Top 5 Sports Injuries

Have you ever wondered what are the most recurring sports injuries?

1. Sprained Ankle – which is a twisting or stretching of the ligaments and the tendons of the ankle. Many times this injury can be very painful causing swelling and discoloration.

2. Muscle Pull- This can occur anywhere in the body but the more popular sites are the hamstring, quad, shoulder and groin.

3. Shoulder Pain – There are many different type of shoulder injuries resulting from sports that range from a simple strain to more complex injury such as a dislocation. Muscles that support the shoulder are called the rotator cuff which is probably the main muscle injury of the shoulder.

4. Shin Splints – This is an irritation of the lower leg. This is an inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the tibia (shin bone). Shin splints are usually as a result of mechanical problem from the foot. When the foot doesn’t land properly when running the tension is put onto the tissue of the shin which begin to inflame and causes pain.

5. Knee Pain – There are many different type of knee symptoms including stains of the ligaments, damage to the cartilage, muscle weakness and ligament tears. The is one area that is put under a lot of pressure during sports and when if begins to weaken many of these type of problems can occur.

Where Are We Going in Sports?

Where Are We Going in Sports?
Dr. Malcolm Conway
www.ConwayClinic.com

In the light of $2600.00 seats at the new Yankee stadium it looks like sports in general is much like the economy….going down the tubes.

In a recent HBO special with Bryant Gumble the show highlighted the “New Physical Education” being taught in our schools. What a crime against humanity.

They are proposing or have enacted changes in physical education that caters to everyone emotions. It’s not about ‘no child left behind’ it’s now about no child’s feelings left behind!

There is a move on to eliminate the century old game of Dodge ball. The man wants it eliminated from school because it can hurt young children’s feelings when they get eliminated from the game too early.

They have gone as far as to eliminate playing ‘tag’ in the school yards. They feel that there are too many bumps and bruises caused by such a rough game. I personally thought that was part of being a youngster.

They have instead initiated “shadow tag”…where the kids have to step on each other shadows for them to be ‘it’. This way they can’t get offended if a faster kid catches up with them to tag them.

The genius head principle of this particular school took it one step further and will not allow any touching at all in the school. That means no pat on the backs, no hugs, no high five’s! The kids have to do “air high five’s” which means that they can go through the motion but can make contact. They can wrap their arms around each other as long as they don’t make any contact.

What the hell is going on with our society?
Have we all gone nuts….has political correctness taken over the minds of educated individuals?

I doubt very much that if we reviewed the studies that most serial killers where the ones who were put out of dodge ball first. I doubt that most mass murders were tagged too hard and therefore developed a lifelong obsession to seek revenge.

I can’t even imagine what the Olympics will be like when the bulk of these kids grow up in the future. I can see it now, the start of the 400 meter run. We can’t shoot the gun because that may upset one of the runners (well I guess I’m too late for that one – they don’t shoot a gun anymore).

We’ll have to start each runner individually on their own because starting all at once may be too stressful and may promote low self esteem. I can see that there will be no finish line… “Just stop when you get tired…we don’t want you to get too stressed out about the finish.”

Hey folks, let’s get real here. Feelings whether good or bad are a natural part of life. If your “feelings get hurt” it’s more your problem than anyone else because you’re the only one that can allow those feelings to get hurt in the first place.

Sports promote competition amongst others and amongst yourself. Many individual sports such as golf, swimming, and running are just a few that allow you to push yourself to areas that are needed for you to grow as an individual.

If sports are so bad in developing self esteem than why don’t the same educators drop all grading systems in school? If Johnny gets and A and Mary gets a C what happens to her self esteem? Well then if this happens in sports then it can as easily happen in educations, music, art and everything else in life.

Then what do we have then…. “ladies and gentlemen the Boston Pops now will play Mary Had A Little Lamb….we tried to play Beethoven but it was too stressful for our musicians.”

