OIP Safe Summer Fun Series: Trampolines

Attention patients with United Health Care insurance!

Important Notice:
You may have recently received a letter stating that Pinnacle Health and OIP will no longer be participating with your insurance plan starting June 1, 2017. This is incorrect. OIP will remain a participating provider with your insurance. If you have concerns about coverage of services within Pinnacle Health system, please contact the member services number on the back of your insurance card to inquire. Please contact our billing office at (717) 761-5530 for additional information. Thank you.

Make May Count

• Make May the month you schedule a DEXA, or bone density, exam.
• Make May the month you start calcium and Vit D supplementation.
• Make May the month you start some weight-bearing exercises.
• Make May the month you ask your family doctor or OIP provider about osteoporosis.
• Make May count

We’re never too old to get in shape!

Robert Marchand is a 105 year old cyclist who had improved his world record for how far he could ride a bicycle in one hour from 15.1 miles at age 101 to 16.7 miles at age 103.  That is an 11% improvement in performance due to vigorous training.  Impressive at any age!

In addition, his blood tests that are used as markers of aging improved over those two years!

His program?  One day a week, intensive long duration cycling (at least 3 hours long) to deplete his muscle sugars.  This allowed him to store more energy in his muscles for future workouts.

Two days a week, he did intensive interval training that involved exercising as hard as he could for 30 seconds to two minutes multiple times until fatigue.

The remaining 4 days a week, he did relaxed bike rides in order to recover from the other intense workouts.  He exercised every day of the week.

So, Robert Marchand proves that you are never too old!  Get out there and exercise!

Video

The Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania Welcomes New CEO

The largest provider of orthopedic care in the South Central PA region has successfully recruited a new CEO to take over the reins starting in April.

William C. Thompson, II is leaving his position as the Director at the world-renown Hedley Orthopedic Institute in Phoenix, Arizona to join OIP. Prior to his work in Phoenix, he was the Director of Operations at the Cardinal Orthopedic Institute in Columbus, Ohio. He also has significant experience as a high level administrator in the acute care hospital setting and in urgent care.

Will earned a BA from the Ohio State University in Political Science and an MBA at OSU’s Fisher College of Business.

He is replacing Dr. Jack Frankeny who is retiring from clinical practice and administration.

The Orthopedic Institute of PA sees patients in 14 locations in Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Northumberland, Fulton, and Huntington Counties. They employ nearly 300 employees.

Lyme Disease & Joint Pain

-Symptoms of Lyme Disease
-Treatment of Lyme Disease
-Prevention of Lyme Disease

If you are wondering if a disease can cause all your joints to hurt, Lyme disease is most likely the answer. An infection caused by bacterium carried by deer ticks, Lyme disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics when caught early. However, when undiagnosed and left untreated, the infection can potentially spread to your nervous system, heart and joints, resulting in a complex and debilitating disorder that is more difficult to treat.

Can Lyme disease cause joint pain? The simple answer is yes it can. Here we’ll provide more information on Lyme disease and its relationship to joint pain.

How Do You Get Lyme Disease?

In the U.S., Lyme disease is carried primarily by deer or blacklegged ticks, and it is caused by the Borrelia mayonii and Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. It’s easy to be bitten by ticks in high-risk areas such as Central PA. The creatures are often no bigger than a poppy seed, so they are very difficult to see before they latch on.

However, not all ticks are Lyme disease carriers. To contract the disease, an infected tick needs to bite you. Bacteria from the tick will eventually make its way from the bite through to your bloodstream, usually taking between 36 to 48 hours. For this reason, whenever you’ve been in the outdoors, particularly in a known tick-heavy area, you should always check your body for parasites before you come back inside.

In the two primary stages of life, U.S. deer ticks feed on rodents, which are a prime source of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Ticks move onto feeding primarily on white-tailed deer when they reach adulthood.

If you find a swollen tick attached to you, it could have fed for long enough to transmit bacteria and should be removed with tick tweezers as soon as possible to prevent infection.

