Author: Apex Health

By their very nature, sports and other kinds of recreational activities are inherently risky ventures for your entire body, none the least being your neck, spine, joints, and muscles. If you or your children are active participants, proper body conditioning is as essential as the equipment used in these kinds of activities.

High-risk sports

Though there is no such thing as a “safe” sport, highly competitive sports, such as football, weightlifting, gymnastics, and wrestling, pose particularly higher risks of injuries, especially among children.

According to experts, as much as 20 percent of all sports-related injuries involve the lower back or neck. Running and weightlifting, and other sports that involve repetitive impact, expose children to a high risk for lumbar (lower back) injuries. Contact sports, such as soccer and football, expose the cervical spine (neck) to injury. More than one-third of all high school football players sustain some type of injury. Soccer participants are easy candidates for mild to severe head traumas, neck injuries, cervical spine damage, headache, neck pain, dizziness, irritability, and insomnia. Heading the ball, the act of using the head to re-direct the soccer ball, has been linked with cervical injuries in children and adults. The trampoline and gymnastics also present significant risks for spinal cord injuries from unexpected and brute falls or contact with hard surfaces

Proper conditioning

There is no substitute for proper conditioning, both long-term and just before play, and its role in preventing injury or minimizing the impact of injuries sustained during participation.

Here are some warm-up tips:

• Low-impact activities, such as walking, will help gradually increase the flow of warmed blood to the muscles and ligaments of the back. This helps to prepare those muscles for the work they’ll be called on to do during the activity.
• To prepare for winter sports, such as skiing, skating, sledding, and tobogganing, do simple squats, lunges, and knee-to-chest stretches.
• Simple lower-back and upper back stretches, as well as hamstring and quadriceps stretches, can help you stay flexible and limber.
• After you have finished playing, don’t ever neglect the all-important cool-down, which allows your muscles to return to their normal relaxed state. Without this important step, you run the risk of having your muscles tighten up or cramp

Treating injuries

Even so-called minor sports-related injuries may require that you seek medical treatment.

For minor injuries, such as sprains or strains, follow the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) protocol. Apply ice on the site of a minor sprain or bruise at least until any noticeable swelling has dissipated. Avoid keeping ice applied for more than 20 minutes because ice can actually begin wearing out your blood vessels, which in turn, increases the likelihood of additional swelling. After an hour has passed, re-apply an ice pack to the site if pain or swelling has not gone away. Make sure to contact your physician if pain or swelling persists.

Tips for your kids:

• Always strive to maintain the recommended weight for your child’s age and size‚ not the rigors of the sport.
• Be wary of so-called energy or power bars. Don’t allow your child to load up on candy bars or carbonated drinks before or during a game. These foods will sap energy. Sports drinks are a better alternative.
• Encourage proper conditioning, including a supervised weight-training program.
• Ensure your child is well-rested before an event. A tired body is much more prone to suffering an injury.
• Insist on warm-up exercises before any sports activity.
• Invest in and wear proper equipment, including safety equipment such as mouth guards, shatterproof goggles, and elbow and kneepads. If any equipment is excessively worn, replace it immediately.

Never forget the importance of proper nutrition (avoid high-fat foods, such as candy bars and fast food) and hydration (at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day).

A whole host of things can go wrong with a vertebral disc over a lifetime. A traumatic injury can crush or misplace a disc. An excessive pulling or lifting accident at home or on the job can force a disc out of position. And for some of us, simply getting older can cause a disc to deteriorate. This is usually called degenerative disc disease.

The vast majority of disc injuries occur in the lower back or lumbar region. When a damaged lumbar disc presses on a nerve root, it can cause radiating pain, numbness, and weakness in other areas of the body, including the buttocks, leg, ankles, and toes. Ironically, in many cases, a person with a herniated disc will not feel back or neck pain.

Cervical (neck) discs that have herniated can cause radiating pain and numbness down an arm and into the wrist and hand. Other types of symptoms include shoulder pain and numbness, as well as muscle and reflex weakness.

Chiropractic care entails a conservative, non-surgical approach to treating disc injuries and other disc-related problems, and is often a course of treatment prior to any surgery if recommended by a primary care physician or surgeon. And in other cases, disc injuries may heal themselves without any intervention.

Before undertaking any course of chiropractic treatment for a disc problem or injury, patients are thoroughly examined. This examination includes such things as analysis of posture, limb measurements, and pelvic balance, gait, and reflex analyses. It is important to know whether the disc problem is a result of an injury or disease. If more information is needed, a diagnostic test, such as an MRI or X-ray, may be required to accurately pinpoint the source of the problem.

Treatments may include spinal adjustment or manipulation, and therapies, such as electrotherapy and ice/heat therapy.

