Medical Misdiagnosis in Sports Injuries

Athletes play a risky game, they train, they play and they win, occasionally losing too. But what happens when an athlete goes into a sport and obtains an injury? You would assume that the medical professional on call at the time would be able to correctly diagnose the complaint, treat it, and allow them to be on their way. Sadly, however this is not the case all the time. Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is something that is cropping up time and time again.

In fact as the quality of medical care seems to get poorer and poorer each year around the UK, this situation also applies to athletes that get injured when in training and of course when playing professionally, or just for fun in the sports that they live for.

Why Is Medical Misdiagnosis In Sports Injuries Growing?

Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is quickly on the rise. One of the reasons seems to be a lack of knowledge about the strains and pains of sportsman ship, and of course one of the things that seems to hit home hard for those affected is just how they have suffered unnecessarily. Medical professionals seem to have an attitude that athletes are fit and healthy, and if they succumb to an injury whilst at play, that it was a superficial one as a result of playing the sport they know best. It is often pushed aside as a pain of the game and downgraded.

Sadly though that is not always applicable. Athletes can have underlying problems, like heart murmurs, heart conditions that they were born with and of course fall into problems with injuries that have not healed, and of course fresh, new ones that require the correct care and follow up with medical professionals. Doctors’ surgeries and emergency rooms are overly crowded, understaffed and staff are just too busy and fail to spot the correct diagnosis when rushing their job.

All too often when playing their sports athletes are faced with injuries that are treated to on the scene by a physiotherapist, or an on call doctor. When they are sent to the hospital there is no difference between your average accident and emergency patient and the risk of being misdiagnosed than there is for the medical negligence assist members of society.

One thing that remains a dead cert, is that whatever misdiagnosis was given, it will cause a great deal of messing around, unnecessary pain and a lot of running around as a result of trying to find the real cause of the injury or ill fate of the sufferer. We put a lot of trust into doctors and professionals in the medical profession, but one thing that many seem to forget is that no matter just how highly qualified they are, they can always have skipped a class whilst in training for their present job title. We are after all human.

There have been cases of amputations, heart attacks. Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is distressing and something that you should not accept from whomever gave the diagnosis.

What Can I Do If I Think I’ve Been Wrongly Diagnosed?

First of all you should always keep a record of your hospital and doctors’ appointments, you should document any paper work that is handed to you on your path to recovery, along with the name of any medications that are prescribed throughout the time you are sick. That way if you suffer from negligence or not, you are ensuring that you have the correct care and documented evidence. You should also take pictures of your injuries progress. Also check out NHS sports injury page.

Seek advice from a professional, legal advice nowadays is usually free and you will not have to pay the odds to see if you have a case. In fact, if you do, you will gain money so there really is nothing to lose. Solicitors do not like to waste their time on cases that will be laughed out of court.

Be persistent and make sure that you do not give up. Also, if you are a family member of someone that suffered from a case of negligence make sure to encourage them to seek professional help in order to help to ease the suffering that they have had to endure as a result of a misdiagnosis.

In this day and age it doesn’t pay to be a victim, make sure to be persistent and put the suffering behind you. There really is no need to suffer in silence.

Sports psychology and its implications

What exactly is sports psychology?

Sports psychology is an integrative field that derives a significant degree of knowledge from many areas, including sports medicine, physiology, kinesiology and various disciplines in the world of psychology, also. Essentially, sports psychology centralizes the importance of psychological phenomena and how they interact with athletes and their overall performance.

Generally speaking, this discipline serves the purpose of educating athletes on various psychological skills that are applied to the realm of performance. However, sports psychology may even provide coaches and parents with various communicative, team building and career related techniques that channel psychology concepts. There are many areas of sports psychology, which you will learn about below.

Personality

The study of personality, and its vast implications to athletics and sports, is one of the many practical realms of sports psychology. This area centralizes its research on personality and how it ultimately translates to increases or decreases in athletic performance. Certain personality attributes may be more conducive to superior athletic performance than others.

One such example of a personality profile, in this field of study, is that which describes one’s level of mental toughness. Mental toughness may not translate to increased levels of athletic performance, in some cases. In fact, it often contravenes one’s desire to perform optimally. Mentally tough athletes generally embody a specific set of characteristics, including fortified self confidence, inherent motivational drive, an intent degree of focus, along with a sound mind during troubling circumstances.