Risk Factors for Acquiring Lyme Disease

Where you vacation or live, as well as what outdoor activities you participate in, affects your likelihood of being exposed to Lyme disease. Common factors that put you at risk of contracting Lyme disease include:

• Spending time in grassy or wooded areas. Deer ticks are very prevalent in the Central PA area due to its heavily wooded countryside. Deer ticks thrive in these types of places. Children here are particularly at risk as well as adults who work outdoors.

• Having exposed skin. Ticks find it easy to attach themselves to exposed skin, so if you’re in an area that’s known for ticks, always wear long sleeves and long pants and never allow your pets to run through long grasses.

• Removing ticks incorrectly or not quickly enough. As you already know, bacteria from a tick bite has the potential to enter your bloodstream if the tick has been attached to you for between 36 to 48 hours or longer. If you spot and correctly remove the tick within 48 hours, your risk of acquiring Lyme disease is low, so always check your skin after being outdoors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that older adults and children are most susceptible to the disease, along with others, like park rangers and firefighters, who spend time outside.  It’s estimated that 300,000 people nationwide are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.

Facts About Lyme Disease in PA

Ticks thrive in the countryside of Pennsylvania in particular, and according to a study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), Lyme has a greater likelihood of occurring where suburban developments encroach on existing forest. This is thought to be because the white-footed mouse that is the most important animal in the Lyme disease transmission cycle can live without too many predators under these circumstances.

Notable statistics of Lyme disease in PA include:

• Pennsylvania ranks at number one in terms of Lyme disease cases across the US.
• Pennsylvania reported 7,400 new cases of Lyme disease in 2014 alone. This was a 25 percent increase on the previous year’s numbers, and experts believe that the actual number could be as many as 10-12 times higher.
• Pennsylvania contains 67 counties, and all have reported cases of Lyme disease.
• Pennsylvania contains a reported 10 tick-borne diseases.

What Are the Common Symptoms of Lyme disease?

In the early stages of infection, symptoms of Lyme disease are very similar to a mild flu, including

• Headache
• Fever
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Swollen lymph nodes

For some people, a telltale sign of the disease is the red bull’s eye-shaped skin rash that presents in some, but not all sufferers, within three to 30 days after being bitten by a tick.

Often, these first signs are missed when you’re infected with Lyme disease and are dismissed as the flu or some other virus. This is very worrying because if antibiotic treatment isn’t begun when the first signs of the disease present, your condition can become more serious.

Joint pain is another issue that can occur with Lyme disease. In the worst cases, over several weeks, nervous system and heart issues can develop. If left untreated, you may suffer from arthritis and neurological issues.  In fact, according to the Arthritis Foundation, when Lyme disease is untreated, more than half of all sufferers will develop sporadic arthritis bouts.

Although the symptoms and signs of Lyme disease can vary from person to person, they generally appear in stages with early symptoms and signs appearing first, followed by later ones.

Early Symptoms and Signs of Lyme Disease

You can expect a small, red bump on the site of your bite, or where you removed the tick from, and this will resolve within a day or two. This is to be expected after being bitten by any insect, and it in itself is not an indicator that you have Lyme disease.

However, if you have been infected, you can expect the following within a month or so:

• Flu-like symptoms. Early-stage Lyme disease can present as chills, fever, fatigue body aches, stiff neck, headache and other flu-like symptoms.

• Rash development. Between three and 30 days after an infected tick bites you, you may see a rash that looks like a bull’s eye. This will expand over days, and it can grow to as many as 11 to 12 inches across. It is usually not painful or itchy.

Later Symptoms and Signs of Lyme Disease

If you don’t seek treatment, other symptoms and signs of infection may appear over the following weeks and months, including:

• The bull’s eye rash. It is also called erythema migrans, and it may appear on other areas of your body.

• Neurological problems. At any time after the initial Lyme disease infection, even years later, you could develop meningitis, Bell’s palsy (temporary paralysis of one side of your face), weakness or numbness in your limbs and impaired muscle movement.

