Chiropractic Health & Wellness Blog

Sports Injuries and Running Injuries

December 14, 2009
Sports Injuries and Running Injuries-


Lyn Lake Chiropractic Chiropractors Specialize in Treating Athletes of All Levels:

Lyn Lake Chiropractic Specializes in treating Sports Injuries. They work with kids, weekend athletes, high school and college athletes, and pro athletes. Anyone that is active can end up with a sports injury that would benefit from being treated by a sports Minneapolis chiropractic clinic.

Many amateur and professional athletes are sidelined with injuries that could be avoided. Others sit it out on the bench because their injury does not respond to ordinary treatment. Still, others are playing, but at less than peak efficiency, simply because their structural system is not balance. Progressive coaches, athletes, and doctors are realizing that pain killing drugs are not the answer. They merely cover up the symptoms, deceiving the athlete into actions which could make the injury more serious and longer lasting. 

Lyn Lake Chiropractic's approach to health closely relates to the needs Quick read more or view full article of the sports participant. Most sports involve body contact, fast starts and stops, and body positioning that places an unusual amount of strain on the back and structural system. Lyn Lake Chiropractic considers a person as an integrated being, giving special attention to the spine, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. 

Sports chiropractic is a natural health care method that stresses the importance of keeping all the systems of the body functioning efficiently so the player enjoys peak performance, experiences a minimum injury risk, and has fast recuperative powers. 

Many world class and Olympic athletes, as well as professional stars and teams, have retained sports chiropractors to provide care. Joe Montana, Nolan Ryan, Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jubbar, and Carl Lewis all utilize chiropractic care. The Players Association of the NFL has officially incorporated sports chiropractors as a regular part of care. Chiropractors have been selected as attending doctors at the Olympic Games and at national and world championships in track and field, cycling, volleyball, powerlifting, aerobics, and triathlons. Lyn Lake Chiropractic will not only help get you out of pain, but will try to find the cause so your symptoms don't return.

"Lifting weights and seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis has made me a better golfer. I've been going to a chiropractor for as long as I can remember. It's as important to my training as practicing my swing."   – Tiger Woods.

Running injuries, plantar fasciitis, knee pain, and foot pain can be treated with chiropractic.

Shin Splints
This running injury often causes pain along either side of the lower leg. Symptoms vary greatly from dull tightness to a painful area along the lower leg. Injuries have a higher incidence of occurrence in athletes starting a new running or aerobic program. 

Achilles Tendonitis
Inflammation of the tendon that connects the calf muscle to the heel. Can be stiff at the beginning of a run and feel better during the workout. Pain varies from dull ache to acute, knife-like pain. Which can cause pain with Achilles Tendonitis while running or walking.

Stress Fracture
Usually located in either the lower leg (tibia or fibula) or one of the metatarsals (toes), the 2nd and 3rd toes being the most common. This type of running injury can be difficult to diagnose in its early stages and can be confused with shin splints. 

Runners Knee
Knee Pain
Usual symptoms of this running injury include pain directly under the kneecap, or the surrounding area. Climbing or descending stairs may cause knee pain. Usually the runners knee - running injury responds well our minneapolis chiropractor.
Heel Pain - Arch Pain - Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis
Foot Pain
Common type of running injury - varies from a slight tightness in the bottom of the foot to an intense heel pain that may worsen when getting out of bed in the morning and then lessen after a few steps. The pain is often reproduced if the toes are dorsiflexed (pulled up). An X-ray will sometimes reveal the running injury, known as plantar fasciitis, (foot pain) as a "heel spur" on the bottom of the heel. This running injury is usually due to an over pronation of the foot and ankle while walking and running. 

With plantar fasciitis, the pain is more severe when running on the balls of the feet. If pain is more intense on heel contact, a condition called Heel Spur Syndrome could be present. Heel Spurs result from excessive ossification (bone formation) due to the constant pulling of the fascia at the point where the fascia inserts on the bottom of the heel, this can be extremely painful. Minneapolis Chiropractors can help with this issue with adjusting your feet, ankle and extremities, massage, ultrasound, laser, taping. Our Lyn Lake Chiropractic Chiropractors would be glad to assess your shoes, running shoes or sport shoes and suggest the proper shoe your body needs to help correct the problem.

Ilio-Tibial Band Syndrome
These running injuries can manifest themselves anywhere along the entire length of this highly fibrous connective tissue running from the top of the hip to just below the knee. At its worst, pain can be very intense at either the outside of the hip to the outside of the knee. A complete biomechanical evaluation, foot to hip, is needed to diagnose the problem and prevent further running injuries. Stretching can aggravate running injuries of this type.

