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Preventing Sports Injuries

When participating in sports activities, it is important to know how to prevent any injuries that could possibly happen. Taking precautions in how you warm up and what you do with your body while playing the sport is a good way to prevent any injuries that could happen.

Make sure you warm up your body. Warming up before you work out or participate in a sport is very important to do to not injure yourself. Stretching your muscles and getting them warmed up helps the blood flow to the muscles, causing you to be less likely to suffer from any injuries.

Don’t over do it. Knowing your physical limit of your body and muscles is very important when playing a sport, especially when starting out. If you over strain your muscles, there is more of a chance of injury. If your body is not used to using certain muscles or bending certain ways, it could strain or tear them. Starting out slow is a good way to make sure that you are not over doing it.

Drink plenty of water. Keeping your body hydrated while exercising helps keep your mental and physical fitness from significantly reducing, which will help prevent any injuries from happening. While playing a sport or exercising you need to drink more water than you normally would to make sure to stay hydrated.

Wear the appropriate protective equipment. The protective equipment that is required for all sports are required for a reason. They help protect you from certain injuries that you might receive if you were not wearing the equipment. Making sure that you wear the equipment and wear it properly while participating in the sport is important to protect your body from any harm.

No one likes to have to sit out of a game due to an injury. Doing whatever you can do prevent an injury from sports will reduce the likelihood of getting an injury. Making sure you warm up, not over straining yourself, stay hydrated, and wear the appropriate protective equipment are important ways to prevent any injuries.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are one of the most common type of headaches people suffer from. They can cause people to have to stop doing their daily activities and rest to give it time to go away. Some people also suffer from chronic migraines, which means they get them on a regular basis. Today we will be discussing what a migraine headache is, and some ways to help manage it.

What is a migraine headache? A migraine headache is a more intensified headache, which causes sensitivity to light and sounds. It may cause nausea and constant pain in the head and neck as well.

What causes a migraine? There are many causes of migraine headaches, and today we will be listing the top 5 reasons people suffer from migraine headaches:

  1. Excessive amount of stress. When having a lot of stress in your life, it causes strain on your brain and may cause migraines.
  2. Lack of sleep. Sleep is a very important part of helping your brain and body function. Without sleep, it causes a lot of tension on your brain and may result in migraines.
  3. Hunger or dehydration. Our body relies on food and water to help it survive, without the right amount food and water it may cause excessive migraines.
  4. Excessive caffeine or alcohol. Drinking too much caffeine or alcohol can cause migraines due to withdrawals. If a person drinks a lot of caffeine or alcohol on a regular basis, and immediately cuts it all off, it will cause the body to go through withdrawals and a migraine may occur.
  5. Hormones. Hormonal changes in women tend to cause migraines. Women are more likely to get migraines than men are due to the estrogen in the body during menstruation.

How to treat a migraine headache? Avoiding migraine triggers can help keep the migraines away all together. If you suffer from chronic migraines, it may be more difficult to stay away from triggers. Taking pain-relieving medications help to take all or a big majority of the pain away. Some other things to consider in helping keep migraines away are stress management, improving sleeping habits, and managing your diet.

If none of the at-home treatments are helping and you do feel as though you may suffer from chronic migraines, it is important you visit with your primary care provider to see what steps you can take from here to help improve or take away the migraine headaches completely.

Managing Sciatica

Sciatica is one of the most underrated types of pain that 40% of people suffer from at some point in their life. It is important to know how to manage the pain when it starts effecting your everyday life.

What is Sciatica? Sciatica is when there is a pinched nerve in the lower back, the sciatic nerve, and causes pain that radiates from the lower back down through one or both of the legs.

What causes Sciatica? Some common causes of sciatica is damage done from degenerative disc disease, and lumbar spinal stenosis. Either of these diseases cause brittle and narrowing passages for the sciatic nerve, and will cause it to be pinched.

Symptoms of Sciatica? 

  • Pain that radiates from the lower back down through the leg(s)
  • Difficulty walking, sitting, moving
  • Leg and/or feet numbness

How to treat Sciatica?

  • Exercising and stretching
  • Medications (anti-inflammatory and pain medication)
  • Muscle Relaxants
  • Massages and physical therapy

On rare occasions, surgery needs to be performed to help relieve some of the pressure on the nerve. It is best to make sure with your doctor to see if there is anything they can do to help relieve the pain. Sciatica is not something that goes away completely, but it can be managed to help relieve some of the pain before it becomes too unbearable.