Sports Medicine

Preventing Winter Sports Injuries

With the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics just around the corner and the recent heavy snowfall on the East Coast, it’s certain that many people are engaging in all types of outdoor winter activities. From skiing and snowboarding to ice skating and sledding, the wintertime can help make wonderful memories with friends and family. Unfortunately, these activities can also carry the risk of injury – note the recent, tragic example of Formula 1 racer Michael Schumacher, who suffered brain injury when he fell and struck a rock while skiing. He was wearing a helmet, but currently remains in a medically induced coma. It’s important amidst the snowy fun to take safety precautions to prevent winter sports injuries. During the winter season each year, more than 150,000 injuries occur on average from skiing, snowboarding, and sledding accidents. Fans of cold-weather outdoor activities must keep in mind the issue of safety and the possibility of injury. If it’s slippery, you may be prone to falling – and believe it or not, there is a “right” way to fall. Whether you’re on the sidewalk or subway stairs, try to take control of your fall by remaining on an angle and tucking your head.

January 7, 2014

How Yoga and Pilates Help Body Alignment

Exclusive Guest Blog Post, “How Yoga and Pilates Help Body Alignment,” By Kristin McGee I discovered yoga and Pilates when I first moved to New York City in the early 1990s. I was always an active child growing up in Idaho, playing tennis, skiing, hiking, and dancing, but it wasn’t until I started practicing yoga and Pilates that I connected to my body in an entirely new way. Whether we are active or sedentary, chances are we aren’t fully aware of how we are using our body. From office workers to pro athletes, I’ve had all sorts of clients come to me with aches and pains due to misalignment. Yoga and Pilates are made up of mind-body movements, which means that every part of us is fully involved in the practice. It’s impossible to perform either activity without being fully aware and focused. In other aspects of our lives, we are often doing things without being 100 percent present. A professional skier may be aware of the race he’s competing in, but he may not be thinking about how he’s squatting, or whether he’s using both sides of his body evenly while whizzing through the gates. An office worker sitting

October 9, 2013

Cheerleading Injuries

Can you guess what sport causes the most injuries in young women? The answer may surprise you: it’s cheerleading, specifically the competitive side of the sport — which has accounted for more than 70 percent of catastrophic injuries in women’s college sports over the past 20 years. According to the Orthopedics Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado, the most common cheerleading injuries in young women are: Strains and sprains of the neck, lower back, knee, and wrist Back injuries, including pain and stress fractures to the vertebra Concussions and other head injuries Cheerleading, though considered a competitive sport by colleges and schools all over the country, is not recognized by the NCAA and does not have enforced safety regulations. Several groups have emerged over the years to regulate the sport and provide guidance to cheerleaders, coaches, parents, and schools, including the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators and the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education. Interestingly, cheerleading injuries tend to be even more severe than other sports injuries. It’s important to take safety precautions, starting by training with a certified coach: Enforce supervision at all times during stunt routines Perform resistance exercises to gain strength in the lower back, stomach

October 1, 2013

US Open Tennis Injuries

I have a lot of patients who play professional and amateur tennis, and in my personal time, I enjoy playing and watching matches with friends and family. The US Open Tennis Championships are in full swing and athletes from all over the world have come to Flushing Meadows, Queens to participate in one of the sport’s biggest competitions. Unfortunately, some of the tennis stars have had to withdraw due to injury. Slated to be the No. 3 seed, Maria Sharapova released a statement on her official site on August 21 announcing that she is withdrawing from the US Open due to right shoulder bursitis. Photo Credit: Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/maria-sharapova-withdraws_n_3792767.html Though Roger Federer is no longer in the match, he was in headlines just a few weeks ago for experiencing continued back problems. Victoria Azarenka has also been tending to knee and ankle injuries as well. I often see sports-related injuries in my patients; they range in severity. The most common back injuries in tennis are: Acute Low Back sprains and strains Stress fracture of the lower back (common in younger players) Facet impingement Herniated disk or degenerative disk disease Injuries can develop over time or immediately.

September 10, 2013

Tiger Woods’ Back Pain

Tiger Woods was in his final round at The Barclays, undoubtedly within distance of the lead, when he dropped in pain to the green. The moment of gripping pain followed his second shot on the par-5 13th, and onlookers wondered if he would even be able to finish the back nine. The pro-golfer gingerly finished The Barclays, resulting in a tie for second place. Whether Tiger could have forced a play-off without his lowerback pain (LBP) is a question unknown, but he will not risk further injury by playing a previously scheduled philanthropic golf event before the second round of the FedEx Cup playoff tournament. What caught my attention is that Woods deemed traveling and sleeping in soft hotel beds as the culprit of his back spasms, versus playing the sport for years professionally. It is true that you may be able to prevent back pain by investing in a medium-firm mattress, as illustrated by a Spanish study in The Lancet. However, one of the most common golf injuries is low back pain, typically due to muscle strains and sprains, or disk related injury. This is because the rotational twisting force during the golf swing can put excess strain on

