May
18
Written by:
Dr. Cherniawski
5/18/2009 10:59 AM
Practice makes perfect, but can it lead to injury?
There are three primary factors that cause 80% of health problems: being overweight, stress, and repetitive motion disorders. While weight and stress can play a role in athletes’ health, repetitive motion injuries are a primary concern for little leaguers and pros alike.
Basic Anatomy and Associated Injury:
The spine is the primary component of the body’s core and can be injured during most athletic activities. The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body and is easily injured. The muscles that control finger, hand, and wrist movement connect at the elbow. Therefore, actions that involve gripping or forced flexion or extension of the wrist not only cause hand and wrist problems, but also elbow problems. The feet are the foundation of the body’s posture. Running and jumping motions, ill fitting shoes, and lack of proper foot support not only cause foot problems, but also trigger a domino effect of bio-mechanical changes that affect the knees, hips, back, and neck.
Repetitive motion disorders are physical problems that require physical solutions. While medications often relieve symptoms, they do nothing to correct the physical cause of the problem.
Chiropractic philosophy says that if the body is in proper physical alignment, it will function properly. Because of a chiropractor’s expertise in body alignment and mechanics, chiropractic is often the right choice to handle repetitive motion disorders, especially if the chiropractor is specially trained in accessing and treating the extremities (feet, knees, hips, hands, elbows, and shoulders).
Swimmer’s shoulder, tennis elbow, golfer’s (also called little league) elbow are examples of problems caused by swimming the front crawl, pitching fast pitch softball, swinging a tennis racquet, swinging a golf club, or throwing a baseball. Assessment and treatment of these upper extremity problems must involve the joints and muscles of the neck, upper back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand. Taping or bracing may also be necessary.
Plantar facitis, shin splints, knee injuries, and groin pulls are examples of problems caused by biking, running, jumping, dancing, gymnastics, and repetitive hits as in football. Assessment and treatment of these lower extremity problems must involve the joints and muscles of the low back, hips, and knees. It must also include a complete assessment of the feet to detect bio-mechanical changes that trigger problems in the knees, hips, back, and neck. If necessary, custom-made, flexible orthotics that support the proper alignment of the feet and correct the bio-mechanics that occur during walking, running, and performing various athletic movements should be recommended. Taping or bracing may also be necessary.
Repetitive motion injuries cause problems for many athletes. Not only can chiropractic help these bio-mechanical, physical injuries, it can help prevent these injuries from occurring by keeping little leaguers and pros in optimal alignment and at optimal function to allow for optimal athletic performance.