You may also suffer from:

• Other rashes
• Nausea and vomiting

Many weeks after infection, some people develop:

• Severe fatigue
• Hepatitis
• Eye inflammation
• Heart problems that last either for days or weeks
• Joint pain and arthritis

The Progression of Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease, Joint Pain and Arthritis

Lyme disease and joint pain unfortunately go hand in hand, as Lyme-related arthritis is commonly found in Lyme disease sufferers. If you have Lyme arthritis, you have swollen, painful and aching joints that cause stiffness and pain. It is found in people who are in the late stages of Lyme disease. According to an article in Science Daily, approximately 60 percent of patients with untreated Lyme disease will develop related arthritis.

Lyme arthritis is caused by the bacteria that causes Lyme disease getting into your joints and causing inflammation of your tissues. Over time, this can cause damage to your cartilage. Most cases of Lyme arthritis are short-lasting and affect only one large joint.

Lyme arthritis can affect your:

• Knees (most common)
• Wrists
• Ankles
• Hips
• Elbows
• Shoulders

In the U.S., it’s estimated that about 60 percent of untreated Lyme disease patients will experience intermittent episodes of swelling and lyme disease joint pain for months to years after they are infected by a tick bite.

Thankfully, most Lyme arthritis cases can be treated with antibiotics and NSAIDs, although some people may require surgery to remove some diseased tissue. Around ten percent of untreated patients may go on to develop chronic arthritis, reports Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.

How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed?

As the symptoms and signs of Lyme disease are similar to those found in other conditions and are nonspecific, diagnosis is not easy. In addition to this, the ticks that spread the disease can also transmit other diseases at the same time.

Diagnosis is easier when your doctor can see that you have the characteristic bull’s eye rash. However, if you don’t, your doctor will ask you about your medical history, whether you’ve been outdoors in summertime, where you have been outdoors and will give you a medical examination.

Lab tests enable bacteria antibodies to be detected in order to confirm a diagnosis. They are most reliable when you’ve had the infection for a few weeks, as your body will then have had the time to develop the antibodies.

Tests for Lyme disease include:

• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. This is the test most commonly used to diagnose Lyme disease, and it detects antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Sometimes the test brings up a false-positive so it’s not typically used as the sole test for diagnosis.

Although the test may not show as a positive result during the first stage of Lyme disease, often the accompanying rash is distinctive enough to make the diagnosis, especially if you’ve been in an area where Lyme disease-transmitting ticks are common.

• Western blot test. If the initial ELISA test comes back positive, the Western blot test will confirm your diagnosis.

How Is Lyme Disease Treated?

Generally speaking, the earlier and more quickly Lyme disease is treated, the quicker and more complete your recovery will be.

Antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease, and they include: 

• Oral antibiotics. Oral antibiotics are the standard treatment for Lyme disease when it’s in its early stages. Cefuroxime or amoxicillin is prescribed for younger children, breastfeeding or pregnant women and some adults. Doxycycline is given to children and adults over the age of eight years.

The usual length of a course of antibiotics for Lyme disease is between 14 and 21 days.

• Intravenous antibiotics. If you are suffering from complications affecting your central nervous system, you may be prescribed treatment via intravenous antibiotics for between 14 and 28 days. This course of action gets rid of any infection, although it may still take you a long time to recover entirely from your symptoms.

Intravenous antibiotic treatment often causes a range of side effects, including:

• Mild to severe diarrhea
• Lower white blood cell count
• Infection or colonization with other antibiotic-resistant organisms

Even though there is a risk of experiencing these side effects, it’s imperative to undergo the course of treatment your doctor prescribes to avoid the serious complications Lyme disease can have.

It’s important to remember that even after you’ve finished your treatment, you may still experience other symptoms, like fatigue and muscle aches. This is known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, and the cause of the condition is as yet unknown.

Treating Lyme Disease-Related Joint Pain

When a patient with Lyme disease presents with joint pain symptoms, they may be suffering from Lyme arthritis. If antibiotics are not used to treat Lyme disease, there’s a good chance that a patient could develop Lyme arthritis. For most people, once the underlying bacterial infection is treated, the associated arthritis also resolves with no additional treatment required.

