Training Room_Preseason Injury Prevention Tips

Training Room_Preseason Injury Prevention Tips

The Training Room Bulletin The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body Preseason INJURY PREVENTION Tips

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The Training Room Bulletin The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

Preseason INJURY PREVENTION Tips

September marks the end of the summer and the return of the fall sports season. As athletes have started to prepare for their season with preseason practices and training camps, injuries begin to plague the teams. Our goal at The Training Room Physical Therapy and Performance is for athletes to enjoy and excel in healthy sports participation. One of the most important ways to promote this is to reduce the number of children being sidelined from sports-related injuries. We do this through education of athletes, coaches, parents and all those involved in youth

athletics. Most organized sports-related injuries (62%) occur during practice rather than in games. The most common types of sports-related injuries among children are sprains, muscle strains, bone or growth plate injuries, and repetitive motion injuries. If your young athlete has pain or sustains an injury during their sports season, call The Training Room for evaluation and treatment. We’ll help your athlete quickly get back in the game and help prevent future injury.

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2. Make Rest A Priority Kids should have at least one or two days off from any particular sport each week. During that time off, absolute rest is not necessary.  Dynamic stretching appears to be the best recovery mode to enhance performance and cardio-respiratory and lactate responses.  Using self-massage tools such as the foam roller or stick massages will help in soft tissue mobility. In addition, proper nutrition and hydration should be maximized. One of the most important factors in recovery for youth athlete is sleep.  A good night’s sleep for 8-10 hours for kids will assist in adaptation to the physical, neurological, immunological and emotional stresses of competition. 3. Listen To Your Body There is a fine line between soreness from exertion and pain from injury, and athletes cross that line all the time.  Paying close attention to your body and communicating when pain is present will help keep an athlete off the sidelines. For parents it is hard to know when there is true injury or the kids are just complaining about normal activity soreness, so our recommendation is if a child is complaining about the same pain for more than 48 hours, it’s always best to have it checked out by a sports medicine professional. Our philosophy in physical therapy is always to take care of the injury immediately and completely in order to prevent further progression of the condition and reduce areas of compensation. It is much better to miss a few days taking care of a small injury versus letting that small injury linger and turn into a significant injury that can cost the entire season. Hopefully you will find these tips useful and they will help keep kids in the game. Whether you are an athlete, coach or parent you can play an important role in ensuring youth athletes experience success in sports. Good luck to all those participating this fall sports season! If your young athlete has pain or sustains an injury during their sports season, keep in mind that you can get an evaluation and treatment from our physical therapists at The Training Room without a physician’s prescription. That means getting treatment starting immediately and recovering quicker. It also means less costs of unnecessary physician visits and/or X-rays. Our team can help guide you through the sports medicine system if you do need further medical examination.

1. Warm Up Properly This is important prior to participating in practice, training and competition. A proper warm up should consist of 5 to 10 minutes of slow activity such as jogging or skipping. In addition, low-intensity sport-specific actions such as dribbling a soccer ball can be productive at this time. This provides a very general warm-up that aids in skill development and raises body temperature.The aimof this period is to increase heart rate, blood flow, deep muscle temperature, respiration rate, and perspiration and to decrease viscosity of joint fluids. The second part to the warm up incorporates movements similar to the movements of the athlete’s sport. It involves short periods of dynamic stretching focusing on movements that work through the range of motion required for the sport, such as the walking knee lift. This is followed by sport-specific movements of increasing intensity such as sprint drills, bounding activities, or jumping. The more power necessary for the sport or activity, the more important the warm-up becomes. This phase should also include rehearsal of the skill to be performed. The warm-up should progress gradually and provide sufficient intensity to increase muscle and core temperatures without causing fatigue or reducing energy stores. Here are 3 Important Tips To Help Prevent Injuries

Summer in Iceland!

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

WashingtonTownship therapist, Nick Burgin and his wife Vanessa, took a vacation to Iceland this summer!

