The weekend warrior is a special species; they spend the week working 40 hours (usually at a desk) and then get into all sorts of activities over the weekend. Whether the activities are household chores, gardening, yard work, sports, or working out, they want to fit in as much as possible while they are off from work over the weekend. These activities can often result in injuries and make that inevitable return to work much more difficult. Here are the 4 most common injuries that a weekend warrior suffers.
Sprained Ankle
The ankle is held together by a series of ligaments that connect across the joint between the leg and foot. When the ankle rolls, twists, or turns in an awkward way, these ligaments are then stretched too far and become damaged which results in a sprain. The best way to prevent ankle sprains is proper preparation; warming up and stretching the joint prior to activity helps loosen up the ligaments and increases their ability to handle excessive stress.
Shin Splints
Many high-impact activities, such as running, will put increased stress on the muscles and ligaments in the shin. When your foot strikes the ground, these muscles are responsible for maintaining ankle stability. Shin splints are a repetitive stress injury to these muscles and connective tissues in the shin. Individuals who are just starting to run are most susceptible to these injuries as their muscles aren’t accustomed to the activity. The best way to avoid shin splints is to strengthen your legs, hips, and core. These muscle groups help the legs deal with the high impact of running. It is also important to make sure you are wearing the right running shoes and have proper arch supports. A fallen arch in your foot places extra strain on these muscles and predisposes you to having shin splints.
Tennis/Golfers Elbow
The tendons in the forearm that connect at the elbow function to provide stability in the wrist during activities like golf or tennis. Overdoing these activities can cause pain and inflammation at the bony attachment point of these tendons. Activities that tend to flex the wrist, such as golfing, will cause pain on the interior side of the elbow. Activities where the wrist tends to extend, such as tennis, will cause pain on the outside of the elbow. Avoiding these injuries starts with simply warming up and stretching the forearm muscles before you begin these activities. Older equipment that may be heavier and have poor grips can also increase the risk of injury.
Rotator Cuff Strain
The shoulder joint is kept in place by the group of surrounding muscles collectively called the rotator cuff. Any injury to these muscles or the joint itself can cause dull achy pain in the shoulder. One of the more common ways these injuries occur is from overdoing weekend activities that repeatedly call for overhead motion such as painting. Exercises that target individual rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder are the best way to prevent injuries to the area. Also, be sure to maintain good posture to keep pressure off of the shoulder in general.
Even when you do your best to try to avoid injury, eventually everybody has that one weekend where they overdo it. Luckily you can always visit your Rochester chiropractor. Our office utilizes Class IV chiropractic laser therapy to accelerate the recovery of these types of injuries. High-powered laser works to both reduce the overall pain in the area as well as accelerate the healing process by supplying extra energy to the cells responsible for tissue repair. Unlike lower-powered lasers, a Class IV laser can penetrate into deep tissues and provide the amount of energy necessary for a therapeutic effect in a significantly shorter time. In many cases, you will feel significantly less pain and have an improved range of motion after your first visit.
If you feel like you have overdone it at some point over the summer and don’t want to spend the next work week fighting through the pain, schedule an appointment with your chiropractor in Rochester. Here at Rush-Henrietta Family Chiropractic, your Rochester chiropractor has been utilizing laser light therapy for pain and traditional chiropractic adjusting to help people quickly recover from their weekend warrior activities. Schedule an appointment and get out of pain today.
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