However, in some cases, even when the Lyme disease is treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics, the arthritis persists. This is known as antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis, which means patients may need medications that treat the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. The main way that doctors determine if a patient has arthritis despite being treated for Lyme disease is the persistent inflammation that causes joint pain.

It’s believed that patients with antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis are more susceptible to excessive inflammation due to two factors:

• A bacterial strain that is particularly inflammatory
• Patient genetic factors that cause a predisposition to marked pro-inflammatory pathways and immune system dysregulation

Whatever the cause, Lyme arthritis that continues to cause joint pain after antibiotics have been administered will require additional treatment to help sufferers manage their symptoms. Some of the most common treatments that may be attempted include:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): These are over-the-counter and prescription medications that both relieve arthritis pain and reduce inflammation. They’re usually taken orally, but they can also be applied to swollen joints as a topical treatment. The most well-known NSAIDs are aspirin, ibuprofen and Aleve.
• Anti-inflammatory medications: If your inflammation becomes extreme, your doctor may prescribe a potent and fast-acting anti-inflammatory medication to get this symptom under control. An example of this is corticosteroid medications.
• Prescription opioids: In rare cases, a patient may experience painful symptoms that are not aided by NSAIDs or other treatment options. In these instances, your doctor may prescribe opioids like codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone. These are not recommended for long-term use, however.

If you would prefer to treat your arthritis symptoms naturally without medication, there are a few options you can try:

• Losing weight will put less pressure on joints, thus relieving pain.
• Low-impact exercises, like aerobics or swimming, allow for increased flexibility in your joints.
• Hot treatments for joint stiffness and cold treatments for pain, swelling and inflammation make a world of difference.

Your doctor may even recommend physical therapy to increase joint flexibility and muscle strength so that you can more effectively manage painful symptoms.

How Can You Prevent Lyme Disease?

The best way you can avoid Lyme disease in central PA, and indeed, anywhere there is a risk to human health, is to avoid walking in brushy, wooded areas with long grass. Other precautions you should take include:

• Tick-proof your yard. Clear leaves and brush on a regular basis and ensure you mow your lawn regularly.

• Cover up. When you’re in grassy or wooded areas, wear long pants tucked into your socks, shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. Wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to see ticks.

• Stay on trails. Try not to veer off from trails and avoid taking any routes through long grass or bushes. In addition, always keep your dog on a leash, as dogs are prone to tick bites, too.

• Wear insect repellent. An insect repellent with at least 20 percent or higher concentration of DEET will help protect your skin from tick bites. If you’re a parent of young children, you should always apply repellent to your kids rather than letting them do it themselves and take care to avoid their eyes, mouth and hands. Chemical repellents can be toxic, so always use them with care and be sure to read the label.

It’s also good practice to apply permethrin-containing products to your clothing for extra protection.

If you’re visiting anywhere that might have an active tick population, it’s important to be proactive about checking your family and pets for ticks. Deer ticks can be as small as a pinhead, so it’s imperative to be vigilant. Areas to particularly focus on checking are behind and in your ears, behind your knees, under your arms, on the back of your legs and anywhere else a small arachnid could escape detection. Also, the following precautions may help you find a tick before it’s too late:

• Check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks. After being out in any wooded area in Central PA, it’s a good idea to thoroughly check yourself, inside your belly button, under your arms, around your waist, in your body hair and hair on your head.
• Shower with a washcloth. It’s a good idea to shower as soon as you get home, as ticks can sit on your skin for hours before they bite, so showering with a washcloth can remove them before they have time to do any damage.
• Remove any ticks as soon as possible with tweezers. Either using regular tweezers or specialized tick tweezers that can be purchased from any outdoors store, you should quickly remove any ticks you discover on you, your children or pets. Gently grasp the insect near its head and pull steadily, and carefully, being sure not to crush or squeeze the tick. Once you have done this, dispose of the tick carefully and apply antiseptic to your skin.
• Never assume you’re immune. Even if you have had Lyme disease in the past, you can always get it again, so it’s crucial to remain aware of any risks in your area.