One of the reasons why this may not guarantee a performance edge in the realm of sports is because the basis of high performance is not a generalized sense of confidence, but rather, self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one can actualize goals for a specific task. The general belief in one’s abilities may not necessarily permit high performance in a particular sport overall. In the realm of sports psychology, this is sometimes referred to as sports confidence. Arousal is the notion of utilizing one’s psychological state to prompt action.

Another key element in the personality realm of sports psychology is the notion of motivation, which is the willingness to perform as specific endeavor or goal. It is possible for athletes to receive both external and internal sources of motivation.

Youth Athletics

Youth sports are another critical area of sports psychology. This realm of psychology is uniquely devoted to crafting sports programs designed for youth under the age of 18. Essentially, research in this discipline of sports psychology helps unearth any hindrances that may be impairing youth sports performance and participation, as well. This is critically important because the mainstream media and mainstream sports are now impacting youth athletes. They try to emulate what they see on television.

This discipline of psychology is also attuned the practical life skills required for youth to thrive in their sports performance. For example, this includes the behavioral, mental and emotional components needed for consistent sports performance and participation overall. The versatility of these concepts are clear, as they are widely applicable to a number of other areas of one’s life.

Another critical facet of this field of sports medicine is burnout, which is referred to depersonalization, a lack of will power to achieve a grand sense of accomplishment, and emotional deprivation. This can result from excessive training, injury and a number of other factors. And finally, the notion of parenting can play a consequential role in helping harness a child’s inner capacity and willingness to perform and achieve.

Coaching

Coaching channels the motivational and empowerment elements of sports and training. For example, while a sports psychologist may very well focus on the personality aspects of an athlete, a coach can elicit positive, psychological patterns by utilizing coaching techniques. Moreover, coaches have been known to implement effective interventions for the sake of removing limitations and helping an athlete actuate their true potential.

Coaches recognize that athletes are impacted by both contextual factors, and environmental circumstances, as well. This is often termed the motivational climate. Coaches can actually synthesize different motivational climates in order to achieve the desired goal. For example, they can do so by imposing specific tasks, or implementing ego-based techniques.

www.mhra.gov.uk/

Homeopathic medicine for athletes

About Homeopathic Medicine

The days of western medicine are continually evolving. However, homeopathic remedies still occupy their place and importance in the realm of therapy, rehabilitation, and natural health and wellness. These days, even athletes resort to homeopathic remedies to appease their ailments without the necessity for surgery, or conventional medication. Manny of the most prized forms of homeopathic medicine include biofeedback, shiatsu massage, chiropractic medicine, electro acupuncture, acupuncture, and deep tissue massage. The major distinction between Western medicine and Eastern medicine is that Eastern medicine harnesses the innate energy and healing pathways in the human body. Instead of introducing foreign substances into the body, homeopathic medicine utilizes and manipulates the energies already existing in the body.

Benefits

Homeopathic medicine establishes a natural source of wellness and confers a number of benefits. Among its many benefits, homeopathic medicine can relieve pain, reduce stress, decrease inflammation, treat injury, and correct skeletal disturbances.

Massage

One of the most salient benefits that this form of medicine provides is that of pain relief. Many athletes are plagued with chronic pain because they have developed the early stages of trauma induced arthritis, along with inflammatory muscle conditions that exact a tremendous amount of pain on their bodies. One of the reasons that massage is so effective is that it removes lactic acid buildup in specific muscle groups for athletes who suffer from muscle cramping.

Athletes can select among a number of different massage types, including neuromuscular massage, shiatsu massage, deep tissue massage, as well as trigger spot massage therapy.

Sometimes, rigorous athletic regimens cause muscle fibers to accumulate in nodule or bundle like formations. These are aptly described as trigger points, and generally, one can feel the nodule like formation when they rub their finger past it. Occasionally, these nodules cause pain to radiate throughout the back and the neck, as well. Trigger point therapy is designed to dissolve the tension in these areas and smooth the muscle fibers. Hence, athletes who develop these nodules as a result of intense exercise can experience some relief.

