3 Common Causes of Sports injuries

There are few ways to improve your overall health and keep fit than through engaging in sports activities. Many sports including football, baseball, cycling, swimming, and weightlifting can be vigorous activities. They all demand intense physical & mental power and endurance. In addition, becoming an avid athlete requires consistent and often times intense training. Unfortunately, many athletes suffer minor or major injuries either during training or when performing.

Here are 3 common (and preventable) causes of sports injuries.

1. Unfitness and inflexibility
Many sportspeople experience predictable or unpredictable injuries due to inflexibility and unfitness. The avoidance of regular training sessions, unhealthy eating habits, fatigue and dehydration can make any person unfit. Some athletes can trace their injuries directly to their inactivity. Stay in the game by systematically building your strength, agility, balance, power, coordination, and flexibility. Don’t let avoidable injuries such as muscle strain, lower back pain, and joint soreness be the reasons why you are not doing what you enjoy doing.

2. Inappropriate footwear and uneven surfaces
Athletes who have a tendency of changing their footwear frequently are more prone to those who stick to their comfortable and effective sports shoes. It’s important to find comfortable and well-designed footwear to help prevent unnecessary foot, ankle and knee injuries. Playing or training on uneven surfaces is yet another common cause of typical injuries to the hip joints, knees, lower back, shin splints, and ankles. Athletes should never compromise in regard to their preferred footwear and training/playing surfaces.

3. Fatigue
Fatigue can easily make an athlete vulnerable to both minor and major injuries. Common fatigue-related sports injuries include; lower back, knee, hip and ankle injuries. Every successful sportsperson understands the importance of having sufficient sleep. Over-training and overworking yourself will not solve your coordination, speed, agility or flexibility problems. Embrace smart training methods and spend enough hours to enjoy your sleep for more productive and enjoyable sports sessions.

Live Life to its Fullest

Dr. Kevin Crawford

4110 22nd Place Lubbock, TX 79410

(806) 792-4329

Disclaimer:  This information is provided as an educational service only, and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.  Anyone seeking specific medical advice or assistance should consult his or her doctor or orthopedic surgeon.

Lifestyle Changes that Lead to Better Orthopedic Health

Orthopedic problems are quite common nowadays with more and more people having to seek orthopedic medical services. These problems range from lower back pains, pain in the joints to arthritis. Interestingly, some of these problems can be avoided through tweaks to things in our lifestyle. Here are some tips that will guide you to better orthopedic health:

1.      Proper diet

Eating right leads to better bone and joint health. For that reason, following a balanced diet is key. For better orthopedic health, place an emphasis on your calcium intake. Calcium is essential for the formation and reparation of bones. Vitamin D and foods such as fatty fish, dairy products, and egg yolks can also assist in fostering orthopedic health.

2.      Physical activity

It is common knowledge that exercising is crucial for good health. Additionally, it is also essential for maintaining the health of the joints and bones. Exercising can, therefore, be used as a preventive measure or as a way of strengthening the skeletal system. Some of the things to include in one’s workout session include stretching out before initiating a workout session. This builds the body’s flexibility and helps avoid serious injuries. Stretch out before and after a workout session. Furthermore, before ending a workout session, relax by doing slower, low-impact exercises. This helps avoid post-workout soreness.

3.      Incorporating healthy habits

So as to have continued orthopedic health, it is important to adopt some healthy habits. One, ensure you use a good posture when sitting by placing your feet on the floor to ensure that your weight is evenly distributed. Also, ensure the spine is straight and that your shoulders are pulled back. Two, carry light weight on the shoulder so as to avoid stressing the back and the shoulders. Three, when sleeping, use supportive pillows and ensure that the spine is naturally curved in the position you opt for.

4.      Dressing

Our clothes and footwear also play a part in our orthopedic health. As such, ensure that you don comfortable clothes so as to avoid any sort of pain. On footwear, high heels interfere with the body’s natural position. For that reason, ensure that you wear comfortable footwear. When shopping for shoes, be keen on the shoe size to ensure that your feet fit-in and to avoid cramping or excess space in the shoes. The shoes should not be too tight as this may hinder the circulation of the blood.

In conclusion, it is crucial that we adopt some precautionary measures for the sake of our orthopedic health. For example, if you experience a shift in your bone and joint health, seek orthopedic services so that the problem does not worsen. All this will lead to better orthopedic health.

Live Life to its Fullest

Dr. Kevin Crawford

4110 22nd Place Lubbock, TX 79410

(806) 792-4329

Disclaimer:  This information is provided as an educational service only, and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.  Anyone seeking specific medical advice or assistance should consult his or her doctor or orthopedic surgeon.