Specific techniques for treating disc injury include:

• Flexion-distraction – The patient lies on a specialized table that gently stretches the spine, allowing the chiropractor to pinpoint the affected disc while slightly flexing the spine. These procedures gently move the disc away from an affected nerve, slowing or eliminating inflammation, and pain.
• Pelvic blocking – This method employs cushioned wedges that are placed under each side of the hips. The chiropractor gently maneuvers the pelvic area, allowing gravity to pull the disc away from the affected nerve.

There are hundreds of ways (some subtle and some readily apparent) that we can injure ourselves working or relaxing in and around the home. By not following basic safety precautions and just simple common sense, we put our health at risk doing even the simplest of tasks.

The following are some simple tips to follow.

• Avoid cradling the phone between your neck and shoulder. This can lock up the spinal joints in the neck and upper back. Consider a speakerphone or wireless headset.
• If you need to turn to carry what you’ve picked up, step in the direction of the turn to avoid twisting your body and straining your spine. Raise one foot slightly when standing doing ironing, or rest one foot on a small step stool or box.
• Standing for long periods of time, during dishwashing, for example, can put a great deal of strain on your neck, back, knees, and feet. When standing at the sink, rest one foot on the inside cabinet below the sink and bend the knee on that leg. This will take some of the pressure off.
• Use pillows or some other firm support when sitting in a chair or couch watching television. Don’t use the arm of the chair or couch for a headrest. This strains your neck.
• When lifting, don’t bend from the waist. Squat down by bending both knees, keeping your back straight. This way, you are using your arms and shoulders, not your back, to do the lifting.
• When vacuuming, use the “fencer’s stance” by putting all of your weight on one foot while stepping back and forward with your other. Use the back foot as a pivot when you need to turn

Gardening

• Make sure your body is properly conditioned when doing outside work. Warmed-up muscles will be less likely to tighten up or snap when under the strains of bending, pulling, pushing, reaching, or stooping. You can warm up by taking a brisk walk or doing simple stretching exercises, such as knee-to-chest pulls, trunk rotations, and side bends with hands above your head and fingers locked.
• Always carry objects close to your body, near your center of gravity. This minimizes the strain to your lower back and neck.
• Change positions if you’re involved in doing a task such as kneeling or sitting. This will improve your circulation and mobility. Don’t overdo it. Alternate between several tasks to keep yourself alert, and take regular rest breaks.
• Let your arms, legs, and thighs (not your back) do the work when lifting heavy items, such as bags of mulch or dirt. Bend and straighten at the knees instead of your back and hips. Never pick up a load that causes you to grunt, this is your body telling you that you’re overdoing it.
• The longer the handle on your garden tools, the greater leverage you have, and the less force and twisting motions you need to perform routine tasks. Imagine having to rake leaves with a six-inch handle. The longer the handle, the less work, and strain. This is especially true for chores involving raking, digging, pushing, and mowing. When doing ground-level chores, such as weeding or planting, do not repeatedly bend over. Rather, get close to the ground by either kneeling or sitting (foam pads or small benches are made especially for these kinds of chores). When doing prolonged tasks, such as raking, hoeing, or digging, frequently switch hands. This helps to maximize the amount of energy reserves you use in muscles on both sides of your body.
• Repetitive motion on one side of your body can lead to serious problems, such as muscle spasms in the neck, shoulder, and lower back. When you stand up after crouching or kneeling for a long period of time, do so slowly and gently to avoid muscle pulls or even joint dislocations. Straighten your legs at the knees, and do not lift your torso at the waist.

Mowing

• If you have asthma or allergies, wear a mask.
• Stand as straight as possible, and keep your head up as you rake or mow.
• Try to mow during the early morning and early evening hours, when the sun is not so hot.
• Drink plenty of liquids to keep your muscles hydrated.
• Protect yourself by wearing a hat, shoes, earplugs, and protective glasses.
• Use as much as your body weight as possible to move your mower (unless it is self-propelled). This will minimize excessive strain to your arms and back.
• When picking up piles of leaves or grass from the grass catcher, bend at your knees, not at your waist.
• When raking leaves, use a “scissors” stance. This entails keeping your right foot forward and left foot back for a few minutes. Occasionally switch by putting your left foot forward and right foot back. Always bend at your knees, not the waist, as you pick up leaves. Make piles small to minimize the possibility of straining your back.

Be ready to provide your medical history, which will be essential for preparing a course of treatment for you. Medical records, such as diagnostic test results, or imaging results, such as X-rays and MRIs, also will provide important information about your condition.

