News — prevention

Tennis Elbow   You don’t need to hit the green from the tees or possess a wicked forehand to suffer from golfers’ or tennis elbow. Also known as medial and lateral epicondylitis, these common forms of tendinitis are more likely to afflict those who participate in activities far from the links or clay courts. Defined as overuse injuries, these inflammatory conditions don’t require years, months or even days of activity. Overuse occurs when you ramp up your training to an extreme degree, or begin a new activity without a gradual build up. For example, you can train...

Get Back on the Mat   I have a slipped disk. The doctor said I have lumbago. I’ve got sciatica. My back went out.   Chances are you or someone you know has uttered these common phrases before. Low back pain is one of the most common complaints of American adults over the age of eighteen. It is one of the most frequent reasons for doctor’s visits and is one of the leading causes for missed work in the U.S. In 2010, the estimated direct cost for treatment of low back pain was fifty billion dollars....

I Might Have a Concussion, But at Least I Don't Have a Concussion     Photo Courtesy of MMAFighting.com   Sports related head injuries are in the spotlight like never before. Once confined to discussions about the dangers of boxing, concussions are now part of the daily discourse when examining their prevalence in all contact sports, including football, hockey and even sports entertainment, like professional wrestling. Tragically, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, has been implicated in the deaths of prominent athletes Junior Seau and WWE wrestler Chris Benoit. Mixed Martial Arts practitioners and promoters have long...

Anatomy of a Calf Strain       Neither weekend warriors nor professional mixed martial artists are immune to a calf injury. Whether it’s due to the unstable surface of a training mat, or the repetitive explosive motions performed during a fight, all who train and compete are more vulnerable to sitting on the sidelines without the proper preventative measures. To better understand the nature of a calf strain, let’s look more closely at the anatomy.   The calf is actually composed of a number of muscles, but the largest and most visible are the gastrocnemius (commonly referred...

Preventing Rotator Cuff Injuries   Photo courtesy of http://www.healingartsce.com/massagerotatorcuff.html   During his artful domination of Glover Teixeira at UFC 172, Jon “Bones” Jones made effective use of an improvised crank while battling in the clinch. The hold put extreme pressure on the challenger’s shoulder and severely limited his offensive capabilities for the remainder of the fight. Teixeira’s trainers reported that the injury will necessitate an MRI due to likely damage to the rotator cuff and the surrounding ligaments.      With each passing month, the awareness of the sports of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts continues...