Chiropractic Help for Football Injuries

Football Season is here, and so are their injuries!  A great study to read regarding management of football injuries.  A sport that results in common musculoskeletal injuries managed efficiently by chiropractic

Spine and Axial Skeleton Injuries in the National Football League

from The American Journal of Sports Medicine current issue by Mall, N. A., Buchowski, J., Zebala, L., Wright, R. W., Matava, M. J.

Background:

The majority of previous literature focusing on spinal injuries in American football players is centered around catastrophic injuries; however, this may underestimate the true number of these injuries in this athletic cohort.

Purpose:

The goals of this study were to (1) report the incidence of spinal and axial skeleton injuries, both minor and severe, in the National Football League (NFL) over an 11-year period; (2) determine the incidence of spinal injury by injury type, anatomic location, player position, mechanism of injury, and type of exposure (practice vs game); and (3) determine the average number of practices and days missed because of injury for each injury type.

Study Design:

Descriptive epidemiological study.

Methods:

All documented injuries to the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine; pelvis; ribs; and spinal cord were retrospectively analyzed using the NFL’s injury surveillance database over a period of 11 seasons from 2000 through 2010. The data were analyzed by the number of injuries per athlete-exposure, the anatomic location and type of injury, player position, mechanism of injury, and number of days missed per injury.

Results:

A total of 2208 injuries occurred to the spine or axial skeleton over an 11-season interval in the NFL, with a mean loss of 25.7 days per injury. This represented 7% of the total injuries during this time period. Of these 2208 injuries, 987 (44.7%) occurred in the cervical spine. Time missed from play was greatest for thoracic disc herniations (189 days/injury). Other injuries that had a mean time missed greater than 30 days included (in descending order) cervical fracture (120 days/injury), cervical disc degeneration/herniation (85 days/injury), spinal cord injury (77 days/injury), lumbar disc degeneration/herniation (52 days/injury), thoracic fracture (34 days/injury), and thoracic nerve injury (30 days/injury). Offensive linemen were the most likely to suffer a spinal injury, followed by defensive backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers. Blocking and tackling were the 2 most frequent injury mechanisms reported.

Conclusion:

Spinal and axial skeleton injuries occur frequently in the NFL and can result in significant time missed from practices and games. Tackling and blocking result in the greatest number of injuries, and players performing these activities are the most likely to sustain a spinal injury. The results of this study may be used as an impetus to formulate strategies to prevent spinal injuries in American football players.

Joshua M. Brooks, D.C.

For more information and articles on chiropractic care, health tips and wellness please visit our website at www.rosachiropracticfairfax.com.

Dr. Joshua Brooks is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College, where he was an honors student throughout his career and the recipient of the Distinguished Service and Alumni Service awards.  He also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science from Syracuse University with a concentration in Pre-Medicine and Nutrition.  While at Syracuse, Dr. Brooks was a non-scholarship athlete on the basketball team for three years, including the 2003 National Championship season.  He is currently a member of the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council and manages a First Aid/CPR/AED Training Center through the American Safety and Health Institute.  Dr. Brooks is experienced in treating a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions, with a particular interest in sports related injuries. 

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Background Patellar Taping

Background Patellar taping is a common treatment modality for physical therapists managing patellofemoral pain. However, the mechanisms of action remain unclear, with much debate as to whether its efficacy is due to a change in patellar alignment or an alteration in sensory input.

Article Regarding Additional Benefits of Patellar Taping

Great article regarding additional benefits of tape.  Worn currently by Olympic Athletes, we provide kinesiotaping here in our fairfax office for a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

Objective the purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory input hypothesis using functional magnetic resonance imaging when taping was applied to the knee joint during a proprioception task.

Design this was an observational study with patellar taping intervention.

Methods Eight male volunteers who were healthy and right-leg dominant participated in a motor block design study. Each participant performed 2 right knee extension repetitive movement tasks: one simple and one proprioceptive. These tasks were performed with and without patellar taping and were auditorally paced for 400 seconds at 72 beats/min (1.2 Hz).

Results from the Study of Patellar Taping

Results The proprioception task without patellar taping caused a positive blood oxygenation level–dependant (BOLD) response bilaterally in the medial supplementary motor area, the cingulate motor area, the basal ganglion, and the thalamus and medial primary sensory motor cortex. For the proprioception task with patellar taping, there was a decreased BOLD response in these regions. In the lateral primary sensory cortex, there was a negative BOLD response with less activity for the proprioception task with taping.

Limitations This study may have been limited by the small sample size, a possible learning effect due to a nonrandom order of tasks, and use of a single-joint knee extension task.

Conclusions This study demonstrated that patellar taping modulates brain activity in several areas of the brain during a proprioception knee movement task.

For more information and articles on chiropractic care, health tips and wellness please visit our website at www.rosachiropracticfairfax.com.

Dr. Joshua Brooks is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College, where he was an honors student throughout his career and the recipient of the Distinguished Service and Alumni Service awards.  He also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science from Syracuse University with a concentration in Pre-Medicine and Nutrition.  While at Syracuse, Dr. Brooks was a non-scholarship athlete on the basketball team for three years, including the 2003 National Championship season.  He is currently a member of the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council and manages a First Aid/CPR/AED Training Center through the American Safety and Health Institute.  Dr. Brooks is experienced in treating a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions, with a particular interest in sports related injuries. 

Kinesio Taping at Rosa Chiropractic Fairfax Treats a Variety of Neuromusculoskeletal Conditions!

There are Many Benefits of Kinesio Taping 

Great article regarding additional benefits of tape.  Worn currently by Olympic Athletes, we provide kinesio taping here in our Fairfax office for a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

Study Shows Kinesio Taping Helps in Pain Managment

Background Patellar taping is a common treatment modality for physical therapists managing patellofemoral pain. However, the mechanisms of action remain unclear, with much debate as to whether its efficacy is due to a change in patellar alignment or an alteration in sensory input.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory input hypothesis using functional magnetic resonance imaging when taping was applied to the knee joint during a proprioception task.

Design This was an observational study with patellar taping intervention.

Methods Eight male volunteers who were healthy and right-leg dominant participated in a motor block design study. Each participant performed 2 right knee extension repetitive movement tasks: one simple and one proprioceptive. These tasks were performed with and without patellar taping and were auditorally paced for 400 seconds at 72 beats/min (1.2 Hz).

Results The proprioception task without patellar taping caused a positive blood oxygenation level–dependant (BOLD) response bilaterally in the medial supplementary motor area, the cingulate motor area, the basal ganglion, and the thalamus and medial primary sensory motor cortex. For the proprioception task with patellar taping, there was a decreased BOLD response in these regions. In the lateral primary sensory cortex, there was a negative BOLD response with less activity for the proprioception task with taping.

Limitations This study may have been limited by the small sample size, a possible learning effect due to a nonrandom order of tasks, and use of a single-joint knee extension task.

Conclusions This study demonstrated that patellar taping modulates brain activity in several areas of the brain during a proprioception knee movement task.

For more information and articles on health tips and wellness please visit our website at www.rosachiropracticfairfax.com.

Dr. Joshua Brooks is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College, where he was an honors student throughout his career and the recipient of the Distinguished Service and Alumni Service awards.  He also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science from Syracuse University with a concentration in Pre-Medicine and Nutrition.  While at Syracuse, Dr. Brooks was a non-scholarship athlete on the basketball team for three years, including the 2003 National Championship season.  He is currently a member of the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council and manages a First Aid/CPR/AED Training Center through the American Safety and Health Institute.  Dr. Brooks is experienced in treating a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions, with a particular interest in sports related injuries.