and Sports Medicine  info@highlands-ortho.com
|
1 ARH Lane Suite 201 P.O Box 235 Low Moor, VA 24445
540-863-4444 (office) |
~~~~~~
On this page:
~~~~~~
and Sports Medicine info@highlands-ortho.com
|
1 ARH Lane Suite 201 P.O Box 235 Low Moor, VA 24445
540-863-4444 (office) |
 Why Are Women More Susceptible? |
Below are links from the American Academy of Orthopaedics Patient Information Guidlines that will provide you with plenty of information on how to play it safe!
|
|
Sports Medicine Injuries
|
|
No matter how fit or how careful you are, everyone is at some risk of injury when he or she participates in physical activities. In fact, injury is often responsible for turning even the most avid exerciser into an exercise dropout. Warming up and cooling down reduces your chance of injury by helping your body prepare for and recover from exercise. Though essential to every exercise program, the warm-up and cool down phases are often neglected. Follow these steps for a safe exercise session:Warm-up
Begin with five minutes of slow, large movements such as arm swinging and slow walking to warm muscles and raise your heart rate (this is especially important if you're doing an early morning workout).
Continue to warm the muscles and joints by doing some slow static stretching for about five minutes. Stretch until you feel some tension then hold for 15-30 seconds. Change positions slowly and never bounce? Stretch the neck, shoulders, arms, trunk, hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Be sure to include some exercise-specific stretches.
Begin the exercise or "stimulus" phase of your exercise session and gradually build up intensity.Cool-Down
Gradually decrease your exercise intensity during cool-down. Walk around for a few minutes until your breathing and heart rate return to normal. Repeat the same stretches you did in the warm-up phase. Cool down stretches also help reduce muscle soreness and increase flexibility.
Play it Safe! It's imperative for sports safety to get your muscles and ligaments ready before putting them to workStretches | |
|
The Hamstring Stretch
This stretch is done standing with one leg fully extended and resting on a bench or a rock or anything that is slightly below waist level. Lean forward towards your leg until you feel the stretch of your hamstring muscle. | 
|
|
The Biceps and Chest Stretch
Do this stretch standing up with your knees slightly bent. Extend your arms straight back and interlace your fingers behind your lower back. Keep your elbows straight. Now squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your arms. Don't lean forward while doing this. | 
|
|
The Triceps Stretch
Raise your arm and bend it down so that your hand rests between your shoulder blades behind your head at the top of your back. With your other hand grab your bent elbow and gently pull on it. | 
|
|
The Achilles Tendon Stretch
Do this stretch seated with one leg fully extended and the other bent with your foot flat on the floor. Keeping your heel on the floor raise your toes toward your knee. You can use your hands to grab your toes and assist the stretch. | 
|
|
The Inner Thigh Stretch
Do this stretch sitting on the floor with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together. With your hands grab your ankles and lower your knees to the floor. You can use your elbows to press down on your knees to assist the stretch. | 
|
|
The Lower Back Stretch
Sit on the floor with your right leg extended and your left leg bent and crossed over your extended leg. This foot should be flat on the floor. Twist your body and head and place your right elbow on the outside of your left knee. Using your arm that is placed on your leg, pull in the opposite direction that you are facing. | 
|
|
The Quadriceps Stretch
Stand next to a wall or anywhere that you can use a hand to hold on to something for balance. Bend your leg up and grab your foot with one hand. Using your hand pull your leg up and back. | 
|
|
The Raised Leg Hamstring Stretch
Do this stretch lying on your back. Extend one leg out and raise the other in the air. Using both hands grab your ankle and bring your leg as close to your nose as possible. Your head and hips may rise off the floor. And the knee may be bent slightly for those who are less flexible. | 
|
|
The Calf Stretch
Standing and facing a wall place both hands flat against it. Place one foot about 2 feet behind the other, both feet should be flat on the ground. Remember to keep your back straight and slowly lean forward towards the wall. | 
|
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the major stabilizing ligament of the knee. The ACL is located in the center of the knee joint and runs from the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone), through the center of the knee. In this position, it functions to prevent a buckling type of instability of the knee.
Usually the tearing of the ACL occurs with a sudden direction change or when a deceleration force crosses the knee. The patient often feels or hears a popping sensation, has the rapid onset of swelling, and develops a buckling sensation in the knee when attempting to change direction. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
The diagnosis of an ACL injury is usually arrived at by determining the mechanism of injury, examining the knee, determining the presence or absence of blood within the joint, and performing diagnostic studies. These may include x-rays, MRI scans and stress tests of the ligament.
