Tag Archives: injuries

Sports Health

Tips for Avoiding Sports Injuries

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While it is not possible to completely avoid all types of injuries, by taking some precautions, it is possible to greatly reduce your risk of injury. However, simply reducing the risk of injury is not a task that is always easy to handle. By carefully following some precautions there are ways that you can avoid injuring yourself.

Tip 1. It is best to always ensure you are in the best physical shape possible before you begin playing a sport. Whether you are looking into tennis, football, baseball, or even basketball amongst the numerous sports available, it is best to be in shape. While playing sports will help get you into better shape physically, it is best to be in shape before beginning.

Tip 2. Ensure you know all of the rules and guidelines for the sport you are playing. Following the rules can help ensure that you can avoid injury resulting from playing inappropriately. In addition, make sure you play with others who follow the rules as well. If someone else breaks the rules while playing, it increases your risk of injury.

Tip 3. Always wear the appropriate safety equipment whenever playing sports. This should be applied regardless of playing a practice, scrimmage, tournament, or even just playing around with friends. The safety equipment exists for a reason and it is very important to help protect you from accidents and injuries. Without wearing the equipment, you are increasing your risk of being injured.

Tip 4. Do a through warm up before starting to play. If you are playing on a team, you should play on teams that ensure warm ups are done before the games start. This helps to stretch and slowly warm up your muscles and really reduces the risk of injuries. Skipping a warm up may seem like a great way to make up for running late for a game, but this is a huge risk to your safety.

Tip 5. If you are tired, sick or hurting do not play. If you play on a team ensure you tell the coach about any problems that you are experiencing and let them know you will not be playing. You should never agree to play when you are tired because it increases the risk of being injured since you are not fully alert. When you are sick, your body is always in a weakened condition and able to become injured much easier and finally when you are already in pain, you likely already have an injury of some form that needs some time to heal.

Tip 6. Ensure that you are getting enough rest. While the idea of playing your favorite sport 24/7 may seem like the greatest idea, it is vital that you get at least 8 hours of sleep a day as well as take frequent breaks to ensure you do not wear yourself out. While training is a vital aspect of sports, getting the necessary rest to allow your body time to heal and recover is just as important. By resting when necessary, you are ensuring that you will have a long and happy sports career whether you are simply playing for fun, playing for a team, or playing professionally.

Avoiding injuries is a very important consideration for athletes and by following the tips and suggestions mentioned above it should help to greatly improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury all at the same time.

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Sports Health

Stretching Ways to Avoid Injury and Keep in Shape

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Stretching Ways to Avoid Injury and Keep in Shape

Most sports medicine professionals can all readily agree that those athletes who take the time to really care for their bodies experience far fewer injuries than those who act reckless with regard to their health. It is really important to remember exactly what a benefit stretching provides when you are trying to decide if spending time stretching is worth it. The exact benefits are almost limitless, however there are some specific benefits that virtually all athletes should experience.

Amongst the benefits of stretching there are the improvements to your circulations, range of motions, posture, overall performance and even your ability to relax after working out. However this is not all that stretching provides, it also helps you decrease the tension in muscles and can even assist in reducing overall joint stiffness that can occur after a work out. The overall benefit of stretching is possible to achieve in as little as 10 minutes before starting an actual workout, which makes it very easy to work into any routine that you are exploring.

By properly ensuring that you are stretching, you are not only providing the benefits to your body, but you are also able to reduce the number of times you are forced to go to the doctor over an injury. Most athletes would rather be playing their favorite sport rather than sitting in a doctors office being treated. However, while most athletes would prefer not to spend time being treated, it is still important to seek treatment for all injuries that occur rather than leaving them unattended.

With proper attention paid to stretching in addition to an appropriate exercise routine it is possible to greatly reduce the number of injuries that occur. While not all injuries can be avoided by stretching, it can help to reduce the severity of many injuries as well as reducing the overall number of injuries. It is highly important to work with a coach or other sports medicine professional to develop a routing for stretching that is most effective for your individual lifestyle as well as body type.

Especially important for athletes is discussing their workout habits and any previous injuries when selecting a stretching routine. By carefully choosing the proper exercises and stretches it is possible to help protect against further injury, and really tailor the workout to your exact individual needs. However, just merely stretching to stretch can sometimes void the benefits if the stretches are not the proper type. For example, if you are a runner and focus more emphasis on stretching your arms you are going to see fewer benefits than someone who stretches their back as well as legs before actually running.

Deciding with your sports medicine team the appropriate exercises, number of repetitions and all other pertinent details of your stretching program also helps to ensure that your entire team knows exactly what you are doing, and can make modifications and adjustments based upon what you need as an individual, as well as what you need to improve your overall athletic ability. It is very important to carefully select exercises that are appropriate for your needs at the time of the warm up as well. This means specifically, if you have an injury to your hamstring muscle, you should give it some rest for a couple of days at a minimum.

This brings to light the importance of talking to your doctor and learning to listen to your body. If you feel as if the stretches you are doing cause you more harm than they help, it is time to rework your routine and change how you are treating your body. Remember, changing the types of stretches that you do is perfectly acceptable especially when you are healing from an injury. Working to keep your body in the best overall condition possible is your ultimate goal and working towards that goal often means having to make adjustments to a routine, often at the last minute.

