Make Pain a Thing of the Past – sports injuries – Physician Partners of America

Tag Archive for: sports injuries

Dr. Rodolfo Gari Talks Pain From Sports Injuries And Best Treatment Therapies

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Cyndi: When you’re active and involved in sports, injuries can happen at any time. But that doesn’t mean you have to live with pain. Dr. Rudy Gari from Florida Pain Relief Group is back to tell us what they can do to help. Welcome back, Dr. Gari.

Dr. Rudy: Thank you very much.

Cyndi: Let’s talk about some of the common sports injuries that you see at the office.

Dr. Rudy: Sure. Common sports injuries are usually former athletes. We’ve had a lot of professional athletes as well.

Cyndi: We know they get injured a lot.

Dr. Rudy: A lot.

Cyndi: And they wanna get better fast. They don’t wanna be out for a long time.

Dr. Rudy: Yes, yes. You know, your body wasn’t meant to be taking that kind of abuse and punishment on a regular basis, and that tends to affect the joints, your muscles, some of the nerves. So it’s just a lot of chronic pain that can be endured from that.

Cyndi: Sure. Well, let’s just say I’m out there and I get injured. At what point do I have to stop icing it at home and come see you?

Dr. Rudy: Sure. So, you know, any time that your pain lasts longer than what it should…if it’s, you know, more than a typical bruise and that sort of stuff, like, you know how long it should last. If it lasts longer, you should come in and see someone like myself so that we can make sure that nothing more than a typical bruise has occurred.

Cyndi: Well, I’m a golfer and I know that I’ve had my share of aches and pains. What are some of the types of pain that you see in golfers that come see you.

Dr. Rudy: We see a lot of repetitive motion in golfers. So if you think about the action of the golfer, there’s a lot of lower back. So your lower back wasn’t meant to twist so much, so we see a lot of low back problems, joint problems and lots of low backache.

Cyndi: And how can you help somebody with that?

Dr. Rudy: Well, you know, we’ve talked before about inflammation, and it’s the same thing. So that constant abuse and that twisting causes inflammation of your joints, your spine and so forth. We can go in with techniques that do not involve surgery to reduce the inflammation of your lower back, which will help significantly and help you get your life back.

Cyndi: Is there anything we can do at home ourselves to prevent the pain?

Dr. Rudy: Sure. One thing you can do is, number one, make sure that you always use proper technique whenever you do any sort of exercise.

Cyndi: Easy for you to say.

Dr. Rudy: That’s true. And just take care of yourself, you know, regular exercises, core exercises.

Cyndi: Core. That’s so important. We you have to think about…

Dr. Rudy: Core is very important.

Cyndi: And when you say core exercises, it’s more than just getting on the ground and doing sit-ups, right?

Dr. Rudy: That’s correct.

Cyndi: What should we be doing to strengthen our core?

Dr. Rudy: Well, anything, like, for example, one of the things you can do is you can get on the horse. And that’s one of the most effective way to strengthen your core, is when you’re almost, like, very flat, that causes your entire core muscles to contract. Try doing that for 20, 30 seconds and then try to go up to about one, two minutes if you can.

Cyndi: So let’s say this method is not working, we’re still in a lot of pain. What’s the next step? What’s the consultation like when we come and see you?

Dr. Rudy: The next step is you wanna come in and see a physician like myself, because we’re gonna take a very thorough history and physical examination. And depending on what that shows, do some imaging studies, maybe an MRI, an X-ray, find out what’s going on. You might have something that’s a lot more that’s going on there that is gonna need some intervention.

Cyndi: Right. And it might not mean a whole lot of physical therapy. It might be a quick fix but it might be something that you have to do.

Dr. Rudy: That’s right. That’s correct.

Cyndi: Okay. Good stuff, Dr. Gari. If you want relief from back pain or any kind of pain, or you’ve had that tweak and you just can’t get rid of it, you can make same-day appointments at Florida Pain Relief Group. Be sure to visit their website. It is floridapainreliefgroup.com, or give them a call today at 844-KICK-PAIN. “Daytime” will be right back.

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Concussions and Headaches

A headache following concussion will usually clear within a few minutes to days following trauma.

Longer lasting headaches are known as post-traumatic headache. (PTHA) There is a wide variety of symptoms and frequency of headache.

The most difficult presentation is the individual who develops chronic headaches following mild injury. It is important to obtain an accurate history of the patient as well as examination and imaging if appropriate.

Obtaining an accurate history from the headache patient can be challenging. Did the patient have any headaches prior to injury? What additional symptoms do they have-nausea, vomiting, blurring or loss of vision, light, smell or sound sensitivity? Problems with memory? Changes in behavior observed by close friends or family? Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or dizziness?

Clinical features may range from mild aching over entire head or unilateral (one side) headache, frequency and severity . Often the pain of headaches and the inability to function cause anxiety, depression, and libido impairment.

Changes in mental function may be seen with difficulty in concentration, decreased work efficiency, difficulty maintaining attention and memory loss. Burst of anger or bouts of crying may also be seen.

Treatment of post traumatic headache as well as other symptoms is usually symptomatic. There is no medication that will alter the disturbances that may have occurred in the brain. “Wait and watch” is a frequent term used by clinicians and may be frustrating to the patient, especially the young previously healthy individual.

Appropriate diagnosis is essential. What might the extent of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) be? Are there other injuries which may be effecting the patient’s pain such as jaw or neck injury?

PTHA (post traumatic headache)-major types

  • Tension headaches
  • Cervical/cervicogenic headaches
  • Musculoskeletal headaches
  • Temporal Mandibular Joint Dysfunction

Treatment:

  • Physical Therapy
  • Medications
  • Stress Management
  • SPG Blocks
  • Occipital Nerve Blocks
  • Botox

NCAA Guidelines for return to play after concussion:

  • Light aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, or stationary bike. If asymptomatic then;
  • Mode, duration and intensity-dependent exercise based upon sport. If asymptomatic then;
  • Sport specific activity with no head impact. If asymptomatic then;
  • Non-contact sport drills and resumption of progressive resistance training. If asymptomatic then;
  • Full contact practice. If asymptomatic then;
  • Return to play. Medical clearance determined by treating provider or athletic trainer in consultation with team provider

If at any time the athlete becomes symptomatic, return to previous level of activity. Final determination ultimately resides with the team provider.

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