Tampa Chiropractor

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In the past, sports injuries were mostly limited to professional athletes, young people participating in school sports programs, and men participating in weekend activities such as rugby. However more and more people of all ages and both sexes are doing regular sports and fitness activities. There are even women now doing traditional men’s sports such as soccer, basketball and rugby. However the majority of people are involved in such activities as golf, tennis, running and activities such as aerobic classes or weight training. No matter what activity one does, there is always the risk of injury. Injury can be broken down into two basic types, one from trauma such as a slip, fall or collision and the other being of the over-use or repetitive stress variety.

Traumatic Injuries

These injuries can cause the debilitating type of problems often associated with trauma. Most of these injuries are usually to the ligaments, the tissue that connects bones to bones and or to muscles though fractures and dislocations do occur at times especially with the contact sports. A strain is any injury to either a muscle or its tendon and a sprain to ligaments. The most common areas for these types of injuries are the ankles, knees, and the shoulders though other areas can be affected including thelow back and neck. Of course, injuries to the neck and low back can be quite serious as the spinal cord or spinal nerves can also be involved.

Traumatic injuries can vary from a mild “muscle pull” or ankle twist to a serious problem requiring surgery. It all depends upon the degree of tearing of the tissues, the location, and the age of the person. Most sprains and strains are associated with some degree of swelling and sometimes internal bleeding especially with the ankles and knees. With all strains and sprains proper management is very important especially during the initial stages of the injury to insure proper healing and no future disability.

The following is an acronym for the post-injury management of sprains and strains especially if no professional help is available: PRICE
P -Protect the injury from further damage
R -Rest the injury
I – Ice the injury to reduce swelling, bleeding, muscle spasm and pain
C -Compress the injury with a specialised support or elastic bandage to support the injured tissues
E – Elevate the injury if necessary when dealing with ankles and knees.

Of course it is important to get the injury properly assessed by a chiropractor or other professional so to know the extent of damage. Most of these injuries can recover though do need proper care during the various stages of healing. If not manage carefully some sprains and strains can leave us with long lasting problems of joint instability, painful or weak joints and muscles, and lack of mobility. A Chiropractor who is trained in the management of sports injury can give you the proper advice and treatment to insure that your injury will heal in the best possible way.

Overuse or Repetitive Strain Injuries:

These injuries are becoming more and more common especially among people pursuing sports such as golf, tennis, bowling or any other activity that are requires one to do the same activity over and over. Even running, especially on a treadmill can cause such problems. Some of these problems have been discussed in greater detail in other sections of the website one beingtennis or golf elbow.

Basically these conditions occur when we are involved in a repetitive activity that causes a very slight strain to tissues especially tendons and muscles that alone would not cause a problem but done many times has an accumulative affect. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common types of overuse injuries. After some time the muscle or other affected tissue develops changes that no longer allow it to function properly resulting in pain, stiffness and disability. There are two types of factors that predispose one to these types of problems one being intrinsic or found within one’s own body and extrinsic or external factors that can often be changed or controlled by the individual.

Common Intrinsic factors of Injury:
Age – the older we are the easier it is to get injured
Congenital abnormalities – some people are born joint or muscle problems
Previous injuries – previously injured joints or muscles often lack proper function

Common Extrinsic factors of Injury:
Equipment – improper grip size of tennis racquet, worn out running shoes
Playing surface – playing soccer on hard surfaces, uneven treadmill
Improper technique – improper golf grip or swing
Poor conditioning – doing activity when out of shape
Lack of warm-up – not stretching or preparing for activity
Increased frequency or duration – not building up slowly
Flexibility – too stiff to do activity correctly
Stress – being tired or stressed can cause number 3 or 7

As we can see there are more factor that are extrinsic and therefore within our control. However most of us need assessment by a qualified health professional to determine the nature of the injury as well as the solution to the problem as left untreated these injuries can greatly affect ones life and limit a favorite activity. Besides eliminating the cause treatment is often required to stabilize the condition. The treatment might include joint manipulation, massage, therapy modalities, bracing and specific exercises.