Useful Tips for Sports Fitness

Being physically fit and at your best is something every active sportsperson desires throughout their sporting career. However, sickness due to poor nutrition or other preventable ailments could sideline even the best athlete. The following sport fitness tips will help keep you in the game at your best performance level.

Do Your Training on a Daily Basis.

A common mistake done by many athletes is training only when one has an upcoming sporting event. There should be no downtime regarding fitness in the off-season. For you to maintain consistent fitness, you need to adopt a serious training/fitness regimen. Aside from keeping you mentally fit, your body will be able to maintain its conditioning and its higher immune and metabolism levels.

Be engaged in a specific sport or two.

For you to realize real fitness, try focusing hard on one or two active sports.  Being a master in a given sport, say football, gives you the chance to focus all your attention on it and therefore enable you to perfect your skills and fitness level to that specific sports. However, different sports utilize different muscles and body movements. Being active in more than one sport can have a positive effect on your overall health and physical condition.

Eating well.

Quality sports fitness can only be achieved through proper diet. Certain foods are often recommended at some point for anyone involved in sports. Likewise, there are some foods that you need to shun as an athlete. For example, taking a heavy meal prior to engaging in a sport is discouraged. Taking a balanced diet regularly greatly improves your performance in sports. If you find yourself lacking the necessary energy for a certain sport, it may be advisable to take approved food supplements to boost your daily diet. Also, you may want to visit your professional Sports Doctor to ensure your diet and eating habits are best attuned to your specific sport and fitness goals.

Do regular stretching exercises.

Consistency in stretching is a key factor to maintaining proper sports fitness. Every time you go out to engage in your favorite sport, ensure you do some stretching as this helps stimulate your muscles and nerves before the game starts. This way, your body gets the flexibility needed making you perform well in the sport. You may also avoid picking up certain injuries while playing the game.

Have enough rest.

Resting properly is vitally important to recovering lost energy and rebuilding muscles.  It also boosts your conditioning to a great extent. Always find some time to have enough sleep be it at night or during the day. Regardless if you have a big game the next morning or not, try to get your Zs.

In conclusion, have some consistency in terms of your sporting diet and conditioning. Also, have regular check-ups with your sports doctor to rule out any ailments that may threaten your sporting or fitness goals.

Live Life to its Fullest

Dr. Kevin Crawford

4110 22nd Place Lubbock, TX 79410

(806) 792-4329

Disclaimer:  This information is provided as an educational service only, and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.  Anyone seeking specific medical advice or assistance should consult his or her doctor or orthopedic surgeon.

The Benefits of Low Impact Exercises

Many people think that the only type of exercise that offers the greatest value to their health are high-impact exercises - commonly known as HIT exercises. Although it is hard to ignore the benefits of these exercises, low impact exercises are also essential to your general health. In fact, low impact exercises play an integral part in any exercise regimen. The following are the importance of low impact exercises and why you should do them on a regular basis:


Improved cardiovascular health
Low impact exercises can immensely improve your cardiovascular system. Studies show that engaging in low impact exercises on a regular basis is one of the best ways of preventing the development of cardiovascular disease. Some of the low impact exercises that have immense benefits include swimming, bike riding, and using the elliptical machine, just to mention but a few. If you are already diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease, these exercises will help you manage the condition.


Reduced joint complications
The main reason why people engage in low impact exercises is that these exercises typically do not damage the joints. When you engage in other forms of exercises, especially those that are intensive in nature and require the use of a lot of energy and joint movements, you could end up experiencing joint pains and fatigue. No matter how careful you are, HITs put you at risk for at least some pain in the joints over time. Low impact exercises, on the other hand, help to mitigate the risk of joint pain. You will get many of the same benefits that you would have gotten from more intensive exercises but without going through the pain and over-exertion issues.


Increased coordination
Low impact exercises like riding a stationary bicycle can help an individual recover from an injury. You will need a clearance from your physical therapist or doctor to start any physical activity that will improve coordination and enhance your recovery. Low impact exercises are the most recommended forms of exercises for patients recovering from injuries because they are not so strenuous. Plus, they are effective in enhancing balancing and coordination.


A lifetime of fitness
The good thing about low impact exercises is that they can be performed by anyone irrespective of age or gender. Whether you are middle-aged, a senior or a youngster, you can perform these exercises to remain active, keep fit and live a healthy lifestyle.
As you age, your muscle strength, balance, and overall performance tend to decline and engaging in highly intensive exercise may no longer be viable. The only way to stay active is by engaging in low impact exercises.

Remember to live life to its Fullest

Dr. Kevin Crawford

4110 22nd Place Lubbock, TX 79410

(806) 792-4329

Disclaimer:  This information is provided as an educational service only, and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.  Anyone seeking specific medical advice or assistance should consult his or her doctor or orthopedic surgeon.