So where are we going in sports? Sports are about physical accomplishment, sweat, hard laborious work, time away from your family, injury, commitment and competition.

Competition against yourself, competition against another athlete, competition against another team and competition against another country…it’s how humans measure themselves against one another. And with competition comes winners and losers.

Competition drives our society. Competition actually drives our economy…the more hard work and success the more money will follow. That is why that everyone on the planet can’t become a medical doctor, lawyer, physicist because it takes effort, sweat, laborious work, time away from your family, commitment and yes, shall I say, competition.

We compete for money…the more value that you add to yourself and others around you then you are rewarded with more money. Telling everyone that they are special, that they are equal, that they are entitled to have everything without producing a viable exchangeable product for that work is criminal.

I believe in one very strong principle… “It’s not what happens to you – it’s what you do about it that makes a difference.”

Balance is the nucleus to life...Moderation initiates balance…and Common Sense is the engine that drives it all.

Sports Injury & Recovery

For most athletes recovering from intense workouts can be tough. One of the most over looked aspects of becoming an elite athlete is training and learning how to properly recover.

Recovery is based on the body’s ability to be able to process the necessary chemical, emotional, physiological reactions that take place during an intense workout. Company after company are attempting to sell you the next magic bullet to help you get bigger stronger and faster. Well folks I’m here to tell you that in order for you to properly recover from intense workout is to work out harder….

According to Jay Schroeder, worldwide sports training specialist, that in order for you to recover properly you must be able to work at a level between 90 to 100% in all of your workouts.

Here’s the problem….first and foremost you don’t play at 75% when you’re in a live game. You play at 100% in that game to do the best that you can. Well then, why don’t you practice the same way you want to excel in any game that you participate in?

He has shown that when you drop below 90% in your training the body begins to inflame which will accelerate various toxins and oxidants. This can and will prevent you from properly recovering from your last workout.

Another problem for most athletes is that they don’t get enough protein. Proteins are made up of amino acids that are the building blocks of muscle. Without this your muscle can’t repair itself for the next day causing you to develop various symptoms of not feeling 100%.

The next problem is hydration…yes you’ve heard this before but you need to hydrate TODAY for tomorrow. You can’t expect to drink water during the day you are working out or competing and expect the body to take it all in within such a short amount of time.

The last thing you need to properly recover is sleep. With sleep, it’s not the amount of hours that you put in, it’s the time that you are in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep….deep sleep that allows your brain to dream. Studies have shown that to become fully refreshed you need three to four REM cycles per night to adequately prepare yourself for the next day’s stresses.

Preparation for recovery is just as or more important than the workout itself. You need time to heal and if you don’t you’re setting yourself up for injury and other problems you don’t need when training.

Dr. Malcolm Conway
www.ConwayClinic.com

Gymnastics: Learn How To Get Back From Injury Faster Than Ever Before

Gymnastics injuries are incredibly common as the sport involves stretching, jumping, twisting, extending and all of the other motions that often lead to injury. If you get involved with the sport of gymnastics, sometime during your training or competition expect an injury.

Gymnastic injuries can range from strained, pulled and torn muscles to dislocated, fractured and broken bones. Gymnasts are susceptible to both traumatic and overuse injuries despite practicing a non-contact sport, which illustrates the high levels of skill involved. The most common gymnastics injuries are sprained ankles, wrist injuries, lower back pain, knee injury and shoulder pain.

The key to avoid gymnastics injuries, is that the athlete must train to properly absorb force. The muscles are designed to properly absorb force and impact and when they don't that force is transferred to the joint causing injury. The proper strength will allow for the proper flexibility, balance and endurance needed to compete at high levels. Improve these areas...reduce the chance of injury.

Technique is everything when it comes to gymnastics and the same applies to avoiding gymnastic injuries. A gymnast with good form and technique is much less likely to pick up injuries than one who isn't carrying out maneuvers correctly. However, without the proper strength the young athlete should NOT advance to level that the techniques require advance strength and endurance. This is where injury takes place and sometimes...serious injury.