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When the body is viewed from behind, a normal spine appears straight without much deviation from side-to-side. However if the spine is observed to have a lateral or side-to-side curvature, the person might have a condition called scoliosis. This disorder often gives the appearance of the person leaning to one side though it should not be confused with poor posture. Scoliosis is a complicated deformity that is characterized by both lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebra often causing a characteristic rib hump in the mid or thoracic spine. This is caused by the vertebrae in the area of the major curve rotating toward the concavity and pushing their attached ribs posterior causing the characteristic rib hump seen in thoracic scoliosis. If the thoracic curve and rib rotation is severe, greater than 70 degrees, pulmonary and cardiac function can be impeded. This amount of curve and subsequent cardiac and pulmonary changes are often seen later in life in untreated severe idiopathic infantile and juvenile scoliosis patients and present a threat to life.

Anatomy

If one is to observe the trunk from a side view, the spine will demonstrate four normal curves, the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral. The thoracic or chest area has a normal round back called a kyphosis, while in the lower spine there is a swayback, or lordosis. Increased kyphosis in the thoracic area is correctly called hyperkyphosis while increased swayback is termed hyperlordosis. Changes from normal on a side view frequently accompany scoliosis changes. Some round back deformities are simply due to bad posture can often being corrected with postural exercises. A small percentage of patients with kyphosis have more rigid deformities than the postural type, which are associated with vertebral deformity. This type is called Scheuermann’s kyphosis and is much more difficult to treat than postural kyphosis. Its cause is unknown.

A layman can even help to identify a child or person with scoliosis by simply observing the person in the standing position, preferably with out a shirt and in their underpants, and observing the following:
One shoulder may be higher than the other.
One scapula (shoulder blade) may be higher or more prominent than the other.
With the arms hanging loosely at the side, there may be more space between the arm and the body on one side.
One hip may appear to be higher or more prominent than the other.
The head is not centered over the pelvis.
When the patient is examined from the rear and asked to bend forward until the spine is horizontal, one side of the back appears higher than the other.

Once identified, the child should be sent to a health-care professional such as a chiropractor for further evaluation.

There are many different causes and varieties of scoliosis but by far the most common is Idiopathic scoliosis and accounts for about 85 % of all cases. “Idiopathic” means no known cause and is seen with equal frequency in boys and girls in the mild or low curve magnitudes. This disorder can be sub classified into infantile, juvenile and adolescent types, depending upon the age of onset. Idiopathic scoliosis frequently runs in families and may be due to genetic or hereditary influences. However girls, for unknown reasons, are five to eight times more likely than boys to have their curves increase in size and require treatment. The most frequent time for the development of Idiopathic scoliosis is during adolescence when children are completing the last major growth spurt. At this age young people are reluctant to allow their bodies to be seen by parents and other adults so it is very important to have this age group examined on a regular basis.

If a scoliotic curve is found in the growing adolescent, it is very important that the curves be monitored for change by periodic examination and some times standing X-rays. In ninety percent of cases, the scoliosis are mild and do not require active treatment though increases in spinal deformity require evaluation to determine if brace or other treatment is required. In a small number of patients, surgical treatment may be needed.

Brace treatment (orthosis) is recommended for both juvenile and adolescent children observed to be increasing with their scoliosis or kyphosis and newly identified cases of moderate scoliosis or abnormal kyphosis. There are many types of braces, all designed to prevent curves from increasing by acting as a buttress for the spine to prevent the curve from increasing during active skeletal growth. Braces will not usually make the spine perfectly straight, and cannot always keep a curve from increasing. However, bracing is effective in halting curve progression in a significant percentage of skeletally immature adolescents.

There is no simple solution for scoliosis. The majority of cases though often monitored are not actively treated. The standard medical treatment for moderate cases is a brace where the severe cases are sometimes corrected surgically.

Besides bracing many other methods have been used including specialized exercise, electric stimulation of spinal muscles, nutritional programs, and chiropractic treatments. It seems that the best results have been maintained with a multifactorial approach to the management of this condition.

There are chiropractors that are specializing in these cases though most chiropractors are familiar with the scoliosis cases.

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