Recovery and Sports

Dr. Rick Rosa is a Sports Recovery Specialist and will be presenting his course on Oct 15-16 at the New York Chiropractic Colleges Levittown health Center in Levittown NY .


 The role of a sports chiropractor has expanded and increased significantly over the past 20 years. From treating the many local weekend warriors to professional and Olympic level athletes, I feel that we as chiropractors are best situated to act not only as the team doctors but as recovery specialists. While working with athletes over the past few years, it has never ceased to amaze me the amount of focus that is placed on training and performance of an athlete’s daily life. This is not a bad thing, of course, as the strides that have been made in sports science are constantly improving performances. But why not have an all encompassing approach that goes beyond the best post-workout sports drink? 


If the medical and coaching staff intensified the monitoring and augmentation of recovery as the second part of training, then athletes could recover faster and train harder. Early on in my career I began to think that I could do a lot more for my athletes as it relates to performance and prevention of injuries by looking into the recovery side of training. Every day in my clinical practice we are constantly looking at improving the recovery of patients, not only in an effort to speed up the process, but also to help prevent exacerbation and re-injury. What if we approached athletics the same way? What if we looked at the workout as a traumatic event and did everything we could to promote healing, not only for speed of recovery, but for proper recovery as well? There is a reason some athletes get injured all the time while others have very few injuries during their careers. I feel this is an issue that needs to be addressed, and can be done so by focusing on recovery.


 Throughout my career, I began to develop the concept of six separate pillars of recovery. Using these six pillars, I have established recovery plans for athletes that will encompass all aspects of healing and not just one. 


The Goal of this course is for you to gain an understanding of all the aspects of recovery based on Dr. Rosa’s Six pillars of recovery: 1. Awareness of state 2. Rest 3. Play 4. Nutrition 5. Physical 6. Psychological Dr. Rosa will demonstrate how to use each of the pillars to maximize the recovery process for athletes, thus enhancing their performance. In addition, he demonstrate the latest and most effective techniques including two awesome new technologies that will enhance any sports practice; Dartfish Software & Musculoskeletal Ultrasound. The use of Dartfish High Definition Video Motion Analysis system will be demonstrated and its use to evaluate athletes from bike fits, treadmill analysis, to basic movement assements. The second, highly favored by Dr. Rosa, is the use of MSK Ultrasound. MSK Ultrasound gives an in-office view while on the field that provides a tremendous insight to extremity injuries. What are some of the new devices and treatment modalities that are being used to aid the athlete? -Dartish High Definition Video Motion Analysis -Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrsound -Restwise -Suunto's MovesCount -Blood, Urine and Saliva Testing -Kineso Tape -Biofeedback, -Graston -Level III & IV lasers -Supplements -Nutrition.


Register Today Course is Still Open!
Recovery and Sports




 

Disc Degeneration in Athletes

Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Athletes
Mika Hangai, MD, PhD
Koji Kaneoka, MD, PhD
Shiro Hinotsu, MD, PhD
Ken Shimizu, MD
Yu Okubo, PT
Shumpei Miyakawa, MD, PhD
Naoki Mukai, MD, PhD
Masataka Sakane, MD, PhD
Naoyuki Ochiai, MD, PhD

Background
Several studies have reported that physical loading related to competitive sports activities is associated with lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration. However, the association between types of sports activities and disc degeneration has not been clarified.

Hypothesis
The frequencies of disc degeneration may vary with the competitive sport because of the different postures and actions specific to each sport.

Study
Design Cross-sectional study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 3.
Methods Study participants were 308 well-trained university athletes (baseball players, basketball players, kendo competitors, runners, soccer players, swimmers) and 71 nonathlete university students (reference group). Disc degeneration was evaluated using T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. A self-reported questionnaire concerning low back pain was also conducted.

Results
The proportions of the participants who had disc degeneration among the baseball players (odds ratio, 3.23) and the swimmers (odds ratio, 2.95) were significantly higher than among the nonathletes using logistic regression analysis. When all patients were grouped together, the association between lifetime experience of low back pain and participants with disc degeneration was significant, and a linear association between the degree of severest low back pain experienced and participants with disk degeneration, analyzed by a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, was also significant.

Conclusion
Continuous competitive baseball and swimming activities during youth may be associated with disc degeneration. Furthermore, the study indicates that the experience of severe low back pain might be a predictor of disc degeneration in youth. The authors hope that preventive measures and management to protect against disc degeneration and low back pain in athletes will be established by further studies based on these results.

Ty Lawson Leads Way to NCAA Championship Game

Despite a toe injury that had basketball fans predicting an early exit for UNC, Ty Lawson has been busting brackets as they compete tonight for the National Championship against Michigan St. Though it’s somewhat unclear as to what happened to Lawson, and his exact diagnosis, one thing is for sure…Tarheel fans are glad to see him back in action!

UNC’s orthopedic surgeon related Lawson’s injury to “something similar to Turf Toe,” which is essentially a sprain of the metatarsalphalangeal joint (joint located at the base of the big toe). These injuries are tricky in terms of recovery, as the joint needs to rest as much as possible. It is advised to keep the athlete off of his/her feet, not to mention completely restrict activities such as running, jumping, defending, coming off screens, and changing direction. So what do you do when the athlete needs to get back on their feet in a hurry, specifically for the NCAA Tournament?

A combination of therapies including rest, ice, compression and elevation are done 2-3 times per day to control inflammation and reduce pain levels. Additional therapies such as therapeutic ultrasound and cold laser therapy are also extremely beneficial. In the most extreme cases (such as Lawson’s), steroid injections are necessary. As mentioned, these therapies are great for reducing inflammation and controlling pain levels.

Though the above therapies are great for initial treatment, there is one more important step for complete recovery…rehabilitation. This includes stretching and strengthening of the musculature around the affected joint to reduce the risk of re-injury. Though the on-site UNC medical staff is doing great right now, and Lawson is playing well, his training room back in Chapel Hill will certainly be welcoming him with open arms come tomorrow.