September 3, 2013

Football Helmet Safety

There is a warning label on the Riddell sports website, the nation’s largest manufacturer of football helmets, and official supplier to the NFL that reads; No helmet can prevent serious head or neck injuries a player might receive while participating in football. Do not use this helmet to butt, ram or spear an opposing player. This is in violation of the football rules and such use can result in severe head or neck injuries, paralysis and death to you and possible injury to an opponent. There is no sugar coating here. Football is a contact sport, and the number of serious injuries is alarmingly high. In the 1990’s, almost five times as many football players were sent to hospitals for neck injuries when compared to soccer and ice hockey players combined. In fact, only 6 of 32 NFL teams are entering the 2013-2014 season with no injuries to report. This number is simply astounding. The Riddell warning goes on to elaborate that symptoms may include things like loss of memory, loss of consciousness, and dizziness. Despite the warning, NFL players continue to step onto the field wearing one of their helmets, because they are simply the best option. At the same time

August 21, 2013

How to Strengthen Your Back with Pilates

How to Strengthen Your Back with Pilates: Pilates is one of the best exercises around for improving back pain and posture. Firstly, the exercises strongly emphasize a focus on spinal and pelvic alignment. Additionally, they target core muscles in the body that can work together to alleviate back pain and provide strength to effectively create a “brace” for preventing future back pain. The essential components of Pilates are concentration, control, centering of the body, efficiency of movement, precision, and breathing. It’s pretty easy to see how, if done properly, all of these can come together to have a positive impact for your spinal health. Here are a few specific exercises to strengthen your back with Pilates: Swimming (strength) The swimming exercise is great for strengthening your back, gluteus and shoulders at any level of proficiency. Lie face down with your arms and legs extended as far out as possible. Pull your belly button in so it is not pressing against the floor; this will help prepare your core muscles. Lift your right arm, left leg and head at the same time and hold for two, twelve second intervals. Repeat with the left arm and right leg. Complete four repetitions on each

July 30, 2013

Back Problems from Cycling

First of all, I want to congratulate Chris Froome on winning the Tour de France! He rode a fantastic race, showing his true colors through the arduous mountain climbs and astonishing everyone through some of the toughest time trials the Tour has ever seen. Just because the Tour is over, however, doesn’t mean biking season has ended. Biking can be a great way to get out and exercise through the fall, but it can also cause serious back pain if one doesn’t ride properly. I would like to provide some tips to help prevent unnecessary injury. Believe it or not, back issues from cycling can be related to an individual’s body and/or mechanical discrepancies in the construction of the bike itself. The single most important lesson in this is that the fit of the bike has to be tailored for your body. For starters, many cyclists ride bikes that are too big for them. If you find yourself sitting up too high, you will then have to compensate by leaning forward to reach the handlebars, shifters and brakes. On the other hand, if your bike is too compact, you may over-arch yourself and cause tension in your spinal ligaments. Just

July 23, 2013

The Risks of Overtraining

It’s great that people today are concerned about their health and are proactive about maintaining their bodies. Unfortunately, there is a growing trend that could potentially weaken these noble goals, and it’s called “overtraining”. Overtraining can be described as increasing the frequency, duration or intensity of your normal workout routine too quickly, and it carries many negative side effects. First of all, overtraining can diminish the effectiveness of any workout. It can also cause chronic soreness and lead to injury, insomnia, unexplained weight-loss, and other conditions. The question then becomes: How can I prevent myself from overtraining? Get Your Rest You may have heard of people scheduling workout programs to focus on different muscles throughout the week. This is to prevent overworking specific muscles to prevent tears and pulls. Just as we need to sleep to recuperate mentally and physically, every muscle in our body needs to recover too. Muscles grow while you are sleeping as growth hormones are being released. Without sleep, there is significantly less time for the recovery and growth to take effect. If you have been following a strict workout plan without rest, you may want to consider taking some time off completely to get yourself

July 16, 2013

Rob Gronkowski for Lower Back Disc Injury

Recently, it was confirmed that New England Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski will undergo surgery this June to repair a lower back disc injury, which has been troubling him since November of last year. Unfortunately, this is not the first or the last time we will see this type of headline in the news, as the rate of sports-related injuries continues to rise. Gronkowski is no stranger to surgery. In 2009, the two-time Pro Bowler missed his entire junior season at the University of Arizona, due to a similar, though unrelated, disc injury. Following the 2011-12 season, Gronkowski had surgery for strained ligaments in his ankle. Most recently, he underwent four surgeries in the past seven months on his left arm, which he broke last November and reinjured in December. His latest injury highlights the significant injury rate sustained by professional football players. Head trauma and spinal conditions are becoming increasingly more common, and only now are we beginning to understand the long term effects of injuries suffered more than 20 or even 30 years ago. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 920,000 people 18 and under were treated for football-related injuries in hospital emergency rooms, doctors’ offices

June 4, 2013

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