The initial treatment of an acute ACL injury often includes ice, anti-inflammatory medication, and physical therapy which is directed at restoring the range of motion of the injured knee. Surgical treatment of the torn ACL usually involves an arthroscopic surgical reconstruction of the injured ligament. Although a number of different types of tissue have been utilized to reconstruct the ACL, the most common type of ACL reconstruction involves harvesting the central third of the patellar tendon with a bone block at each end of the tendon graft. After performing a diagnostic arthroscopic examination of the knee, the central third of the patellar tendon is harvested.
The remaining tendon is then repaired. After harvesting the tissue,drill guides are used to place holes into the tibia (bone below the knee) and femur (bone above the knee). By placing the drill holes at the attachment sites of the original ligament, when the graft is pulled through the drill hole and into the knee, it will be placed in the same position as the original ACL.
After pulling the graft through the drill holes and into the joint to replace the torn ACL, the graft is then held in place with bioabsorbable screws or metallic screws.POST-OPERATIVE PERIOD
Postoperatively, it is possible to bear weight (partial weight bearing) on the surgically treated leg by using crutches for the first 7 - 10 days after surgery. Patients may stop using crutches when comfortable. Supervised physical therapy often is started by the second to third day after surgery. Following an initial 6-10 week period of supervised physical therapy, most patients will progress to a self-directed program that is done in a health club. Typically, it takes the reconstructed ligament approximately 9 months to heal. Until released by your physician, contact sports, racquet sports, skiing, tennis, martial arts, and sports that require rapid direction changes must be avoided.For more detailed information: http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05018.htm
(somewhat technical)
Medically speaking, the "cartilage" is actually known as the meniscus. The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of fibrocartilage which is located at the peripheral aspect of the joint. The majority of the meniscus has no blood supply. For that reason, when damaged, the meniscus is unable to undergo the normal healing process that occurs in most of the rest of the body. In addition, with age, the meniscus begins to deteriorate, often developing degenerative tears. Typically, when the meniscus is damaged, the torn piece begins to move in an abnormal fashion inside the joint. Because the space between the bones of the joint is very small, as the abnormally mobile piece of meniscal tissue (meniscal fragment) moves, it may become caught between the bones of the joint (femur and tibia). When this happens, the knee becomes painful, swollen, and difficult to move.THE ROLE OF THE MENISCUS
The meniscus has several functions:DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
- Stability - As secondary stabilizers, the intact meniscii interact with the stabilizing function of the ligaments and are most effective when the surrounding ligaments are intact.
- Lubrication and nutrition - The meniscii act as spacers between the femur and the tibia. By doing so, they prevent friction between these two bones and allow for the diffusion of the normal joint fluid and its nutrients into the tissue which covers the end of the bone. This tissue is known as articular cartilage. Maintenance of the integrity of the articular cartilage is critical to preventing the development of post-traumatic or degenerative arthritis.
- Shock absorption - The biconcave C-shaped pieces of tissue known as meniscii (cartilage in non-medical terms) lower the stress applied to the articular cartilage, and thereby have a role in preventing the development of degenerative arthritis.
When a physician is evaluating an injured knee, a history is taken to determine the specific problems that a patient is having with the knee. Next a physical examination of the area will be performed to determine the site of the pain, the presence or absence of physical findings that are known to be associated with a torn meniscus, and x-rays are performed to identify other abnormalities that may give similiar problems to those of a torn meniscus. In some instances, additional diagnostic tests such as an MRI may be ordered. If the history and physical findings indicate that a tear is present, arthroscopic surgery may be indicated for treatment.
The most commonly performed surgical procedures on the knee include a meniscectomy (removal of the meniscus), meniscal repair, and ligament reconstruction. The traditional method of surgery for a torn meniscus (cartilage) involves admission to a hospital for several days, one or more surgical incisions that may average several inches, several weeks on crutches, and up to several months to completely rehabilitate the knee. This is called an arthrotomy in medical terms.
The arthrotomy method of doing surgery has been gradually replaced by a procedure known as arthroscopy. This is still a surgical procedure, but with several differences. Arthroscopy involves inserting a fiberoptic telescope that is about the size of a pencil into the joint through an incision that is approximately 1/8 inch long. Fluid is then inserted into the joint to distend the joint and to allow for the visualization of the structures within that joint. Then, using miniature instruments which may be as small as 1/10 of an inch, the structures are examined and the surgery is performed.
and Sports Medicine info@highlands-ortho.com
|
1 ARH Lane Suite 201 P.O Box 235 Low Moor, VA 24445
540-863-4444 (office) |
Thank you for your time