When it’s caught and treated as early as possible, Lyme disease can be fully treated, saving you from potential complications like arthritis and joint pain. You and your family can be tick aware while still enjoying the great outdoors and protecting your health.

If you have Lyme disease and you’re currently suffering from joint pain, contact us here at Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania (OIP) for an appointment.

OIP on the cutting edge of total joint replacements

The Orthopedic Institute of PA performed Total hip and knee replacements on patients of the Pennsylvania Employee Benefits Trust Fund (PEBTF) as part of a year-long trial in an attempt to improve outcomes and reduce costs.  The results were published nationally by the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute HCI3.  The results can be summed up by HIC3’s comment: “what OIP pulled off is impressive.”

Patient satisfaction remained high, while costs were reduced by $4,189 per patient. Due to more effective pain management and advanced rehabilitation programs, hospital stays were shorter and more patients were discharged safely to the comfort of their own homes rather than to inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

HCI3 describes the excellent results as due to “the rather dramatic care process improvements achieved.”

Congratulations to our surgeons at The Orthopedic Institute of PA!

For additional information about the ‘The PEBTF Total Joint Bundled Payment Pilot:  A Best Practices Summary’, check out HCI3’s Case Study online at: http://prometheusanalytics.net/sites/default/files/attachments/PEBTF-Case-Study_0.pdf

How to Prevent Common Fall Sports Injuries

The roar of the crowd as the running back heads into the end zone for a touchdown. The satisfying smack of the ball as a middle blocker delivers a thundering spike. The sweet swish of a goal hitting the back of a soccer net. The unison cries of cheerleaders as they execute a cupie. The anguished yell of a player going down with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

Those first four sounds are welcome signs that fall sports season has arrived. That last one is not, but alas, it happens all too often to athletes around the Central PA area. Fall sports injuries are commonplace, yet many of them are preventable when you plan ahead.

This is important, because more kids than ever are playing sports. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, an all-time-best 7.8 million kids participated in sports last year, including more than 319,000 in Pennsylvania. Many of their parents also remain active, with one in four still participating in sports.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide to fall sports safety and injury prevention, designed to address concerns we hear from our patients and their parents about how to enjoy a fun and healthy fall season. We love sports, and we want our patients to feel confident and secure as they participate in them. Follow these tips to keep playing hard this fall.

The Most Common Fall Sports

You can play most any sport in the fall — even baseball, once relegated to spring, has fall ball while basketball has indoor leagues in October and November. But some of the most popular traditional fall sports at the high school, college or adult level include:

• Football
• Field hockey
• Cross country
• Soccer
• Cheerleading
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Golf

These sports all require a mix of cardiovascular training and strength to succeed, as well as precision. It’s not easy to hit a tiny ball onto the green or veer around mud puddles that pop up suddenly as you run a course. Unfortunately, each sport also carries some risk, whether it’s from whacking into an opposing team’s player, being thrown up in the air, or executing a forehand swing again and again.

The Most Common Fall Sports Injuries

Each year, some 1.35 million children suffer injuries while playing sports. Of those, strains, sprains and fractures are the most common. We treat those here at OIP, along with many other conditions. Here’s a look at some of the sports injuries most likely to be sustained during the fall and a few things to look out for and keep in mind when dealing with these conditions.

Fractures

Nearly every sport calls for rapid movement, and you often come into contact with other players. Anyone who’s ever watched a penalty corner in soccer knows how easy it is to get knocked around when you’re going for the ball. Add in sticks in field hockey, and it’s little wonder broken arms and legs can happen.

Fractures hurt a great deal. Though we tend to think of a broken arm or leg, you can suffer broken bones in anything from your fingers to your metatarsals in your feet. Not every fracture is the same, either. We see a range of different broken bones:

• Open fracture: A bone pokes through skin
• Comminuted fracture: A bone has been broken more than once
• Bowing fracture: A bone bends but doesn’t snap, a condition limited to children
• Complete fracture: A bone breaks in two
• Greenstick fracture: One side of the bone is cracked, but the other remains intact

Fractures require immediate treatment. Not all breaks will need a cast, but many will necessitate a long break from the field.

