Orthopedics in Denver: A Look at Some Common Sports-related Injuries

Things have been rough for the Denver Nuggets so far this year, but General Manager Tim Connelly is hopeful for the next season. In an interview with The Press Box, Connelly said that this season’s challenges gave him a better idea of his players’ strengths and weaknesses and how to better manage the Nuggets’ roster in the future.

These athletic injuries aren’t exactly surprising as far Denver sports medicine centers like Steadman Hawkins Clinic-Denver are concerned. In particular, basketball players often face risks like sprains and fractures in the lower extremities. In fact, ankle or foot injuries account for about 38 percent of all injuries sustained in this sport. According to a study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy in 2013, ankle sprains are also the second most common sports injury in U.S. high-schools, and are 47 percent more likely to occur in practice than in an actual game.

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Why a Fellowship-Trained Denver Orthopedic Surgeon is One of the Best

From a patient’s perspective, this means that a surgeon understands all the injuries that applies to a specific part of the body inside out. For example, if you have a knee injury and have it evaluated by a fellowship-trained Denver orthopedic surgeons, you are dealing with a professional who’s fully trained to be one of the most knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced in that particular area.

Trusted orthopedic facilities like Steadman Hawkins Clinic-Denver have physicians who are fellowship-trained in their areas of expertise, and they don’t let their education stop there. They make sure to stay up-to-date in their respective fields so they can continually provide patients with the latest and the best in orthopedic surgery.

http://shcdenver.wordpress.com/2014/07/11/why-a-fellowship-trained-denver-orthopedic-surgeon-is-one-of-the-best/

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Denver Sports Medicine: Five Good Reasons to Run in Denver this Summer

Make sure to wear shoes that are in good condition and which fit your feet properly. Worn-out shoes will not give your body the right amount of support, and ill-fitting shoes won’t give you enough toe room. Both of these have the potential to cause you various injuries.

In case of injury

If you get hurt, the first thing to do is to stop the activity. For mild sprains and other minor injuries, the RICE protocol (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) will often suffice. However, if the pain level becomes severe, it may be time to see a doctor. Visit a Denver orthopedics center, such as Steadman Hawkins Clinic-Denver, right away to have your injury examined.

http://shcdenver.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/denver-sports-medicine-five-good-reasons-to-run-in-denver-this-summer/

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Common Sports Injuries Athletes Experience

Regular physical activity—such as playing sports, for instance—offers many health benefits, like staving off heart disease and even boosting one’s metabolism to keep off excess fat. Unfortunately, sports injuries are all too common and can cause severe discomfort or even permanent disability. Here’s a look at the most common sports injuries.

Achilles Tendonitis

The bane of runners everywhere, Achilles tendonitis occurs when the tendon behind the ankle is overused and becomes inflamed as a result. If not treated, the condition may become chronic until the athlete can no longer run.

Sprains and Strains

Bones and joints are connected by ligaments, and things like falling, twisting or being hit can stretch or tear a ligament. When this happens, pain, swelling, or bruising usually follows, making it hard to move the injured body part. Strains exhibit similar symptoms but occur whenever a muscle or tendon is stretched or pulled instead.

Concussions

When you receive a blow to the head, your brain might move violently within your skull, an injury called a concussion. Concussions can be caused by falling and hitting your head on something hard, or when a fast-flying object strikes your head. Those who engage in contact sports like football are prone to this injury.

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Common Household Injuries during Winter

Over 250 people a day were hurt between November 1 and end of December in 2012 due to holiday accidents. Almost a third of these accidents involved victims falling off ladders. Many other victims injured their necks or backs.

It pays to know the common winter injuries so you will know what to avoid. Here are some of them:

• You could break your wrist, hand, ankle, or other bone in the body if you fall off a ladder while trying to remove snow from a roof. It is also possible to tear a meniscus in the knee or dislocate a joint such as a shoulder or hip bone.
• You could herniate a disc or strain a neck or back muscle while shoveling snow from the driveway or the sidewalk.
• Planning to remove snow from your property quickly? This increased activity may lead to an impingement in the shoulder or acute tendinitis in the knee.

Household safety should always be a major consideration during the cold season. If you do end up with an injury during the winter, don’t allow the condition to worsen. Visit a reputable orthopedic center as soon as possible so a doctor can evaluate your injury and recommend the appropriate treatment.

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ACL Recovery Stories Provide Hope to Athletes

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a non-elastic fibrous band located within a person’s knee that connects the thighbone to the leg bone. The ligament provides stability to the entire knee and restricts the knee joint from bending backwards.

Due to the ACL’s non-elastic nature, it is susceptible to tearing. A torn ACL is actually a common injury. According to surveys, 250,000 Americans suffer from torn ACLs every year, while according to medical experts, most of these torn ACL cases were sustained through sports or sports-related activities.

It was not too long ago that ACL tears were considered the ultimate career-killing injury in sports. Today, however, ACL tears are no longer considered the career-killing injury they used to be thanks to advances in sports medicine. In fact, athletes who have torn their ACL like Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles have been able to return to the field and continue playing at a high level.

Although professional athletes have proven that ACL injuries can be overcome, younger athletes should realize that ACL injury recovery is not easy. Different people recover at different speeds, as evidenced by Rajon Rondo and Danilo Gallinari’s recovery. With dedication to physical therapy and the help of an experienced orthopedic surgeon, young athletes can now recover from ACL tears and continue to chase their dreams of one day becoming professional athletes.

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Controlling Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease of the immune system that inflames the joints of the body. If you have been diagnosed with RA recently, it’s important to gain the upper hand over the disease as soon as you can. If left untreated, RA can affect your ability to work, impact your quality of life, and increase your risk for heart disease

RA is a chronic disease, meaning it can’t be cured. It is the most common autoimmune disease affecting the joints— anyone can get it, but it’s more prominent in middle-age patients. In the U.S. the risk of developing RA is 3.6 percent in women and 1.7 percent in men.

Although there is no cure for RA, its impact can be significantly reduced through early diagnosis and effective treatments. Many drug therapies are now available to treat the disease, so the challenge is finding the one that’s right for you. To begin a drug therapy treatment, you should first talk to a rheumatologist who can design a treatment plan based on his physical evaluation and your body’s response to medication.

Surgery is another way to relieve RA symptoms. Surgery for RA is mainly performed to improve function of severely deformed joints that don’t respond to drug or physical therapy. Surgeries for people who have severe RA include arthroscopy, synovectomy, arthroplasty, cervical spine fusion, and resection of metatarsal heads.

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