Another popular massage method for athletes is neuromuscular therapy, which is performed to stimulate striated muscle fibers. It can aid athletes who have developed poor posture, as well as nerve compression syndrome.

Shiatsu massage emerges from the ancient practices of Japan, and it is designed to apply both pressure and stretches to stimulate the flow of qi, a vital life source of energy in the body.

And finally, deep tissue massage is reserved for athletes who have experienced muscle damage as a result of demanding exercise. Deep tissue is designed to repair connective tissues that are deeply embedded in the body.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback can be relatively beneficial for an athlete, as it can fortify the mind, body spirit connection. By developing a natural awareness of one’s mind power, one can become naturally attuned to his bodily processes and regulate greater control over autonomic processes, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and even pain. In the context of pain or injury, biofeedback methods can certainly play an indispensable role in an athlete’s pain relief. For example, by utilizing this method, they can achieve a higher degree of governance over their own bodily processes.

Chiropractors

Chiropractic medicine is another homeopathic field of medicine that employs strategic pulling and twisting in order to correct musculoskeletal disorders. This is ideal for athletes who have incurred such disorders as a result of engaging in contact sports, such as football. With this said, skeletal adjustment is often one of the most prescribed forms of therapy in the field of chiropractors.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese art of inserting needles in specific energy points of the body. This is designed to remove energy blockages and to promote energy pathways. Acupuncture manipulates the flow of chi, the life source energy. Confirmed studies have actually verified the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in the context of relieving peripheral arthritis. This is especially significant in the context of helping athletes because many contact sports can trigger trauma induced arthritis as a result of exerting trauma on an individual’s body. It also has the potential to treat low back pain for athletes who have incurred conditions related to this.

http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/sports-med/

www.mhra.gov.uk/

Cardiovascular Health For Athletes

Athletes and Internal Health

Many people equate athletic prowess with consummate cardiological health. However, contrary to popular belief, many athletes compromise their heart and circulatory health through improper exercise and nutritionally deficient diets. Specific activities and dietary habits can bolster the likelihood of contracting cardiovascular illnesses and arterial injuries. Accordingly, preventative, dietary and fitness measures must be undertaken to preserve one’s internal health over the course of an athletic career.

Athletes must be especially attentive to their cardiovascular needs, especially considering their persistent engagement in physically taxing activities. Furthermore, external indications of athletic strength are not necessarily indicative of internal health. A seemingly healthy, toned, and robust athlete may very well falter in healthy habits and internal health. With this said, continue reading to discover strategically crafted tips for maintaining cardiovascular health.

About Nutrition

Some athletes centralize their focus on aesthetic appearance, and go to concerted lengths to achieve a supreme muscularity and impressive tone. Quite often, however, when there is an undiverted focus on looks, internal health often suffers in the process. Just as the muscle groups undergo the process of hypertrophy and repair overnight, the heart requires its respective degree of care and consideration.

So what types of destructive habits do some athletes embark upon in the first place? Athletes who disregard their internal health, in favor of a robust appearance, may overconsume protein, along with fattening foods to achieve a bulkier appearance. Not only does this deprive the body of heart-aiding antioxidants and fiber, but it loads the arteries with the deleterious presence of saturated fats. This can increase the risk for stroke and heart attack, as well as heart disease. Furthermore, it can subject one to a stark increase in blood pressure, as well.

With this said, protein is not sufficient in the context of overall health. A diet must be enriched with heart healthy foods. One of the most recommended heart healthy foods for athletes, and everyday people, is salmon. It contains a healthy dose of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, along with magnesium, folate and niacin. Furthermore coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids, which are also conducive to heart health.

Almonds and walnuts should also be consumed regularly for heart health, as they are equipped with magnesium, fiber, and mono and polyunsaturated fats. Brown rice is reinforced with B-vitamins, along with fiber, magnesium and niacin, which contribute greatly to heart health.

Of course, no food can usurp the place and importance of both fruits and vegetables. Carrots, blueberries, spinach and broccoli should be consumed routinely in order to promote heart health. Carrots, which contain both carotene and fiber, can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Spinach promotes heart function because it is loaded with potassium, calcium, fiber and magnesium. And finally, broccoli is equipped with many heart promoting nutrients as well, including magnesium, folate, calcium and potassium.

