The majority of people know what a fall is and, in fact, many people have unfortunately experienced one or a few. But what would be a good definition for what a fall is? Simply put, a fall is something that happens when you lose your balance and cannot recover. Falls have the potential to ruin anyone’s day. For some, however, the risk is far more severe than that as falls are one of the leading factors in injury and death among the elderly population. This will continue to be a problem as the number of elderly people in the United States is expected to increase dramatically over the next fifty years.
Continue reading “Falling for You: How to Reduce Fall Risks?”Tag: prevention
Jumping into Better Bone Health: Impact Exercise and Your Bones
When exercising for overall health, the general public tends to disregard the importance of bone health. Often the focus is on consuming milk or calcium rich foods, but are there certain exercises that can increase bone health? Studies show that the presence of impact in exercise plays a major factor.
As we age, everyone loses bone mineral density, which is a determining factor in bone strength and stiffness. Decreasing bone mineral density can lead to bones that easily break and fracture, and will, in extreme cases, result in the disease osteoporosis. Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis because they lose more bone mineral density as they age due to the process of menopause. Increasing bone mineral density at younger ages can ensure that even with the inevitable bone loss, peoples’ bones are still strong.
Continue reading “Jumping into Better Bone Health: Impact Exercise and Your Bones”Do your Foot Arches make you more or less likely to be injured?
Have you ever wondered how your arch type may affect your everyday life especially in physical activities such as running or playing sports? Well it turns out that without taking precautions, a higher arch or a flat foot may cause you to more likely be injured! People have all different types of arches, and each foot can be affected differently based on the type of arch.
Continue reading “Do your Foot Arches make you more or less likely to be injured?”Have you ever wondered how your arch type may affect your everyday life especially in physical activities such as running or playing sports? Well it turns out that without taking precautions, a higher arch or a flat foot may cause you to more likely be injured! People have all different types of arches, and each foot can be affected differently based on the type of arch.
Continue reading “Do your Foot Arches make you more or less likely to be injured?”The Benchmark of Upper Body Strength: Injury Prevention During the Bench Press
Who wouldn’t want to look like Captain America? This common desire to attain a strong Herculean physique, either for athletics or aesthetics, has led many ambitious men and women to weightlifting. An egotistical motivation puts these people at risk of injury, however, as they sacrifice proper form to achieve their next personal best. The bench press is one example of an effective but potentially dangerous lift.
Continue reading “The Benchmark of Upper Body Strength: Injury Prevention During the Bench Press”What Makes Someone More Likely to Tear Their UCL?
It takes a lot to make a professional athlete collapse to the ground during a game. After throwing a pitch on September 14, 2019, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Tim Mayza knelt on the side of the mound while clutching his arm, expecting the worst. The next day, MRI revealed that what he had feared: Mayza had torn his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL).
Continue reading “What Makes Someone More Likely to Tear Their UCL?”A Mystery: How Can Distance Runners Avoid the Most Common and Dreaded Injury?
Stress fractures are small cracks in the bone produced by repetitive stress. The most common locations include the tibia, fibula, and navicular bone. An article by Crowell and Davis on gait analysis stated the occurrence of bone stress injuries in track and field athletes (male and female) to be as high as 21%. Furthermore, approximately 50% of female track and field athletes have had at least one stress fracture. Bone stress injuries can have a devastating effect on the athlete, their team, and the willingness of these runners to continue to compete. The only treatment for stress fractures is to completely stop running for an average of 6-8 weeks. Runners have no clear and confirmed guidance on injury prevention or appropriate volume of training.
Continue reading “A Mystery: How Can Distance Runners Avoid the Most Common and Dreaded Injury?”Look Strong, Be Strong, or Be Safe?: The Perils of a New Deadlifter
So, you’ve started deadlifting, but you’re not sure if you’re just weak, or if you’re going to break your spine, and there are plenty of “gym bros” slamming the weights, grunting, and walking around wearing equipment (wrist straps and back belts) that says “I’m literally too strong for my own body.” So, what do you do? Do you need to buy that stuff too?
This blog post will walk you through a biomechanical analysis of the deadlift while wearing supportive equipment, in the hopes of helping you face this daunting task.
Continue reading “Look Strong, Be Strong, or Be Safe?: The Perils of a New Deadlifter”What an Optimized Running Gait Can Do for You
Running is one of the oldest and most common forms of exercise, but there are many ways that running mechanics vary from person to person. Identifying the different running gaits is important so that their efficiencies and effects on the body can be analyzed. Injuries in runners are common and having an understanding of how different gaits apply stresses on the body differently can be used to educate runners on how to run in a way that will reduce the risk of injury.
Continue reading “What an Optimized Running Gait Can Do for You”Ways to Prevent and Treat a Common Annoyance: Headaches
Headaches can range from a mild annoyance to a debilitating condition that results in the inability to complete simple daily tasks. Odds are you have experienced a headache since about 50% of the population has suffered some type of headache. While there are many different variables that may have triggered it (injury, stress, chemical imbalances, etc.), the resulting symptoms are always negative. Scientists have been investigating what causes different types of headaches in hopes that they can help people prevent their occurrence and mitigate their symptoms.
Continue reading “Ways to Prevent and Treat a Common Annoyance: Headaches”Runner’s Knee: Knee Pain Isn’t Just for Old People
Don’t knee problems only plague old people or people who have run for a lifetime? I questioned this when, for the seventh time in a row, my knee was hurting only a mile and a half into my run. I’m too young for this! However, a plethora of information suggests that knee pain is perhaps not so uncommon in younger runners and athletes as I thought.
Continue reading “Runner’s Knee: Knee Pain Isn’t Just for Old People”