulders, or a weakness of the core stabilising muscles of the spine.
• Prolonged increased tension of a muscle due to a protective spasm from a facet joint sprain, can also be a cause.
• In addition, Trigger Points may be secondary to some other pathology that may cause pain referred to a muscle. For example, a peptic ulcer may lead to Trigger Points in the deep abdominal muscles, which may persist long after the ulcer has healed.

 
Trigger Points seem to become more resistant after about 6 months, and chronic Trigger Points usually need prolonged therapy and exercises, alongside your Chiropractic care. The correction of hormonal, nutritional and postural problems may also be an important part of treatment.
The frequency of visits is determined by your problem and how quickly you respond to the chiropractic treatment program.

Family Fitness Exercises

As a parent, it is important for you to encourage your children to be physically active. A child should try to do at least 40–60 minutes of exercise each day. To achieve this goal, plan some family togetherness time. Here are some easy ways to reach that goal together.
Walk the dog. Treat your dog to daily walks that include the entire family.
Check out physical participation video games. Nintendo Wii games for example, B enables the family to play tennis, bowling, baseball, skateboarding, and snowboarding, . I’m generally trying to get kids away from the TV, but in this case, if they are swinging a bat or dancing, it’s great.
Bone up. Be sure to include bone-strengthening exercise as well, such as hopscotch, jumping rope, gymnastics, or volleyball, any “weight-bearing” activity, one that you do standing up.
Go to the park. Make going to the park a reward for a job well done, a good test grade, or anything that deserves a positive reward. When you get there, play a fast game of Frisbee or toss a football.
Birthdays presents. Plan a day trip or visit a nearby zoo. A bike makes a great gift for every family member, as does a basketball hoop in the driveway and cricket pitch in the back yard.
Walk to school. Lace up your walking shoes and join the kids for a brisk walk to and from school each day.
Get to the playground. Take the kids to the playground to swing on the bars, climb a tree, or play tug-of-war.
Learn a new activity. Take a class together, such as martial arts, dance, or yoga.
Go with the flow. If your child shows interest in some activity, such as dancing, encourage it and go with her to participate.
Plant a garden. Whether you choose fruit and vegetables or just some pretty flowers.. They’ll get some brisk exercise digging, planting, and weeding. Then the whole family can enjoy the fruits of their labour with fresh produce and cut flowers.
If any of your family experience pain when exercising please contact your Chiropractor. When an adult or child has been living a more sedentary lifestyle the muscles, tendons and other soft tissues are not conditioned to sudden bouts of exercise and can be easily torn or damaged. Having a health check can make sure there are no underlying issues that could be preventing a child from exercising.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Iliotibial Band Syndrome, or ITBS, is one of the most common causes of pain that is felt on the outside of the knee. It is most common in runners, hikers and cyclists, but any athlete who plays sports that require repeated knee flexion can find themselves dealing with IT Band pain.
The Iliotibial Band is a tough, thick fibrous tissue composed of fascia that runs along the outside of the thigh from the hip to the kneecap and tibia of the lower leg. Repetitive flexing and extending of the knee (as occurs in running) may result in friction and inflammation of the IT band and/or the bursa between the IT band and the femoral epicondyle of the knee. Over time this irritation leads to IT Band syndrome.
Tips for Preventing IT Band Syndrome
The following quick tips may help you prevent IT Band syndrome.
Use a Foam roller to release the IT Band.
If you have IT Band tightness, using a foam roller regularly is one of the best things you can do at home to help relief your pain. Ask your Chiropractor to demonstrate this.
B
Replace running shoes regularly
It’s important to change your running shoes, or every 3 to 4 months. Worn shoes absorb less shock which may lead to an increased incidence of IT Band pain. If you run lots of kilometres, consider alternating between two pairs of shoes to allow 24 hours for the shoe’s shock absorbing cushion to return to its optimal form before running in them again.
Slowly increase running kms.
It’s important to add kilometres and intensity very slowly to let your body adjust to the demands of running. Doing too much, too soon is a very common cause of overuse injuries.
B
Gradually add hill running workouts
Hill running, particularly downhill running, increases friction on the IT Band and is tough on the quadriceps. As the quads fatigue, they lose the ability to stabilize and control the knee tracking position, which also increases stress on the IT band.
Avoid training on uneven surfaces
If you are prone to knee pain, be careful of the surface you run on. Graded or angled surfaces often increase strain and tension on the IT Band of the downhill leg.
Keep the knee joint covered and warm
May athletes fail to protect the knees adequately in cold temperatures. The IT Band is particularly susceptible to the cold and experts recommend that athletes keep the knees covered during sports when the temperatures are below 15 degrees Celsius.
Always cool down and stretch after exercise
Use a foam roller to release the IT Band after exercise, when the muscles are warm and supple. If you have any IT Band tenderness or pain, apply ice after exercise as necessary to reduce inflammation and pain.