Strains

Muscle strains come from sudden movements, moving in a way the body isn’t used to or overuse. We often think of strains as the aches that dog weekend warriors, but an athlete in great shape can still sustain a strain. Football, soccer and field hockey players tend to suffer more back and leg strains, while tennis, golf and volleyball players are more prone to arm, elbow and neck strains.

Symptoms of a muscle strain may include:

• Swelling
• Spasming
• Cramping
• Trouble moving

The best treatment for strains includes a mix of rest, icing and elevation. Your muscle needs time to repair itself, which will happen more quickly if you reduce the pressure on it by letting it relax as much as possible. For a leg or ankle strain, crutches may even be necessary for a few days. In severe cases, surgery could be necessary for a strain, but most will heal in a short period of time.

Sprains

Sprains are tears or stretches of your ligaments, which tether bones together at a joint. Most sprains occur when you twist part of your body in an awkward way. For instance: you land on the side of your ankle instead of your foot after kicking a ball. Fall sports can lead to all types of sprains, from ankles to elbows and knees. Hand injuries can even occur in a sport such as soccer, where you don’t use your hands, if you fall and land awkwardly on your hand.

Many people who tear their ACLs, one of the most devastating types of fall sports sprains, often report hearing a pop or feeling the tear. An ACL injury may require surgery and months of rehabilitation, and athletes may be limited in what they can do on the field when they return. In most cases, however, you can heal from a sprain through:

• Rest
• Icing and compressing
• Immobilizing with a splint
• Elevating
• Taking anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling

Concussions

No matter the season, concussions are a constant when it comes to sports. Contact sports such as football often lead to hard blows to the head. In soccer, repeatedly heading the ball can result in a concussion. Cheerleaders can fall from heights of five feet or more when executing flips, lifts or pyramids. Not every blow to the head results in a concussion, but they can occur from what may appear to be a mild knock.

Be aware of the symptoms of concussions and keep an eye out for them after a head blow. They include:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Head and eye pain when exposed to a bright light
• Confusion or disorientation
• Fatigue
• Ringing in the ears

If you experience those symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately. They’ll recommend the proper treatment, which will likely include a mixture of rest and refraining from activities that require a lot of thinking. If you’ve had more than one concussion, you may need to discuss further safety measures to avoid long-term brain distress.

Shin Splints

Do your lower legs feel sore or tender? Does it hurt when you run? You may have developed shin splints, an overuse injury often seen in fall sports where athletes run at a high intensity, such as cross country, soccer or field hockey. The repetitive motion of running — jarring the tissues holding your muscles to your bone — causes shin splints.

They tend to occur early in a season, when your body isn’t used to running, and ease as your body adjusts. Upping your mileage or workout intensity too quickly can spur shin splints, as can running on hard surfaces, such as concrete. You may be predisposed to developing shin splints if you have high arches, too.

Most cases of shin splints will respond to the usual treatments for strain, including rest and icing. It’s important to take time away from your sport to allow your body to heal sufficiently before you start running again. But in a small number of cases, athletes need further treatment, such as:

• When the orthopedist suspects a stress fracture
• Tendonitis develops
• You don’t have shin splints at all, but rather a rare condition called chronic exertional compartment syndrome, in which pressure builds up in the muscles.

Patellofemoral Syndrome

Pain in the front of the knee can be excruciating. If your knee hurts when you squat, sit, walk up the stairs or jump, you may have developed patellofemoral syndrome, which is common in athletes, and especially in teens. Symptoms include the knee buckling or making grinding and popping sounds.

Patellofemoral syndrome occurs when the cartilage beneath the kneecap becomes worn or soft. This can lead to a shifting of position of the kneecap, and poor alignment can cause the pain.

