Health & Safety

Sprained Ankles: Complicated, Often Misdiagnosed

Ankle sprains may be one of the most common sports injuries, but they're also commonly misdiagnosed. That's because the two major types of sprained ankles - high ankle sprains and lateral ankle sprains - often look the same, even though they affect entirely different ligaments.

Commotio Cordis: Can A Chest Protector Help?

Commotio cordis is the medical term for a rare disruption of the heart's electrical system resulting from a blunt impact to the chest that leads to sudden cardiac arrest. While commercially available chest protectors have not been shown in any peer-reviewed studies to prevent commotio cordis, whether such a heart shield provides an extra measure of protection for athletes playing baseball, lacrosse, and hockey, the sports with the highest rates of sudden death from the condition, is unknown.

Concussions: Parents Need To Be Pro-Active, Says Guskiewicz

Parents play a vitally important role with respect to concussions, says Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC., Kenan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, especially in detecting symptoms of concussion and signs of deteriorating mental status that suggests a more serious brain injury.

Buying Mouth Guards

There are three kinds of mouth guards, but, regardless of type, they help prevent injury to the mouth, teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. But they are also breeding grounds for bacteria, so they should be sanitized daily.

Chiropractic Neurology: A Possible Therapy for Post-Concussion Syndrome

One possible therapy for athletes with post-concussion syndrome is treatment by a chiropractic neurologist, who uses a deep toolbox of non-invasive sensory experiences to gently stimulate (or calm) targeted areas of the brain or nervous systems in order to reduce neurologic imbalance and improve function and productivity.

Preventing Commotio Cordis in Youth Baseball

Young baseball and softball players who receive direct ball impact to the chest wall directly over the heart may develop sudden cardiac arrest, a condition called commotio cordis. Teaching batters to turn away from an inside pitch, and pitchers to react as quickly as possible to a batted ball hit back at them can help reduce the risk, and an AED and a someone trained in CPR should be on site at all times to increase the chances of survival.

Extending Concussion Safety Laws To Cover All Youth Sports Programs Essential, Says Sharon van Kooten of Indiana

A concussion suffered by her 8-year-old son playing youth football, and the way it was managed - or, in his case, mismanaged - prompts a mother to write a lengthy letter urging her state legislators to extend her state's concussion safety laws to all sports programs using public facilities.

Post-Concussion Syndrome: Possible Therapies

While no medicine has been shown to effectively speed the recovery from concussive brain injury, some new and non-traditional therapies have been shown to help relieve the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, as well as the value of strict cognitive and physical rest.

Heading in Soccer: Long-Term Effect Remains Unclear

While it is possible that intentional heading in soccer represents a form of repetitive subconcussive mild brain injury which, over time, could be a cause of chronic traumatic encephalpathy (CTE), the possible cause-and-effect relationship remains theoretical, says a 2012 study.

Female Soccer Players At Risk for Stress Fractures, Long-Term Health Problems: Study

Elite female soccer players are at risk for menstrual irregularities and stress fractures from the combination of intense training and insufficient nutrition, says a new study.