Dr. Malcolm Conway has become the area's expert in treating many gymnastic injuries. He has worked with several gymnastics teams including North East Gymnastics and the Allentown Parkettes amongst many other teams. Dr. Conway developed the Accelerated Rapid Relief treatment that allows for most injuries to heal much faster than conventional treatment.

When an injury occurs to the soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia) most people think that you have to treat with ice and pills. This is old fashion thinking which sets the person up for longer term disability. Scar tissue set in the joint or the muscle making it much harder to treat and regain mobility.

Dr. Conway has co-developed the MyoFascial Disruption Technique (MFDT) that has shown in clinical treatments relieving pain 95% faster than conventional treatment. This is the secret on how Dr. Conway is able to get his injured athletes back on the field so fast.

Dr. Conway understands the discipline and the commitment that is involved with gymnastics. Rapid Relief is what he understands for most athletes and his new breakthrough treatments can have most athletes competing quickly again.We have more information on gymnastics injuries listed in the articles below with lots of useful help and advice.

New Discovery For The Treatment Of Osgood-Schlatters Disease

Osgood-Schlatters Disease is a condition of the bone just below the knee cap. The word disease is a bit of a misnomer because it isn’t a ‘disease’ as you know it. It is a orthopedic concern that causes pain under the knee cap. Originally the disease came from the fact that when it was first recognized it was thought that the bone was diseased. It wasn’t until later that doctors understood more about the condition that it wasn’t a true bone disease.

Osgood-Schlatters is a disorder of the lower front of the knee, below the patella (knee cap). The ligament below the patella, the inferior patellar ligament, begins to pull on the insertion point to where it attaches on the upper end of the tibia (shin bone). It begins as a pulling directly to the knee cap from the large muscles of the quad (thigh) not properly supporting the knee correctly. This pulling begins an inflammation at the site where the ligament inserts into the bone.
The symptoms begin with pain below the knee cap with young athletes (and non-athletes) after running, jumping and walking. The age varies however is seems to be between the ages of 9 to 15. The pain becomes severe to the point the person suffering with the pain will not be able to do any type of impact such as running.

Diagnosis is first by inspection of the area. There will be a prominent ‘bump” just below the knee cap on the upper portion of the tibia (shin bone). Palpation or direct contact to this area will produce immediate pain. Other forms of diagnosis to confirm this condition is X-ray. X-rays will show the protuberance of the tibial tuberosity that is causing the pain in that area.

The current medical research and literature report that treatment for this condition is to take the person out of all activity for anywhere from 3 months to a year.

I feel that this is completely unnecessary due to the fact that we’ve now have treatments than can relieve the pain quickly and efficiently. In fact, I’ve co-developed a treatment protocol that our clinical studies have shown that pain relief can be seen in as fast as one treatment. Many times complete resolution of the case can be in less than one week.

The treatment is called the MyoFascial Disruption Technique (MFDT) and when applied to the area the patient will see pain relief within the very first treatment. The treatment consists of identifying the fascial fibers that have been disrupted and correcting them. When completed the pain goes away, the range of motion increases and the strength returns. I have put out more information at www.osgoodshclattersrelief.com for people who want to learn more about how to avoid your doctor from telling you that months of rest is the only treatment.

MyoFascial Disruption Technique

MyoFascial Disruption Technique, Dr. Conway co-developer

Dr. Malcolm Conway, along with Dr. Brad Hayes and Dr. Hugh Gemmell are
co-developers of the MyoFascial Disruption Technique; a State-of-the-Art
Sports Injury Treatment. This new technique for soft tissue pain is
95% faster than conventional treatment. [click on link for more information]

Doctors to learn and incorporate this technique into your practice, visit Dr. Conway's
website at www.conwayclinic.com/MFDT.