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Running Injury, Lyn Lake Chiropractic

September 24, 2009
Lyn Lake Chiropractic - 4 Most Common Running Injuries

With the Twin Cities Marathon getting close - running is an activity that picks up in popularity. It’s a great way to boost cardiovascular health. However, it can also place a lot of stress on the musculoskeletal structure of your body.

Lyn Lake Chiropractic often sees improper footwear and over-training as common causes for running injuries, along with misalignment in the hips and pelvis. If you think you’ve incurred one of the injuries described below, consult your chiropractor or Lyn Lake Chiropractic.

You may need to suspend or reduce your running routine until the problem is healed. You can help lessen pain and inflammation of these injuries by applying ice to the affected areas for ten minutes every two hours.  Here are the most common problems associated with running: 

1. Plantar fasciitis
Is a repetitive strain of the plantar fascia that leads to painful inflammation of Quick read more or view full article this tissue located at the bottom of your feet. The pain is typically worse in the morning, and then tends to ease as the day goes on.  What causes it? - Running puts an increased mechanical load on the arch of your foot. If your arch is not properly positioned, or your muscles leading to the foot are too tight, you may be adding abnormal stress. 
What can you do? -  Besides ice therapy and adjusting your running routine, treatments may also include adjusting you feet, ankles hips and lower back. Extra Treatment -  Ultrasound, Laser Therapy, GameReady Ice Compression Therapy, ART, Graston, Kinseio Taping myofascial stripping techniques used to the bottom of your feet. Our Minneapolis chiropractors at Lyn Lake Chiropractic treat runners daily and have great success.
 
2. Shin splints
Pain or tenderness along the front of the shin where your tibialis muscles attach to your lower leg. The pain is usually sharp when you’re running and often feels achy while you’re at rest.  What causes it? - Tendons of the tibialis muscles wrap around the arch of your foot, helping to support it. When the arches experience excessive loads, these tendons are placed under strain. When this happens, your muscles pull away from their attachments to the shin bone. Improper shoes, running on hard surfaces and over-pronation of the feet may aggravate this condition.  What can you do? - Avoid running on concrete surfaces. Have our Minneapolis chiropractors at Lyn Lake Chiropractic check the mobility and alignment of the bones in your feet and ankles. If needed get the treatment you need either at Lyn Lake Chiropractic, Sports chiropractor, Sports Medical clinic.

If over-pronation is detected, you may need different running shoes or orthotics. The chiropractors at our clinic will do a free gait analysis to make sure your in the right support shoes. Once your pain is reduced, regular stretching of the muscles in your lower legs can help stop future problems. 

3. Runner's knee pain (chondromalacia patella)
Knee pain felt under the kneecap, accompanied by a grinding or popping noise when bending the knee. You may also notice swelling and redness.  What causes it? - Improper positioning of the patella over the knee joint. This triggers your kneecap to excessively rub against the surface of your leg bones, leading to repetitive wear and tear of the cartilage and recurring inflammation. Improper knee alignment is commonly caused by instability of the feet or pelvis. Tightness or imbalance in the quadriceps muscles may also cause symptoms.  What can you do? - Stop running and get chiropractic advice. Have our Minneapolis chiropractors at Lyn Lake Chiropractic check the alignment of your feet and pelvis. Misalignment in the feet may require orthotics and imbalance in the pelvis may be helped with chiropractic adjustments.

When pain subsides, you may try strengthening the vastus medialis obliquus muscle - one of the quadriceps muscles of your thigh - to prevent this problem from returning. 

4. Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome
 Tenderness and inflammation at the outside of the knee where the iliotibial band crosses the knee joint. The pain usually starts while running and can intensify as your run progresses. Walking on hilly surfaces or using stairs can make the symptoms worse.  What causes it? - Anything that creates tightness in your IT band. The result is likely friction, pain and inflammation. Fallen arches are often responsible. This condition causes the lower leg to rotate inward upon a heel strike. This pre-stretches tissue and makes it vulnerable to excessive strain. Pelvic imbalances or restrictions may also contribute to this syndrome.  What can you do?-  Avoid running on hills, stretch and ice after your run if you feel pain and rest. Have a chiropractor check your pelvis and your feet for imbalances. Although extremely painful, massaging the outside part of the leg may also help reduce the tightness and soreness, Ultrasound, Laser tx., Active Release Techniques (ART) and adjusting your hips, knees, ankle and feet if needed.  Once the pain is manageable, stretching the tensor fascia lata muscle, located in your thigh, as well as the gluteal muscles may help halt the return of this syndrome. 

Alignment is the key to avoid most running injuries. Be sure to have your chiropractor check your alignment, it's just making sure the biomechanics are working together. Correcting the problem early may help prevent a more painful situation from happening down the road. 

Disclaimer: Information contained in this Topic is for educational and general purposes only and is designed to assist you in making informed decisions about your health. Any information contained herein is not intended to substitute advice from your physician or other healthcare professional.  Read Less

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