Sleep Blog

Sleeping problems account for millions of hours of lost work, along with billions of dollars in medication and doctor bills. Sleeplessness has resulted in people seeking prescription medication, life style changes and relationship modifications. Chiropractors can offer alternative, holistic approaches to treat sleeplessness.
Sleep performs three vital functions to sustain life and vitality:

• Sleep rejuvenates the body chemistry for renewed energy through proper detoxification.
• Sleep recharges the immune system, repairs damage done to the body and promotes the growth of new tissue.
• Sleep helps process, sort and store everything learnt, felt or experienced during the day.

 
Chiropractors evaluate sleep complaints with a meticulous sleep history and physical examination with particular attention to the neurologic, cardiopulmonary, and psychological functions. Generally, chiropractic is a good alternative for those individuals who do not feel rested and who do not want to take prescription drugs to assist them in getting quality sleep.
Chiropractic adjustments can help in clearing up energy blockages throughout the body and increase circulation to taut and tired muscles, thereby improving deeper relaxation naturally.
It is important to see your Chiropractor if you are experiencing some of the signs and symptoms of poor sleep. Chiropractic treatments combined with nutritional supplements and dietary modifications may help achieve deeper, more restful sleep on a nightly basis and improve your overall health.

Acute Back Pain

At theB first signB of back pain, there are a few simple things you can do to provide short term relief and give your back the best chance of healing quickly. Make sure you call your Chiropractor to book an appointment, below are tips to help you manage your back pain:
Stay active: It may be tempting to stay in bed, it is important to keep moving as much as you comfortably can. By doing this, you can prevent stiffness and relieve muscle spasms. Your Chiropractor can prescribe a gentle exercise program tailored to suit your condition. They can also gradually progress your exercises to help you return to normal function as soon as possible.
Use ice: Ice has been shown to improve pain during the first 48 hours of back pain. A few easy options are ice bags and frozen peas.
Find comfortable positions: Although you should remain as active as possible during the early stages of back pain, there are times when you need to be lying or sitting down. Find positions that allow you the most comfort, especially when sleeping. Using a pillow under the knees when lying on your back and between your knees when lying on your side can offer support and relief from pain. When sitting ensure your lower back is supported. You can use a rolled up towel placed in the small arch of your back. This will help provide support and may relieve the pain.
Stay positive: Back pain is a distressing and disabling condition, but it is important to remember that you will get better. With proper treatment you should regain normal, pain-free movement as well as improving the strength of the key supporting muscles that surround your spine.

Winter Sports

SportB is an important part of the culture inB Australia, with a long history in the country dating back to the pre-colonial period.
Australia’s mild winters mean that in most parts of Australia, regular outdoor sports can be played all year, and indeed more vigorous sports are more comfortably played in winter.
Did you know that there 5.2 million Australians suffer sports-related injuries each year.
The most common sport/leisure activities related to injuries within each age group
 

B
Sports injury rates peak during the winter months of May, June and July, which is not surprising because cold muscles, tendons and ligaments increase your risk of being hurt.
Some suggestions for sports training in cold conditions include:

• Wear appropriate warm clothing.
• Multiple layers of clothing trap more body heat than one bulky item.
• Devote more time to warming up and stretching before exercising.
• Keep up your fluid intake as the cold weather can still cause fluid loss.
• Wear sun protection, particularly if youbre at the snow.
• Donbt push yourself too far or too fast, particularly if youbre a beginner.