Additional heart healthy foods include red bell pepper, sweet potato, oranges, tomatoes and squash.

About Enhancements

Some rely on anabolic steroids in order to amplify both muscle and strength. However, steroids are distinguishably unique in their ability to undermine heart health. Steroids can constrict arteries, increase arterial plaque, along with the likelihood of heart disease, high blood pressure, and the necessity for heart bypass surgeries. With this said, all athletes should rely exclusively on natural supplements and nutrition for energy and strength.

Because performance enhancing drugs have such a compromising effects on those who take them, they can precipitate a number of other conditions, including gynecomastia, impotence, infertility, balding, bad cholesterol levels, mood disturbances, and an enlarged heart.

Proper Exercise

Consistent long distance running has been associated with arterial damage, along with an increased risk for heart attack. Of course, many athletic careers entail long distance running. In this case, an athlete must work to counterbalance these effects.

Proper exercise includes both resistance training and cardiovascular exercise that does not exceed 1 hour at a time. When an individual runs long distances, or engages in vigorous exercise for over an hour at a time, they damage their arteries and synthesize much higher levels of cortisol in the blood stream, which leads to hypertension and high cholesterol levels.

And finally, it is always recommended that one gradually increase their workout intensity over time so that their cardiovascular system can adapt accordingly.

For more information on sports medicine, visit these websites: http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/sports-med/

www.mhra.gov.uk/

Strength and Conditioning for Athletes

Strength Training and Conditioning Benefits

Strength and conditioning training is designed to build both muscle groups and endurance through the use of resistance and a number of other fitness techniques. There are a number of principles that onem ust implement in the realm of strength and conditioning. This area of fitness is especially critical and invaluable in the framework of athletic performance. In fact, all athletes must undergo this form of training in some sense in order to reinforce the muscle groups necessary to perform optimally in their field.

Strength and conditioning exercises can result in stronger batting for baseball players, faster running for sprinters, more powerful tackling in football, and a marked increase in virtually every physical athletic skill.

Strength Training and Conditioning Principles

One of the most critical principles in strength and conditioning is training tailored to specific sports. Essentially, success in a particular sport hinges largely on the repetitious practicing and engagement in that particular sport. It is crucial to design and customize a strength and conditioning program to suit both the athlete and their relative performance needs in a particular sport.

Another key element of strength and conditioning is multiple muscle movements. What this refers to is the notion that multiple muscles are in movement during a particular sports move. Furthermore, a single muscle engages in countless contractions and works consistently during an athletic activity. This realm of strength and conditioning training essentially employs a type of functional training, in which muscles are used and activated in this very fashion. Working the same muscle group repetitively, without engaging in multiple movements, in obsolete in the context of sports. It is important to utilize muscles during training as they would be used in the sport itself. This helps one to maximize performance overall.

Another key principle entails engaging in several plane movements. Athletic movements occur in a trajectory of several types of movements, which is forward and backward, from one side to the next, and rotting movements, as well. During strength and conditioning training, a participant may implement the use of weights and several successive joint movements in order to simulate these activities and increase performance.

Some strength and conditioning movements are performed on the ground. For example, many movements that one performs during an athletic activity does in fact involve the ground. When a person engages in a particular action in a sport, they must exert a tremendous amount of force against the ground in order to maximize their performance. In order to optimize performance, and increase skills, whether this refers to jumping, running, swinging or tackling, you must optimize your ground movements and force as much as possible. Common ground based workouts may include squats, high pulls, split jerks and more. Plyometric movements may also be adopted to suit these demands.

Another consequential principle is periodization. Periodization is not an exercise, but rather, a methodological application of a scientifically based exercise regimen. Using periodization, one can organize a series of repetitions and sets to achieve their intended goal. It helps integrate a number of different movements, and prevents one from reaching plateaus by instituting muscle confusion regimen. Muscle confusion is designed to confuse the muscles and prevent them from adapting to a particular fitness routine. When muscles become acclimated to exercises, the effects are no longer significant and the muscles stop growing and strengthening.

