Keeping Your Head In The Game

In just a few short months, the biggest single-event sporting competition in the world, The FIFA World Cup, will kick off in Brazil and fans across the globe will tune in to watch some of the greatest athletes on the planet battle for the coveted Jules Rimet Trophy.

Even though hockey is such a mainstay of our culture here in Canada, make no mistake, Canadians are just as passionate about 'footy' as they are most other sports. On any given weekend, soccer fields throughout Surrey are filled with kids and adults kicking a ball around, either in organized leagues or pick up games.

In fact, nearly 3 million Canadians played soccer last year!

 And while sports like hockey and football (the North American kind) often get most of the attention when it comes to the risk for concussion, soccer is no stranger to these traumatic head injuries. In a sport where heading a ball (and accidentally on occasion, the noggins of other players) is commonplace, it's not hard to see why the risk of concussions in soccer has created a lot of discussion in recent years.

So much so, The Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine published a series of recommendations some time ago to help reduce the risk of concussions to soccer players.

 If you play soccer or coach youngsters playing the game, keep these recommendations in mind.

• Use age appropriate soccer balls. Size 3 balls for ages 10 and under, size 4 for ages 10-14, and size 5 for players over 14.

• Heading of the ball should be minimized amongst children. Repetitive heading should be avoided and not used in games until proper technique is learned.

• Proper heading technique should be taught by qualified coaches.

• Goalposts should be padded and secured to minimize tipping over onto players.

• Goalies face the greatest risk of concussions and players and referees should ensure precautions are taken to ensure their safety.

• Mouth guards should be worn at all times. These help reduce dental injuries but also reduce forces be transmitted through the jaw to the head.

• Finally, headgear is being investigated for its potential to protect the head and may provide further protection for athletes.

To read the full Discussion paper, you can download it here http://www.sirc.ca/newsletters/august09/S-972359DiscussionPaperHeadInjuries.pdf

When Laces Go Bad - Lace Bite!

It's a common occurrence for hockey players and figure skaters and it's called Lace Bite.

Some skaters like a snug fitting skate. So when they get to the rink and slide on the boot, naturally, they cinch up those laces as tightly as they can.

While the skate may feel nice and snug, the pain that will follow to the tendons in the front of your leg, beneath the tongue of your skates, can be excruciating.

In this video, Centric Health's Mallalea Orban explains lace bite and some of the ways to prevent it from happening.

Tale of The Tape

Kinesiology Tape... It's become as common a visual in athletics as wristbands and running shoes.

Whether you happen to catch a few Surrey Eagles players at the gym or you're watching an Olympic sprinter on TV, chances are, you'll see some athlete showing off their colourful 'tape art'.

But what are all these wild and outrageously coloured tape mosaics we see plastered all over our favourite athletes and what are they there for?

Well, with all the advances in sport medicine for addressing sports related injuries and strains in recent years, kinesiology tape has become a recognized practice at all levels of athletics, for providing extra relief and treatment of sore, tender areas of the body in need of repair.

But don't be fooled by the unusual application patterns. No, it's not a case of kinesiologists' inner Picassos gone wild. There's real, scientific method to the seemingly random madness of these unique and sometimes complex applications.

Applied correctly, stretchy kinesiology tape lifts the skin around an injury, allowing for greater blood circulation, speeding and improve healing.

Check out this video, featuring LifeMark Richmond Oval Clinic Director, Melina Kurtakis, demonstrating the application of Rock Tape kinesiology tape to treat an injured knee.

Pool Therapy Making Waves

There's no denying the fact that while sometimes gravity can be our friend, at other times, gravity can be an obstacle that limits our ability to function at optimum efficiency.

For example, after suffering an injury, rehabilitation can be tough enough without gravity getting in the way and making the road to recovery even harder.

Here at our LifeMark Surrey clinic, we treat all kinds of injuries and ailments. Guiding a patient through recovery requires an ongoing regimen of treatment, including exercise.

On dry land, exercises like a simple squat can be an almost overwhelming endeavour for a patient rehabbing from something like hip surgery. Even walking without the aid of a cane or other stabilizing device, can be a real challenge.

But there is a way to beat gravity and help patients recover more easily, without fear and with a lot less pain... pool therapy!

Without the same degree of gravity pulling on our body, a patient's ability to gradually extend range of motion and perform walking and other exercises is greatly increased. And without the same resistance, patients suffer less pain and no longer fear losing balance and falling.

Our partners at LifeMark Esquimalt have produced this short video, featuring LifeMark Kinesiologist Jen Spaans illustrating how pool therapy with a patient recovering from a serious hip injury.