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 DECEMBER 2002 Welcome to this month's issue of the Sports Injury Handbook E-zine. Winter is upon us, so make sure to dress warmly if you continue your outdoor exercise program. A hat is most important, along with clothing that wicks moisture away from your body. And don't forget to warm-up and stretch indoors before your early-morning jog since cold muscles are more likely to tear. Skiers and skaters also need to loosen up before going full tilt down the mountain or racing around the rink. We hope you enjoy this newsletter and invite you to pass it on to a friend. We welcome your suggestions for improvements and additions. Yours in health, Allan M. Levy, MD and Mark L. Fuerst In this issue, you'll find: Sprained an Ankle? Get It X-Rayed When Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb recently played through a broken ankle, the Eagles medical staff took some heat for allowing him to stay in. But McNabb, known to be a tough competitor, wouldn't let anyone look at the ankle injury at half time, and he refused to have it x-rayed. He thought it was just a sprain, and he didn't want to let down his teammates. McNabb probably would have been better off if he didn't play on, but at least he didn't do any major damage to his ankle. But most of us are not professional athletes in top condition like McNabb, who gets a paycheck to play through pain. For most of us, an ankle injury can interfere with our work and family lives. That's why virtually any sprained ankle needs to be x-rayed. Ankle sprains and fractures look very much alike. Some ankles swell and look terrible, but are just sprained. Others look fine, and are fractured. So unless you mildly tweak your ankle while walking, if it is at all painful after playing sports, have it x-rayed to rule out a fracture. Q & A - Bound Up for More Rebounds Q: I'm having trouble going up against some bigger players in my weekly pick-up basketball game. How can I increase my rebounding ability? FS, St. Louis, MO. A: Basketball is, of course, a jumping sport, so you need to strengthen your legs. In particular, work on calf muscles to increase your vertical leap. Plyometrics exercises, such as quickly jumping on and off a weight bench or a box with both feet together, are good rhythmic drills that increase calf muscle strength to improve jumping ability. You can also increase your hand and upper body strength to help control the ball. Do hand strengthening exercises, such as squeezing a rubber ball, and a weight program to build up your shoulder and chest muscles. In the News - Injury Report from Dr. Allan M. Levy, NY Giants team physician In all my years as a New York Giants team physician, this has been the worst I've ever seen for injuries. Since the pre-season, we've had several players go down each week. We'll get two players back, and two more will go down. For some games, we've had half a dozen starters out. And we've been besieged in the training room -- one week, we saw 23 out of the 53 players on the roster. Even our place kicker Matt Bryant was woozy from a head injury after making a tackle during a first quarter kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys. We did have an extra exhibition game and came to training camp one week early, but that should translate into injuries late in the season as players wear down, not early on, and often. The message is that you can do everything right, and sometimes injuries still happen. Warming up and stretching are the keys to preventing injuries. Before they hit the field, the Giants players ride stationary cycles or walk on a treadmill for a few minutes, and then stretch in the field house for 10-30 minutes, depending on how flexible they are. On the field, they run for another 10-15 minutes and warm-up slowly -- kickers start with short kicks and work up to longer ones; quarterbacks throw easy passes to receivers, who have defensive backs running alongside them; lineman jog together and so do running backs. Then they stretch in groups for another 10-15 minutes, doing prescribed stretches for their positions. You should emulate them with a gentle warm-up until you start to sweat, then do slow stretches designed for your specific sport. Book Review - What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Knee Pain and Surgery This book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Knee Pain and Surgery (Warner Books) by Ron Grelsamer, MD, provides straightforward, concise answers to dozens of questions about how to take care of your knees, without surgery. Dr. Greslamer, who is chief of hip and knee reconstruction at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, dispenses expert medical advice and proven exercises for relieving nagging knee pain. You really do, as the subtitle says, learn the truth about MRIs (which stands for magnetic resonance images, or computerized x-rays) and common misdiagnoses to help you avoid unnecessary surgery. I particularly like his description of some doctors as LK/SS, which stands for Limited Knowledge/Suspect Scruples. I agree that many doctors no longer examine the knee anymore -- they just order an MRI. But, as Grelsamer says, doctors can misread MRIs and over-diagnose some conditions, such as cartilage tears, and miss others, such as microfractures, or dead areas in the bone due to trauma. Disclaimer This newsletter is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. We are not engaged in rendering medical or other professional services. If medical advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. |
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