Sports Injuries Houston
The risk of lower back pain, neck pain and athlete injuries can be a reality when participating in sports. As part of a healthy lifestyle, weekend warriors remain active to improve their health, lose weight, and maintain a positive attitude. But, especially as we age, injuries become more commonplace. There are two things to keep in mind:
- Playing sports is a great plan as long as those participate remain conscious of the potential for injuries like lower back pain
- Keep aware of which types of injuries are common while playing a particular sport
Cycling, running, or skiing can create lower back pain, neck pain often happens after weight lifting, and other types of athletic injuries are common high energy sports.
Back Injuries in Sports
If an injury occurs, whether it be major or minor, the results could become chronic if not treated by a professional. Lower back pain can be an early warning of a severe, or even permanent, physical impairment. Back pain or damage to the spine from a sports injury should always be taken seriously.
Lower back pain, neck pain and any other common athlete injuries can inhibit performance in every day life. Damage to the soft tissues and fascia (which help comprise the makeup of the active body) can be an excrutiating and long lasting burden. Studies show that up to 20% of accidents in sports cause neck pain or lower back pain which require medical treatment.
- Lower Back Injury: In most sports, aerobic or anaerobic, the lower back can be subjected to strain. If left untreated, a strain may result in long term damage and inhibit the ability to perform some favorite physical activities. Lower back pain is caused by repetivie use in many sport related fields. Repetitive impact excercises, like running, can cause damage to the spine. Twisting motions relative to activities like golf, and excercises involving weight training contribute to back pain.
- Neck Injury: The cervical spine (neck) is most commonly damaged from full contact sports, such as football. Not only does impact from contact sports cause serious neck pain, the brain stem is also located in this spinal region. Injury to this area of the spine could directly affect cognitive brain function.
- Upper Back Injury: The mid portion of the spine (also known as the thoracic spine) has extra support from the rib cage, and is therefore less likely to suffer from injury. Athlete injuries involving tthe upper back are common in golf, swimming, or tennis. While these activities can be damaging to the thoracic spine, they are less common than lower back pain.
Stretching and Warm-Up Prior to Excercise
Stretching before a physical activity has previously been a common recommendation. However, recent studies have shown that this neither helps or harms muscle tissue, nor does it aid in the prevention of neck or lower back pain. Additionally, it is not a guarantee in preventing athletic injuries from occurring. While warm ups do prepare the needed muscle group(s) for a certain activity, it has not yet been proven to entirely stave off athlete injuries.
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