Fitness & Outdoors

Can Sports and Activity Related Injuries be Prevented?

Guest blogger, Dr. Paul Langer of Twin Cities Orthopedics, discusses injuries, prevention, and offers an invitation to attend a TRI and RUN Seminar Series at the Twin Cities Orthopedics Edina clinic location starting Thursday, April 24th, 2014.

Dr. Langer  

 

A big question in sports medicine is how can we help athletes prevent injuries before they happen. It sounds like it would be relatively simple to identify the most common causes of injuries and educate athletes on them and then offer suggestions that are easily implemented.


Why Avoiding Athletic Injuries is Not a ‘One Size Fits All’ Equation

The reality is that there are so many different types of injuries and many variables in terms of what may contribute to an injury.   To complicate it further, athletes are highly unique from person to person, so what may cause a certain injury in one person may not have the same causative factors in another.  For example, a walker who lives in a hilly area but has normal strength and flexibility may develop Achilles tendonitis because of the higher loading of walking up hills daily.  Another individual may develop Achilles tendonitis because they lack proper ankle range of motion and/or switched to a shoe that increased the strain on the Achilles tendon.

 

15-190_EVAN_NewBalance_SHOT0436_COMP03_DAV

Common Causes of Athletic Injury

We do know that most injuries are caused by one or a combination of the following: training errors, previous or other existing injury, poor biomechanics/functional instability and improper footwear or sports equipment.  There is some excellent research that shows balance training and core strength can reduce incidences of knee and ankle injuries in those who play ball sports. Other studies are starting to show that diversifying fitness activities and addressing faulty movement patterns can reduce injury in walkers, runners and triathletes.  Because each individual is so unique, assessing their reasons for injury is often like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.

 

The Importance of an Assessment

To help individuals understand these pieces of the injury puzzle better and what they can do to minimize the risk of injury, the physicians and physical therapists at Twin Cities Orthopedics will be offering free monthly seminars on running and triathlon injuries at their clinic in Edina through the spring and summer, starting April 24th.  Click here for more details.

 

About Dr. Langer…

Paul R. Langer, DPM of Twin Cities Orthopedics is a board certified podiatrist, who specializes in sports medicine, foot disorders, biomechanics, surgery and diabetic foot care. He has lectured at and served on the medical staff of international athletic events including the Boston Marathon and China’s Gobi March. He is a clinical advisor for the American Running Association, and an associate of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. He is the author of Great Feet for Life: Footcare and Footwear for Healthy Aging and has contributed to three other medical texts.

Dr. Langer is an avid runner and triathlete and has completed more than 25 marathons and an Ironman triathlon.  

 

You Might Also Like

previous
next

Leave a Reply