Initially, your doctor will advise you to avoid any activities that cause pain in the knee. It’s also treated by:

• Wearing a brace to keep the kneecap in place
• Ice and rest
• Avoiding long periods in bent-knee positions
• Strengthening the knee with stationary bike riding
• Taking an anti-inflammatory medicine

How to Prevent Fall Sports Injuries

Now you know what injuries fall sports players are most susceptible to. The good news is, you may be able to avoid some of these injuries.

The first and most important rule of injury prevention for any sport, whether it’s football or field hockey, is to get a physical. Most high schools and middle schools require athletes to have a physical at the beginning of any sports season. The pediatrician will examine the athlete for any signs they should not be competing, or tip off parents for things to keep an eye on.

The physical is essentially a proactive way to address any limitations or problems your child may experience in their chosen sport. For instance, if a volleyball player suffered an ACL tear a year earlier, the doctor may have special instructions about running and jumping. You may also want to consult your child’s orthopedist if they’ve had issues in the past.

Of course, not all athletes are kids. In fact, injuries can be far more common for “weekend warriors” who limit their activity to short, intense bursts on the weekend. They put themselves at greater risk of getting hurt because their body has not been conditioned to such intensity. It’s easier for a muscle to tear or an ankle to give out when the body is put in such distress.

If you haven’t had a physical in a couple years — or worse, longer than that — get to the doctor before your flag football, soccer or volleyball season begins. Think of it like your yearly car inspection. You need to know everything’s working right before you can get back on the road.

Other Fall Sports Safety Tips

If you or your child have already had your physical, great job! But there are a number of other fall sports injury prevention tips you can follow. Make sure you keep these in mind so your family can enjoy a fun and injury-free season.

Warm Up Properly

Tip: Getting the body limber and ready to move will prevent many sports injuries. To reference the car analogy once more, your car can’t go from 0 to 100 miles per hour in an instant. It needs time to build to that top speed. It’s the same for your body.

Execution: Perform stretches and light calisthenics before any game or practice instead of jumping into sprints or full-body blocking, and your body will be ready to move without hesitation.

Cross-Train to Prevent Injury

Tip: The stronger your body is, the better it can handle strains and respond to pressure. Many athletes these days have a tendency to specialize — that is, to play just one sport. That can be great for developing skills, but it means your body does the same thing over and over, and it can make you more susceptible to injury. Challenging the body with new exercises, including weight-bearing exercises that strengthen bones as well as muscles, will help you improve as an athlete, too.

Execution: At least once a week, do something other than your chosen sport. If you’re a runner, try lifting weights. If you’re a football player, try swimming. If you’re a volleyball player, try biking. Use different muscles in order to balance out your regular training.

Make Sure Courts and Fields Are in Good Condition

Tip: You wouldn’t let your child go to a school where the doors were falling off their hinges or the windows were bashed out. Don’t let them play on a shoddy field or court, either — the consequences can be just as dangerous. If a soccer player streaking down the field suddenly catches their foot in a divot, they could sprain their ankle or worse.

Execution: Ask coaches if playing surfaces have been inspected. Don’t be afraid to speak up. If this concern has never been raised before, offer to act as a liaison between your league and others to improve the condition of area fields. For youth and adult sports, many leagues rely on volunteers to get fields ship-shape. You may need to help out to ensure your or your child’s safety.

Rest After Sustaining an Injury

Tip: Athletes tend to be competitive. They want to get back on the field as soon as possible, and many will try to skimp on the time off they’ve been told to take. They may claim “I feel fine!” or “I don’t really need three weeks of rest!” But that’s usually not true. The doctor has prescribed this time off because it’s necessary to heal properly, even if they can’t feel it happening.

Execution: Follow doctor’s orders to the letter. Don’t return to the field until the doctor has okayed it. Though it may seem devastating to miss a “big game,” athletes who come back too soon could be endangering their careers, not just their seasons.

Speak Up About Pain

Tip: Especially when you’ve suffered a blow to the head, being proactive can help protect your health. Concussions carry even more serious consequences when they are not treated. There’s often a desire among athletes to appear “tough,” so they play through the pain. But in truth, pain is your body’s way of telling you something’s wrong.

