Episode 17.32?Rerun
Segment One (01:30):?Dr. Leda Ghannad from Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush?discusses platform tennis injuries.
The first-ever?national study of platform (paddle) tennis injuriesrevealed 66 percent of paddle tennis players say they sustained an injury from playing the game. The study also found that of the platform tennis players reporting an injury, more than half sustained two or more.
The most common conditions reported were injuries to the shin/calf (21%), knee (16%), elbow (16%), ankle (13%) and shoulder (10%). Sixty percent of the injuries were caused by overuse and 40 percent were due to an incident that occurred during play.?The study, which involved an online survey of American Platform Tennis Association players nationwide, was coordinated by?Dr. Leda Ghannad, a sports medicine physician at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, with approval from the internal review board at Rush University Medical Center. More than 1,000 players responded to the survey.
?We knew it was a high-injury sport based on the number of paddle patients we treat,??
admits Dr. Ghannad. ?But until now, there wasn?t any research that proved this. Paddle tennis requires a mixture of speed, agility and quick bursts of energy, which makes athletes more susceptible to getting hurt. Many players are also middle-aged ?weekend warriors? who don?t strengthen or stretch their muscles and ligaments in between games or practices.?
Paddle tennis is similar to tennis but is played outside in the winter on a small, elevated court surrounded by a screen. Courts are heated from underneath to clear snow and ice. Most participants are between the ages of 40 and 65.
Segment Two (10:25):?What is Cryotherapy? Uses and application of ice vs heat by?Matt Gauthier from Athletico Physical Therapy.
The most long-standing and common form of ?cryotherapy? is the application of ice or cold packs to injuries to cause blood vessels to constrict, which reduces blood flow and alleviates pain, swelling and inflammation. While there is still some debate over the longer-term effects on healing, such localized (i.e., applied to specific part of the body) ?cryotherapy? certainly seems to have clear short-term benefits and has long been standard practice among health professionals.?
Unlike localized cryotherapy, whole body cryotherapy consists of exposing the entire?body to very low (subzero) temperatures, sometimes below -200 degrees Fahrenheit, for a few minutes (typically between 2 and 4 minutes). Often, the person will stand in a tank or closet-like device, wear minimal clothing and be bathed in liquid nitrogen or refrigerated cold air?like taking the ultimate cold shower.
Segment Three (21:42):?Skip Chapman from Fitness Formula Club?discusses?Muscle Activation Techniques. In recent years, a revolutionary new process has evolved for identifying and correcting muscular imbalances in the body known as Muscle Activation Techniques? (MAT). This exciting and unique system can dramatically improve joint stability, increase range of motion, reduce subjective complaints, and enhance overall function and performance for individuals of all ages and present abilities.
MAT? looks at muscle tightness as a form of protection in the body. Weak or inhibited muscles can create the need for other muscles to tighten up in order to help stabilize the joints. MAT? gets to the root of the complaint or injury by addressing muscle weakness rather than muscle tightness. This helps to restore normal body alignment, thereby, improving performance and decreasing subjective complaints.
If you are an athlete, fitness enthusiast, or rehabilitation patient who is:
- Seriously concerned about joint health as you age
- Hesitant to exercise as hard as you want due to chronic injury and pain
- Confused about how best to stop joint pain when working out
- Worried about chronic aches and pains post workout
- Stiff and inflexible and stretching is not working
- Tired of nagging injuries preventing your fitness progress
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