Certain things in your health history are particularly vital to a chiropractor. This information could provide important clues that will allow your chiropractor to properly diagnose your problem. Such clues include whether you have or have had:

• Bone disorders, such as osteoporosis
• Circulatory problems (poor circulation could be a sign that you have a subluxation, for example)
• Dizziness or blurred vision
• Heart conditions such as hypertension or high blood pressure
• Infections, especially those affecting your spine
• Injuries, such as bone fractures, muscle sprains, or disc injuries
• Joint disorders such as arthritis
• Sleep apnea

Be prepared to answer such questions as:

• Did the onset of your pain immediately follow an injury?
• Is there anything you do that improves or worsens the pain?
• When and how did your pain start?
• Where is the pain centered?

The physical exam

Here’s what to expect:

The first order of business is checking your vital signs, reflexes, and blood pressure.

Sometimes measurements will be taken to determine arm and leg length. Next, you will be asked to do a series of simple and easy activities or exercises. These exercises will provide information about your motor skills, balance, and gait, among others. These tests also help determine your range of motion, muscle tone and strength, and integrity of your nervous system. Any abnormalities could provide clues about a condition. You may be asked to:

• Bend forward, sideways, or backwards – Misaligned spinal vertebrae can sometimes be detected during this exercise.
• Flex and extend your leg – This is a test for signs of sprain and helps determine the integrity of your joints (also called the “Yeoman’s Test”).
• Grip something such as a rubber ball – Your grip strength is vital for showing signs of muscular or nerve damage.
• Lie down and raise one leg – This is often referred to as the “Thomas Test,” in which the chiropractor gently pushes on your raised leg to check for hip joint mobility.
• Stand and raise one leg – This test can sometimes show whether you have sciatica, a nerve disorder in your lower back. Another test may involve pushing on your raised leg to determine whether you have pain, inflammation, or imbalance in the joints between your spinal vertebrae. (This is also called the “Psoas Muscle Test.”)
• Stand or sit – Posture can sometimes show whether you have misalignments in your spine.
• Walk a straight line – This test measures your gait, and helps to determine if you have a normal walking pattern.
• Walking in Place – Abnormalities in the way your pelvis and spine coordinate can be seen during this test.

Next, a short physical exam by the chiropractor will involve palpation, or use of the hands, to explore the alignment of your spine and other structures, as well as provide information on any stimuli that may cause pain. Depending on your condition, a series of diagnostic tests may follow. These tests may include MRIs, CT scans, X-rays, blood work, and other laboratory tests.

The chiropractor may also consult with you about making important lifestyle changes, such as exercise, nutrition, and smoking cessation to improve your chances of healing faster or preventing further injury.

While many have heard of it, few know very much about it. Yet acupuncture is one of the oldest healing arts in the world, practiced centuries ago by ancient Chinese as a method of curing a host of ailments.

Today, Americans make as many as 12 million visits per year to acupuncture practitioners, according to the most recent statistics from the Food and Drug Administration. Many people who have experienced acupuncture report relief from pain and a sense of euphoria or well being.

There are currently more than 10,000 certified acupuncturists, one-third of them physicians practicing in this country.

Acupuncture involves the application of extremely fine needles into one or more of the 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body. These points are said to link 12 main and 8 secondary pathways. These channels, or pathways, are called ‚Äúmeridians.” The meridians are believed to conduct energy between the body’s skin and internal organs. Part of the controversy surrounding acupuncture stems from the fact that scientists cannot correlate the 20 pathways, or meridians, with the human body’s blood circulation and nerve paths.

Nevertheless, acupuncture theory holds that energy conducted by meridians, also called qi (pronounced “chee”), is known to coordinate the balance between one’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical state. Acupuncture is believed to help in balancing the opposing forces called yin and yang. A healthy person’s yin and yang are said to be in a state of harmony.

Acupuncture has about as many critics as it does advocates. Medical researchers have shown in dozens of high profile studies, however, that acupuncture can be an effective alternate treatment for a myriad of health problems from central nervous system-related conditions and immune system response.

Acupuncture is known to have a profound impact on pain. The theory is that the application of fine needles in acupuncture points stimulates the release of chemicals, such as endorphins or opiates, which dull or alleviate pain while releasing hormones, neurotransmitters, and other chemicals that aid in healing or regulating things, such as blood pressure.

Evidence has shown that the body’s 2,000-plus acupuncture points do conduct electricity, and this flow of current may play a role in triggering the release of helpful chemicals in the body to where they are needed most.

Does acupuncture hurt?

Acupuncture needles are so incredibly small and thin (up to 50 times thinner than a standard hypodermic needle), they are barely noticeable when inserted. Some people who experience acupuncture report feeling nothing at all; others report feeling a mild discomfort, followed by a mild sensation of cramping, tingling, numbness, warmth, or heaviness. Acupuncture needles are normally left in place for 20 to 40 minutes.

Acupressure, another alternative therapy rooted in ancient Eastern medicine, involves exerting pressure on specific body points by use of the fingers of the hand, palm, or elbows.