by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | Jun 12, 2012 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care, Sports Injuries |
Minnesota Chiropractic Care | Sports Injuries According to experts, as much as 20 percent of all sports-related injuries involve the lower back or neck. Running and weightlifting, and other sports that involve repetitive impact, expose children to a high risk for lumbar (lower back) injuries. Contact sports, such as soccer and football, expose the cervical spine, or neck, to injury. Though there is no such thing as a “safe” sport, highly competitive sports, such as football, weightlifting, gymnastics, and wrestling, pose particularly higher risks of injuries, especially among children. More than one-third of all high school football players sustain some type of injury. Soccer participants are easy candidates for mild to severe head traumas, neck injuries, cervical spine damage, headache, neck pain, dizziness, irritability, and insomnia. Heading the ball, the act of using the head to re-direct the soccer ball, has been linked with cervical injuries in children and adults. The trampoline and gymnastics also present significant risks for spinal cord injuries from unexpected and brute falls or contact with hard surfaces. Here’s a look at some of the other common sports injuries: Bicycling – Poor posture can greatly increase your risks of a back injury during cycling. When riding a bike, your lower back is constantly flexing sideways and up and down. Upper back injuries can involve the flexing of the neck. And the bumps and jars incurred on the road during cycling can wreak havoc and possible compression injuries to your spine. Golf – Common injuries incurred during the sport of golf usually involve muscle sprains and strains to the lower back. Running/jogging – Running and jogging...
by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | Jun 5, 2012 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care, Sports Injuries |
Prevent Sports Injury MN | Chiropractic Care MN Summer officially began on June 21st, but for those of us with children, the real first day of summer is the last day of school. Most of our kids can look forward to at least three months without homework, classes or exams to worry about, and can devote their free time to sports, hobbies, or that wonderful youthful pastime of doing nothing at all. Summer brings with it camps, swimming pools, little league, soccer, skateboards, bicycles, in-line skates, basketball, tennis, and all sorts of other physical activities. And with the increase in physical activity, there is inevitably an increase in physical injuries. According to the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, the summer of 2004 was a banner year for warm weather sports related injuries that required some form of medical treatment. These numbers all affected people under the age of 20. Basketball topped the list with 1,018,619 injuries. This isn’t really surprising considering that you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to play, and basketball courts are readily available. Bicycling finished second with 820,789 injuries. This might seem surprising to adults who ride bicycles either for exercise or to simply get from place to place, but children often like to race or jump their bikes off of ramps or curbs. Baseball and softball caused 422,000 injuries, many of them leg injuries from sliding into bases. Trampolines caused 248,000 injuries, which is not at all surprising. Those of you who are considering buying a trampoline for summer use should reconsider. All you have to do is think of it in terms...
by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | May 31, 2012 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care, Sports Injuries |
Have A Safe Summer! | Prevent Sports Injury With spring in full swing, everyone is out doing their favorite activities. While you’re enjoying the pleasures of the warm weather, it’s important to be prepared to keep yourself and your loved ones out of harm’s way. Most children enjoy outdoor activities—swimming, biking, camping and more. It’s a time when injuries ranging from playground falls and sunburns to accidents at the pool and the beach are more likely to occur. Sports and Recreation Safety Sports and Recreational Safety Key Facts More than 38 million children and adolescents participate in sports each year in the U.S. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. households with school-age children have at least one child who plays organized sports. Each year, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 years and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries. Approximately two-thirds of all sports-related injuries leading to emergency department visits are for children. The rate and severity of sports-related injury increases with a child’s age. From 2001 through 2009, it is estimated that there are 1,770,000 emergency department visits, 6 percent of these for traumatic brain injuries, among children ages 14 and under for injuries related to sports or recreation. Though rare, traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of sports-related death. Approximately one out of five traumatic brain injuries among children are associated with participation in sports and recreational activities. More than 90 percent of sports-related concussions occur without the loss of consciousness. The most common types of sport-related injuries in children are sprains (mostly ankle), muscle strains, bone or growth plate injuries, repetitive motion injuries, and heat-related illness....
