Sports Then and Now

Dealing with a sports injury can be difficult. Whether your injury is a broken bone or a sprained ankle, the recovery process can be both physically and mentally painful. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to get yourself off the sidelines and back on the field as quickly as possible.

Ask the Right Questions

Immediately following your accident, take some time to gather facts about your injury. Ask your medical professional questions like, “what physical activities can I participate in? How long does it typically take to recover from this type of injury?” Once you get these answers, the next step is to identify what your treatment options are and select what works best for you.

Find Your Team

In order to get back on your feet as quickly as possible, you need a network of health providers who specialize in dealing with your unique type of injury. For a knee injury or shoulder injury, the specialists at places like Western Orthopaedics can provide state-of-the-art care. When you are well enough to begin training again, be sure that your trainer remains in close contact with your physical therapist. If you do not already have a trainer, your physical therapist may be able to help you find someone to assist with your re-entry into the sport. Read the rest of this entry →

As a coach, it should be your top priority to keep your athletes safe. In fact, it may be a higher priority than trying to win the game. The good news is that there are many steps that you can take to keep your players safe while also putting them in the best position to succeed.

Take a Conservative Approach to the Game

It may be possible to keep injuries to a minimum by taking a conservative approach to the game. For instance, you may want to prevent younger pitchers from throwing pitches involving the use of their elbow. Football coaches may discourage quarterbacks from throwing passes to wide receivers in the middle of the field.

Make Players Wear Optional Safety Equipment

Athletes will do anything for a competitive edge even if it may put their physical health at risk. This means that they may wear smaller pads or even forego pads at all if it slows them down or otherwise hinders their ability to play the game properly. As a coach, you should only play those who wear all required and even optional equipment as well to make sure no one gets hurt. Read the rest of this entry →

Sport injuries are more common than we’d like them to be. While 95% of injuries are typically small contusions and cuts, serious injuries happen daily. If you are injured, it’s important to manage it properly. Here are some tips for handling life after a serious sports injury.

Allow Proper Time for Healing

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not giving the injury enough time to heal. Listen carefully to your doctor or physical therapists’ advice as to how long you should stay off your injury. Be careful to not rush your return to sports (if you can return). You may be anxious to get back to your sport of choice, but you’re not helping your team or yourself if you get hurt again or can’t play to your full potential.

In order to allow the proper time for healing, the correct injury must be identified. Experts with degrees in radiology specialize in CT, MRI, and x-ray procedures which target the injury allow doctors to determine exactly what happened during your injury and how severe the trauma is.

Do Your Exercises

Most injuries will require physical therapy to help you get back to normal. The focus will be first on regaining full motion of the injured appendage. Next, you will build up strength. Finally, you will regain endurance. Find a physical therapist that works around your needs and specializes in the treatment of your type of injury. Avoid neglecting your rehab process. Failure to do so will not improve your condition and can lead to more injury in the future. Read the rest of this entry →

Suffering an injury from activities you enjoy can be a disaster, especially if the injury is serious and leads to prolonged recuperation periods. But the time and challenges of recovery can be minimal if you observe these ways to shorten your recovery time.

First Steps

The first course of treatment following a sports-related injury is summed up by the acronym “RICE”—rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Rest the injured body part, apply ice to reduce inflammation and pain, wrap the injury snugly but not tightly, and elevate the injured limb to reduce swelling. Often modest injuries are best dealt with by allowing your body to rest and heal on its own.

Seek Help

There’s a big difference between minor sprains and pains and serious injury. If you’re really suffering, or if RICE does no good whatsoever, it’s time to see a medical professional. A specialist who has graduated from an online radiology school can help diagnose your injury by working with other healthcare professionals.

Take your doctor’s advice to heart, and give yourself enough time to properly recover. You may need to have surgery if your injury is serious. Be sure to follow through with any recommended physical therapy services to help you bounce back as quickly as possible. Read the rest of this entry →

Winter temperatures and snow typically compel a lot of people to stay inside. For many athletes, this is not the case, and they love to play snow and winter sports. In cold weather, ice and snow, certain injuries are more likely to happen. They are also more likely to happen in Alpine climates and the west and northwest where skiing is popular. Here are five common winter and snow sport injuries and treatments.

Dental Injuries

Amateur and professional skiers, snowboarders, and hockey players are plagued with chipped teeth and teeth completely knocked out, according to the Swiss Dental Journal. They are especially common for athletes that choose to not use mouth guards and other protective gear. The best treatment for these injuries is mostly cosmetic. There are a lot of dentists in areas where winter sports are common such as, Kyle J Frisinger DMD. Finding a dentist in your area that will listen to your concerns is recommended when deciding on a treatment plan.

ACL Injuries

Bad falls in competitive sports or for solo enjoyment, such as snowboarding and skiing lead to a variety of joint injuries. For example, bad falls on errant skis or snowboards lead may lead to knee injuries like damaging the ACL. Damaged ACLs can require extensive treatments and even surgery. Surgery is often followed by an extended recovery time full of special exercise, recovery devices, and intensive physical therapy. Read the rest of this entry →

The old days of playing through the pain are over. Sports injuries can potentially end your career if you don’t take appropriate measures. Doctors, trainers, and coaches now know that it is pointless to keep you in the game with an injury. Apart from worsening the injury, playing through an injury may have adverse psychological effects. Take the following steps if you get injured during sports:

Stop Playing

The moment you notice an injury, or experience increasing pain in any body organ, the first thing you should do is to stop playing at once. Since the umpire or referee may not have noticed it, you need to catch their attention by lying on the ground or alerting team members. If it is too serious, accept the medical team to stretcher you off for attention.

Get Medical Attention

When you experience an injury in the course of play, you need to establish the extent of the injury by seeking medical attention. Your team doctor will conduct the principal diagnosis before making any prescriptions or giving further advice. Don’t take any sports injury lightly, however, slight it may be. What appears a little damage may easily escalate if you don’t take proper measures. Read the rest of this entry →