Playing Through the Pain Part 2

Back in my day, if we got hurt playing ball; we were promptly examined and diagnosed by a highly trained professional. And by highly trained professional I mean the equipment manager. Our treatments alternated between ‘ice it down’ and ‘walk it off’.

Most of the patients we see are suffering from the long term effects of people who just tried to “walk off”

• Old sports injuries
• Auto injuries
• Lawn care injuries
• Sitting at the desk too long injuries
• “Here, hold my beer” injuries
• “Well, there was this girl/guy” injuries and so one

You’re not made of wine or cheese. More like milk; it won’t get better with just time. Let’s face it every athlete will have an injury at some point in time. But it is important to not just let injuries heal, but HELP them heal. My kids sometimes get injured too.

Example 1: Last season my youngest fell on stage and broke her arm having to get pins to allow it to heal correctly. She came back in 6 weeks from this injury but only because she did rehab. She was cleared by the orthopedic surgeon with no instructions; however she had restricted range of motion. Because her wrist was immobile for weeks she did not have any flexibility. She slowly did exercises to gradually increase the range of motion and the strength in the muscles in the affected area. Then as her arm became stronger she was able to do weight bearing tricks such as a hand stand, cartwheels, round offs and then she built up her strength until she could do a back hand spring. She is 100 % healed with no restrictions and more importantly no pain or restricted motion.

Example 2: My middle daughter was practicing jumps on a concrete floor. Not the best plan but she’s a kid. She bruised her heals. She was even having difficulty walking. Her instructions from Dr. Dad were to wear tennis shoes at ALL times. She was mortified. She even wore tennis shoes to dance. We also used cold laser and manual therapy. She argued and fought so we told her choices were to sit out or dance in tennis shoes for 2 weeks AND do her rehab. She chose my option and her feet healed right up and it has not returned.

Other common injuries that need HELP to heal:

• Ankle sprains
• Shoulder injuries
• Shin splints or pain
• Pain caused by common kid deceases such as
  •   Severs ( heal pain )
  •  Osgood-Schlatters

But what can you do as a parent?

The first thing we can do is not do what our first inclination is to do-nothing. Sometimes we think that kids are just “belly-aching” to get out of something. Best rule-immediately ice the injury and have them sit the rest of the day. If there’s still any pain, swelling, deformity, complaints, altered function; if they’ve ‘lost a step’ or anywise not 100% the next day. Bring them in. Remember braces for knees ankles, etc. are not a long term solution.

Why is chiro a good choice for athletes?

We’re not just “back crackers.” We chiropractors (ok, me, can’t speak for everyone) are experts in the biomechanics of the ENTIRE human body. Which means we know if something ain’t right and how to make it right? Look to college and the pros most teams have a team chiropractor on site!

Facebook feelers
– What to do when your kid gets injured
– Chiropractor as a choice for athletes
– Does your kid have Severs?
– Does your kid Osgood sclatters
– My child was released by the orthopedic but they do not have the strength or the range of motion they did before
– My kids seems to always have shin splints
– my kid wears an ankle brace all the time for an old ankle sprain
– my kid wears knee brace for an injury whenever they play

Need an appointment call (443) 512-0025