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Arthritis

Combat Arthritis Pain With A Natural Arthritis Remedy

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Combat Arthritis Pain With A Natural Arthritis Remedy
Howard Tiano

Although there are different types of arthritis i.e. osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis it appears that both types can be improved through the use of natural arthritis remedies and many of those remedies can be found on websites or in local pharmacies, or health food supermarkets that have been springing up all over North America. Osteoarthritis can result from injuries to the joints, a lifestyle that overuses the joints, from deficiencies in the diet, or simply as a factor of the aging process. Deterioration occurs in the cartilage that protects the bone ends and they become rough instead of smooth as they should be. That causes friction and friction results in pain. One of the most well accepted natural arthritis remedies for osteoarthritis is taking glucosamine or chondroitin or better yet a combination of the two. Glucosamine has become especially popular in the last few years for one main reason: it works. It helps strengthen cartilage, and promotes healthy joints. Most people take the sulfate form of glucosamine, but new research shows that glucosamine hydrochloride will have better results.Other natural arthritis remedies include BioCell Collagen, Hylaronic Acid, and Methylsulfonyl Methane. All of these natural arthritis remedies can be found in sources that give information about herbs and other natural cures.Rheumatoid arthritis appears to have numerous contributing causes and requires a more holistic, comprehensive approach in order to provide a natural arthritis remedy. Many sufferers have a genetic marker that contributes to a tendency to develop the disease. In addition to herbal treatments, a change in diet is widely considered to be one of the best natural arthritis remedies available. Recent research shows a connection between intestinal health and inflammatory diseases like arthritis. Foods like refined sugars, saturated fats, processed foods and hydrogenated oils may well contribute to arthritis because they are pro-inflammatory foods. There is also evidence to indicate that food allergies play a strong role in development of arthritis.Nutrients that have been found to be effective in reducing symptoms for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis include zinc, selenium, manganese, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, and vitamin E. These natural arthritis remedies and others can be found in nearly any publication that talks about herbal cures. At the same time, changing the diet to exclude inflammatory foods and eat more naturally may be a strong factor in reducing arthritis symptoms.Whether the arthritis from which a particular individual suffers is caused by genetics, food allergies, aging, or injury, there are a number of natural cures available that can help reduce the symptoms significantly. Combating arthritis with natural remedies can substantially reduce the need for harsher treatments like prescription drugs or surgery. About the Author
Alternative Medicine Resource was conceived to inform visitors of the available choices for treatment beyond standard medical solutions, so you know your options, and can make the best decision for your circumstances.Howard Tiano provides free advice & information on alternative medicine, and can be found at http://www.alternative-medicine-resource.com

Sports Health

Sports Medicine Ventures into Magnetic Therapy

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As research all around the medical field continues to expand, the number of doctors who are looking closely at magnetic therapy continues to grow as well. With side ranges of benefits that can help those in pain without the use of medications, heat or ice this is starting to look like one of the best treatment options available to athletes regardless of the injury. While not everyone is suited to use magnetic therapy, those who have tried it so far have been highly successful and enjoyed the quick results.

Physicians in all medical fields have been studying the effects of magnets on pain, and now the sports medicine field is paying especially close attention. When studying how something can change the healing process sports medicine professionals are always looking at the athletes health first. Using magnets instead of medications has several benefits including the fact that there are no drugs used when treating injuries with magnets. This reduces the risk of detrimental side effects and also helps to ensure that the athlete is fully alert, rather than groggy from taking pain medications.

It is important however to note that the magnets that medical development is using, is not the standard magnet that you find on your refrigerator. Instead, medical technology is developing biomagnets that are much more effective, and offer the maximum benefits. In addition to treating simple sore areas from injuries, magnets are being used in research to determine their ability to help ease the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome as well. The potential benefits to pain treatment are incredible.

Through the continued research into magnets as well as sports medicine fields it seems that the use of magnets is highly anticipated. Doctors have suggested that using the appropriate magnet can reduce healing time for many injuries by as much as half. These types of results are simply phenomenal in a field where quick recovery can mean the difference between a sports career, and sitting on the sidelines watching.

At this time, the number of doctors actively involved in the research of biomagnets if relatively small, however with growing numbers appearing it is a trend that is expected to grow even more in the coming months and years. Many are hoping that the use of the biomagnets will replace all standard heat and ice treatments that athletes are forced to use currently to help speed healing to injuries. While the use of magnets at this point is highly limited, there are many who are carefully watching developments for encouraging signs.

Regardless of sport, magnetic therapy has proven to be a highly effective and versatile treatment option that doctors have to use. With magnets used in various methods, including bracelets and wraps there is almost no limit to the type of injury that is expected to be treatable using magnetic therapy. Sports medicine doctors particularly are looking at the research as highly encouraging because of the vast amount of injuries that they see yearly.

In the meantime, while research continues unfortunately most athletes are forced to continue using the methods of heat and ice to help promote faster healing for their injuries. Once the research is developed further, we can expect that it will be widely available to all athletes, as well as non-athletes alike. From start to finish, magnetic therapy has offered a peek at a much easier and smoother treatment option and while research continues to suggest it is right around the corner there are many who are anxiously awaiting.

For those who are able to see benefits of magnetic therapy now, the results are amazing and provide immediately lower pain levels regardless of whether the pain is from the knee, neck, arm, back, shoulder, or anywhere else. Using the small magnets is a wave from the future and the sports medicine field is anxiously awaiting to see what other great developments are unraveled as the research continues into this important pain relief treatment.

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