Execution: See your doctor or orthopedist if you suffer pain that lasts more than a few hours, you suffered a blow to the head or you simply know something in your body isn’t right. Remember: the sooner an injury gets treated, the sooner you can be back on the field.

Invest in High-Quality Equipment

Tip: Playing sports can be expensive. It’s tempting to skimp on some of the “extras,” such as mouth guards or cleats, that aren’t provided by the school or that you have to replace every few years. But in the long run, it’s better for your wallet — and your health — to spend the money on proper equipment to keep you or your child safe.

Execution: Talk to other parents or your teammates about where to find the best-quality equipment. A coach or trainer may also recommend effective brands or stores. You can often find dentists or dentists-in-training who will outfit teams with mouth guards for free, as a public service.

Change Positions

Tip: When you play the same position in every game and practice, you repeat the same movements day after day. This repetitive motion leads to bursitis, or inflamed bursa sacs, and tendonitis, or inflamed tendons. Though getting reps at the position you play is important, you should also be moving around the field to prevent these repetitive motion injuries.

Execution: This can even benefit your team, if you need to build an argument to an overzealous coach. It helps the quarterback of a football team to understand what their receivers see on the field. This will help him get the ball to them more effectively if he understands, for example, where to throw the ball to keep it away from a defensive back who’s closing in.

Enjoy Downtime

Tip: Playing sports is fun. You may want to do it year-round, month after month. But your body needs a break. Instead of going from football to basketball to baseball, make sure you take some time off between seasons. In addition to allowing your body to rest, it helps avoid mental burnout, which can lead to injury when you become too tired to use proper form or pay attention during key moments of a game.

Execution: Even just a week’s break between your fall and winter sport can give the body some much-needed downtime. Go see movies, plan a vacation or veg on the couch. Being inactive for a few days can be just as valuable as being active the rest of the year.

Fuel Your Body Properly

Tip: A strong body will resist injury better than a weak one. Eat a balanced diet with lots of calcium to build strong bones that keep you running fast. Hydration can also be tricky during the fall, often leading to dehydration and poor form that encourages injuries. Fall’s early months can be just as hot as the summer, so don’t skimp on water during practice and games just because the calendar says it’s late September. And don’t forget to stay hydrated during the chilly month of November, even though you may be sweating less than you did two months ago.

Execution: Drink before, during and after your game or practice. Try new veggies and fruits every week to keep your diet interesting. Find tasty sources of calcium to provide insurance for your bone health.

Have You or Your Child Sustained a Fall Sports Injury?

Sometimes, despite your best precautionary efforts, injuries happen. We’re here to help you get through them. If you or your child gets injured during a fall sports game or practice, contact OIP. We can help diagnose the problem quickly and work to have you or your child back in the game — after the proper amount of rest, of course.

Clearing the Smoke Around Joint Replacement

Did you know the risks of complications after a total joint replacement are increased for smokers?

• The infection rate is six times higher in smokers than in non-smokers.
• The rate of blood clots and wound complications is significantly higher in smokers.

However, If you stop smoking four weeks before joint replacement surgery, you can reduce your risk of complications by 41%!  On average, each week you are able to avoid tobacco; your risk of complications goes down by 19%. If you eliminate nicotine, the blood flow to your skin returns to normal in two weeks, allowing more normal surgical wound healing.

If you are also able to avoid smoking for two weeks after surgery, your wound healing complications are significantly reduced.  In addition, some prostheses are not cemented into place.  For long-lasting success, they require your own bone to grow into the prostheses.  That would require at least six months of smoking cessation after surgery to optimize your chance of a successful joint replacement.

If you decide that stopping smoking is the right thing for you to do, up to 22 percent of people who stop in order to undergo a joint replacement never go back to smoking.

So if you are considering a joint replacement surgery, please seriously consider stopping smoking four weeks before surgery and do not smoke at least two weeks after surgery.  You can consult with your orthopedic surgeon and your primary care provider for ideas and options for smoking cessation.