One of the most critical elements of strength and conditioning training is rest and nutrition. Why is rest important? There are a number of reasons for this. The first key reason is that over-training can reduce one’s motivation and their willpower to exercise consistently. Furthermore, resting permits hypertrophy, a process by which muscles increase their strength, size and robustness. During exercise, the muscles incur permanent trauma and damages that repair themselves during the process of hypertrophy. Without sufficient rest, an individual would counteract this process and experience minimal profession.

And of course, nutrition and proper diet is the basis upon which stamina and stronger muscles are predicated. Specific nutrients can amplify muscle growth by giving muscle fibers the fodder they need to increase in size and strength. Furthermore, many nutrients are capable of enhancing one’s overall metabolism and endurance, as well.

www.mhra.gov.uk/

What to do if you have suffered from a Sports Injury?

About Injuries

Do all sports injuries signal the untimely end to a fruitful, athletic career? Absolutely not. Sports medicine has been tailored to address these issues with professionalism and expertise. This area of medicine centralizes most of its efforts on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Whether one plays basketball, baseball, or football, injuries are a very common occurrence, and they plague athletes of all ages.

The application of sports medicine, in this context, is fundamentally clear. Ill suited or avoided treatments can render an athlete incapacitated, or incapable of performing his athletic role. However, sports medicine, and the proper course of action, can facilitate and expedite healing. Even the most serious fractures can be remedied with the proper course of treatment. The key is to know what to do and how to do it, when these injuries arise during one’s life.

Read below to discover the most common sports injuries and how to treat them. While there are literally hundreds of different injuries that affect athletes, the few that are listed account for most of those injuries in the majority of all cases.

Achilles Tendonitis

Sports injuries are as eclectic and diverse as the athletes who have them. One of the most common sports injuries happens to be achilles tendonitis. This tendon is located on the rear portion of the ankle. When it becomes inflamed, or overworked, it can erupt in painful symptoms. If this condition does not receive the proper treatment, it can permanently impede running and result in a chronic, painful condition with no cure. Generally speaking, sports that entail ballistic movements, running, leaping or jumping confer the greatest risk for this type of injury.

Prevention

This injury can be prevented by using proper strengthening and stretching exercises geared to that part of the body.

Best Treatment

The best course of treatment involves RICE, or, rest, ice, compression and elevation. Generally speaking, anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed. It is also possible to strengthen this area incrementally with specially prescribed, rehabilitative exercises.

Concussion

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that results from blunt force trauma to the head. When a concussion develops, noticeable symptoms begin to emerge, including disorientation, amnesia, loss of consciousness, nausea and severe headache that is distinguished by its marked severity. Usually, concussions are observed in sports such as American football and boxing. Most often, concussion sufferers can recover within a few weeks. However, successive concussions can halt an individual’s career and impair their neurological health.

Prevention

The best preventative treatment that one can take is to avoid sports that involve extensive physical contact. Of course, for an athlete, this is not feasible.

Best Treatment

Concussion can be treated through sufficient rest, and anti-inflammatory medication. Furthermore, severe concussions may require that one avoid sports for weeks or months in some cases. If one were to return to sports too prompt, this would result in second impact syndrome, which can result in death.

Groin Strain

A groin strain impacts the groin or adductor muscles. These muscles, which are structured in a fan like orientation, are located in the upper portion of the thigh. This muscle is critical, as it helps integrate leg movements during running and sports. However, when a groin strain occurs, it produces sharp pains, swelling and bruising in some cases.

Prevention

In order to prevent a groin strain, it is recommended that one engage in sufficient groin stretches before physical activity. It is also recommended that one incrementally build up to the desired intensity of exercise or athletic activity. This will prevent you from shocking and potentially straining the muscles.

Best Treatment

The best treatment method to undertake involves consuming anti-inflammatory medications. Furthermore, rigorous activities, along with immediate exercise, are not recommended during the initial stages of recovery. However once the symptoms begin to improve, you may undergo a gradual buildup to more intensive activity with a rehabilitative, teaching and training program designed for your needs.

Shin Splints

A shin splint is a painful sensation that develops along the shinbone. When the muscular fibers inflame around the shin bone, this painful sensation emerges. This condition is caused by intense exercise, jumping, running on hard surfaces or cement, and ill suited shoes.