by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | May 3, 2012 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care |
Trampoline Injuries In Children Trampoline jumping poses a high risk of injury for both children and adults. Falling off a trampoline or using a trampoline incorrectly can result in strains, sprains, fractures and other injuries — including potentially serious head and neck injuries. In fact, the risk of injury is so high that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that trampolines should never be used at home or in outdoor playgrounds. The AAP supports limited use of trampolines in supervised training programs, such as gymnastics and diving classes. But even then, strict safety guidelines must be followed. If you choose to buy a trampoline despite the risks, follow these safety rules: Use safety nets and pads. Install a trampoline enclosure — a special net designed to surround the trampoline — and cover the trampoline’s springs, hooks and frame with shock-absorbing pads. Regularly check the equipment for tears and detachments. Place the trampoline on level ground. Make sure it’s a safe distance from trees and other structures. Better yet, place the trampoline in a pit so the jumping surface is at ground level. Limit trampoline activity. Allow only one person to use the trampoline at a time — and never without supervision. Don’t allow somersaults or other potentially risky moves on the trampoline. Discourage unsupervised jumping. Don’t install a trampoline ladder, which could tempt young children to use the trampoline alone. Trampoline injuries led to 98,000 trips to the emergency room last year alone. Children are the most frequent victims, but adults are also getting hurt, sometimes with devastating consequences. The best way to protect children is to encourage...
by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | May 1, 2012 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care, Health and Wellness |
Trampoline Injuries Are An EPIDEMIC! Many parents purchase trampolines for their children, believing that trampolines are toys that will provide hours of outdoor fun for kids. What many do not realize, says SpineUniverse.com, is that home-use trampolines actually cause most of the overall trampoline-related injuries, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has gone so far as to recommend that parents never purchase trampolines for homes and never allow their children to jump on trampolines at someone else’s home.Types of Injuries The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ position statement on trampolines and trampoline safety reports that the majority of trampoline-related injuries are fractures and sprains. Less common are severe injuries, but those that occur can cause paralysis or death. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ AAP News adds cuts, strains and spinal damage to the list of potential injuries and says that boys and girls are injured at approximately the same rate. A search of the medical literature failed to reveal any articles that discuss pediatric injuries acquired on privately owned recreational trampolines. This study was undertaken to quantify and qualify pediatric injuries from recreational trampoline use. A group of 114 patients who presented to the Emergency Department at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, with injuries directly related to use of a trampoline are discussed. There was a 1.2:1 male-female ratio. The average age was 8.0 years. Forty-eight percent of the patients were injured on their family’s trampoline, with the remainder injured on a friend’s, neighbors, relatives, or gymnasium’s equipment. The majority of injuries involved group use of the trampoline and the youngest person in a group...
by Dr. David Lee, D.C. | Oct 25, 2011 | Chiropractic and Kids, Chiropractic Care |
Migraine In children and Adults Migraine is a common cause of undiagnosed headache in children. Studies suggest that around 60% of children aged between 7 and 15 experience headache. Around 1-2% of 7-year-olds and 2.5% of 9-year-olds have migraine; more than 5% of 15-year-olds are affected. Migraine affects boys and girls equally until puberty, after which migraine is more prevalent in girls. Severe pain and vomiting mean that children often have to remain at home during attacks and are unable to participate in normal daily activities. If such attacks are frequent, migraine can have a significant detrimental effect on schooling. Diagnosing migraine Migraine in children differs from migraine in adults in several ways: • Headache typically affects the whole head, rather than one side. • Headache may be only a minor symptom and may be absent. • Vomiting and/or abdominal pain are prominent. • Attacks are shorter, sometimes lasting less than an hour. As in adults, children are pale and lethargic. There is no diagnostic test for migraine, so diagnosis depends entirely on the story and pattern of attacks. A headache diary is an invaluable aid both for diagnosis and management. Recurrent bouts of headache with nausea or vomiting, with complete freedom from symptoms between attacks in an otherwise healthy child, are probably migraine. Some children look pale and yawn for a few hours before the headache starts; others are bursting with extra energy. Some children may experience migraine aura, typically bright visual zigzags or blind-spots, lasting up to an hour before the headache starts. Attacks may last only a couple of hours; parents are often surprised at how...