Sporting Events & Spectator Health Tips

– that way you can keep your hands free for cheering and a much-needed water bottle! 2. Lift coolers and chairs carefully. Many people don’t realize how physically demanding sporting events can actually be for spectators. You have to lug around chairs, coolers, bags, and anything else you need to make the event as enjoyable and comfortable as possible for you. These items can be extremely heavy depending on how much you pack for your family, your friends, and yourself. Carrying these around can create a strain on your shoulders, neck, and back if you’re not careful. When carrying heavy items, make sure you lift with your legs, rather than your back. This will make the items easier to carry and will create less of a strain on your back. When possible, have someone carry one side of the cooler to lessen the weight you’re carrying. Additionally, if the chairs you’re bringing have a carrying strap, make sure to utilize it and switch between shoulders if it becomes too heavy during the walk to your destination. 3. Make sure to bring water and constantly hydrate. Sporting events are dehydrating for many reasons – you’re out in the sun for extended periods of time, you’re cheering, and, in many cases, you may be enjoying some adult beverages. This can lead to dehydration, headaches, fatigue, or even nausea after the excitement of the game has worn off. Make sure to pack extra water bottles and to

constantly hydrate throughout the game, in order to avoid any unnecessary discomfort or illness. A good rule of thumb is to drink at least one water bottle per hour that you’re at the sporting event to remain hydrated throughout the game – although more is always better! 4. Bring back support when needed. Do the stands you’re sitting in have back support? If not, your posture becomes more susceptible to slouching, which can cause pain in your back, neck, and shoulders. Luckily, there are stadium chairs you can purchase that have a back to them, making it easier to lean back and sit with comfort during your sporting event. As an added bonus, many of them also have built-in cushions, making the hard stands much more comfortable to sit on during the game! These are a great investment if you find yourself uncomfortable after hours of sitting, or if you are prone to slouching over. 5. Contact us for additional assistance. Does the thought of sitting through another game make your back ache? Is that cooler just too heavy? Are you unable to enjoy your time as a spectator because you have pain? Are you missing out? If so, don’t hesitate to contact The Training Room today! We want this sporting season to be enjoyable for all – whether you’re an athlete or a spectator! Call The Training Room today to see how we can help you or your young athlete!

Do your children’s sports and activities take over your fall calendar? Do you move between driving the car and sitting in the stands all weekend long? Do you have a grandchild who is a sports star? Are you a sports fanatic; scoring tickets to the next game as soon as they’re available? Do you simply like to sit in the stands and enjoy watching a game from time to time? Whatever the case may be, we want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible while rooting for your team! When thinking about sporting events, many people do not take spectator health into consideration – while it makes sense to place a large amount of focus on the athletes, it is also important to make sure that spectators are healthy and comfortable, as well. At The Training Room, we care about the spectators! Belowaresomehelpful tipsforstayinghealthy while attending sporting events: 1. Don’t forget the sunscreen – and an umbrella. We’ve all been there – you show up for the game, get in the stands, and realize… there’s no shade. Sitting in the blazing heat for hours can cause extreme discomfort and result in a nasty burn. While the sun is still intense, it is important to make sure you bring sunscreen with you to protect your face, arms, and legs during the sporting events you attend. It can also be beneficial to bring an umbrella to shade yourself and bring some relief from the direct heat. If sitting in a folding chair or stands chair, there are smaller clip-on umbrellas you can bring to attach to the back

“The progression of my treatment was consecutive with each visit.” PATIENT SPOTLIGHT

“Prior to making my way toTheTraining Room, I was under the impression that all physical therapists and PT programs were the same. Boy was I incorrect in my thinking. In my previous experiences, therapists only focused their time and energy on the specific injury. TTR saw a whole person, connected the dots, and treated each inter-related system. The progression of my treatment was consecutive with each visit. My husband and daughter have also used the services at this facility. I recommend Nick (both of them) to all that would listen.” -S. F.