Prevention

In order to prevent shin splints, one must wear suitable shoes, engage in cross training and stretching exercises, and build up to a higher intensity over time.

Best Treatment

Treating this condition requires icing, stretching, and medications that reduce inflammation in the body.

Why is the Medical side of sports important: Top 10 things to know about Medical Education

About Sports Medicine

Sports medicine is an integrative field that confers countless benefits to athletes and active individual throughout the globe. Contrary to popular belief, sports medicine is not merely the formal application of specialized medical skills in the context of an exam room. Sports medicine also encompasses the individual and preventative measures that athletes must take outside of the clinic or hospital. The beauty of sports medicine is that it invites the expertise of doctors, surgeons, therapists, and homeopathic experts, alike. Furthermore, it personalizes its methods to the individual, instead of applying generalized treatments.

Reading the information below, you will learn 10 important facts about sports medicine and their critical applications to the sports industry and professional and amateur athletic.

The Importance of Sports Medicine

#1 Sports, when undertaken in an unsafe manner, heighten the chances for debilitating or degenerative disorders in youth. A sports medicine professional can provide youth with the nutritional and physical recommendations necessary to forgo degenerative diseases down the line. Purportedly, young female athletes who engage in extensive running increase their chances of developing premature arthritis and osteoporosis. Furthermore, they are more susceptible to fractures, as well. With this said, a sports medicine doctor can provide a youth athlete with a number of preventative measures to preserve their long term health and extend their athletic career.

#2 American football is a brutal, and often, dangerous sports. The blunt force exerted during this sport can expose the human body to brain trauma, and various other injuries. Concussions are an especially telling concern, and they cannot be treated as isolated incidents with no future repercussions. Every concussion that an athlete incurs affects his future in some capacity. Medical professionals understand that with every concussion comes an increased risk for Alzheimer’s, early onset dementia, and many other neurodegenerative disorders and diseases. Furthermore, the risk for suicide and depression is elevated with each successive brain injury. The role of a sports medicine doctor, in this context, is to assess the severity of an athlete’s brain injury, and determine when and if they should return to the game.

#3 Sports medicine can be undertaken as a form of exercise. In fact, the powerful effects of exercise are often likened to that of conventional medicines. This realm of sports medicine reinforces cardiovascular health and strength, and it fortifies the musculo-skeletal structure. Clients that reduce their risk for cancer, heart disease, dementia, and stroke are more likely to extend their sports careers.

#4 Sports medicine can enhance athletic performance with the aid of many resources. For example, nutritional counseling can improve muscle recovery and hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is the process by which muscles fortify and grow during periods of sleep or rest. Consistent muscle recovery and growth are required for long term performance in any sports field. During a baseball season, for example, athletes are expected to excel, in spite of playing over 120 games per year. With well over a 100 games to play annually, the relative importance of muscle recovery becomes fundamentally clear. Rapid recovery is needed to perform optimally game after game.

#5 Sports medicine professionals also participate in training program development. Athletes know that there is no one size fits all solution to training, and training must be constructed around an individual’s medical needs, physical strengths and weakness. A sports medical professional can identify these important elements, and craft an extensive training program accordingly.

#6 Sport medicines can provide key evaluations for athletes, their performance capabilities and areas of improvement.

#7 Injury management is one of the most important facets of sports medicine. With the right course of action, even a serious injury can undergo a reasonable rate of recovery and receive apt and attentive treatment. Without a sports medicine professional, a serious sports injury could literally end an athlete’s career. Quite often, injury management resources include physical therapy referrals, rehabilitation programs, as well medication or surgery if needed.

#8 Another critical element of sports medicine entails injury prevention. Injury prevention is the best way to preserve a sports career. Furthermore, it can decrease intermittent interruptions that cause an athlete’s sports season to go awry.

#9 Sports medicine integrates both conventional medical therapies, and homeopathic therapies, including massage, neurofunctional acupuncture, shiatsu massage, biofeedback, meditation and yoga, and much more.

#10 And of course, sports medicine can help identify and treat any underlying conditions that may be impairing sports performance. Athletes with medical conditions have the hopes of competing in sports by treating their conditions promptly and effectively.