Sports Injury Prevention
Webcast
January 10, 2012
Sara L. Edwards, M.D.
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Hospital, its medical staff or Patient Power. Our discussions are not a substitute for seeking medical advice or care
from your own doctor. That’s how you’ll get care that’s most appropriate for you.
Introduction
Andrew Schorr:
The rate of sports-related injuries continues to rise as more children focus on one
single sport and adults push themselves harder as weekend warriors. Coming up
we'll learn tips for injury prevention from an expert from Chicago's Northwestern
Memorial Hospital. It's all next on Patient Power.
Hello and welcome to Patient Power sponsored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
I'm Andrew Schorr. Well, it's the beginning of the year. Have you made a New
Year's resolution that you are going to get in shape? You used to jog, so you get
those running shoes out of the closet, you put them on, and you go for it. You
used to go to the gym, do aerobics classes, here you go again. You're going to be
your old self. Well, if you go at it the wrong way, with a vengeance, you may wind
up with a sports injury.
Let's say you have a child and they're playing sports, and maybe they're pretty
good at one and the coaches and themselves, they push themselves harder and
harder and harder, and that's happening increasingly. Can that lead to injury?
Well, we want to hear from an expert, and that's Dr. Sara Edwards. She's an
orthopedic surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She's an assistant
professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She's also a
team physician with Northwestern University. Dr. Edwards, welcome to Patient
Power. So are we right? Are sports injuries on the rise?
Dr. Edwards:
Yes, they are, and there are lots of reasons why we think that's happening, but this
time of year we start to see people pop in that do have those New Year's
resolutions and are maybe starting an exercise routine and aren't used to it, so we
are pretty busy this time of year.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, let's talk about the kinds of injuries that happen. We're going to advise
people during this program how to avoid them, but when they are injured what are
you seeing?
Dr. Edwards:
Well, the most common thing that we see are muscle pulls and sprains and strains,
which tend to be from people that have been very inactive that all of a sudden are
ramping up their activity. And then there's more specific things that we'll see that
require surgery. Usually the strains and sprains don't require surgery but just
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require some tender loving care that we can talk about, but the more serious
injuries we'll see are meniscal tears, cruciate ligament tears. We see rotator cuff
strains around the shoulder and impingement around the shoulder, which can cause
a lot of pain and discomfort for the patients.
Sports Injuries in Children and Teens
Andrew Schorr:
Oh, I imagine. Now, I imagine some of it can happen, like I gave that example of
the kid who is really focused on a sport, can be sort of an overuse kind of injury,
and then there are the others where people are just not in condition for the
exercise they're choosing, right?
Dr. Edwards:
That's right. That's right. I really find the fascination with kids' sports interesting
right now, and in the Midwest we are seeing a push to subspecialize the kids at a
young age and to increase their activity level, so they may be on multiple teams at
one time so they're not getting the normal rest that they used to get, and they're
also not cross training or switching sports throughout the year. They might just be
sticking with baseball all year or with football all year, and we're seeing a rash of
overuse injuries as a result of that.
So it's interesting because kids--what a lot of adults don't understand, you can't
train children like you train adults because their growth plates are still open. And
for example, you know, they absolutely if they're skeletally immature not supposed
to be lifting heavy weight, and a lot of well-intentioned parents are sending their
kids to these conditioning coaches, and again everyone has the best intentions but
they don't necessarily understand the physiology and that the kid's body isn't ready
to have an adult workout yet.
Andrew Schorr:
I think of baseball, and I think, well, if you're a pitcher you're practicing, throwing,
throwing, throwing, or if you're a great hitter, swing the bat, swing the bat, swing
the bat, lots of reps, if you will, but I can imagine that too much at the wrong time
[might not] be a good thing.
Dr. Edwards:
Yeah, that's right. We have a joke in orthopedics that if you want your kid to play,
be a professional baseball pitcher then you have him play first base or shortstop
because the pitching, when they're young the elbow can't really take the forces that
an adult elbow can, so when you start them out and they're little all those kids that
are stars when they're 10, often their elbows, you know, have so many injuries by
the time they are in high school they are not able to go on. So it is a problem.
And it's interesting, I used to practice in California before I moved back to Chicago,
and in California where the weather's warm and kids are playing year round
outdoors, just many more injuries than I see here, although Illinois is catching up
because there's all these baseball centers now built around the city of Chicago and
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people actually pay to send their kids to have this year-round coaching and training
in baseball.
Andrew Schorr:
So, now, cross training I would think would be a good thing. For instance, let's say
you love baseball and you do that some of the year but maybe you also love to
swim, which I would think would be a very forgiving sport as far as injury.
Dr. Edwards:
Yes, yes and no. I think cross training is key. I think getting kids where they're
just--particularly let's say they're a star baseball player--but they certainly need
some down time from that, and, you know, doing any other sport is great as long
as they're getting that cardiovascular conditioning. That's really the best thing for
kids at that age.
But swimming sometimes, swimming generally because there's no contact and
you're in the water doesn't have that many injuries, but you have to watch out for
the shoulder with swimming because there are a lot of revolutions. And so you can
put--where you might save your elbow with swimming you're going to put
increased stress on the shoulder, so there just needs to be a balance.
Limiting Injuries in Adults
Andrew Schorr:
Let's skip over to the 40-plus-year-olds for a minute. So we talked about New
Year's resolutions and people may be stepping up their activity or going back to the
activity they did even years ago. What's the right way to start to limit injury, these
muscle pulls and tears and the like?
Dr. Edwards:
That's a great question. I think the most important thing is to start out any
exercise routine if you've been off for a period of time is to start slowly and also the
cross training is important. So if you used to be a marathoner but you've been
sitting on the couch for two years you don't go out your first day and run eight
miles. You know, you want to start easy and break yourself back into the activity.
And that's really with any sport. There's kind of an excitement now about the
videos. I think P90x gets a lot of attention because people do see quick results, but
I see probably five to six P90x injuries in my clinic every day-Andrew Schorr:
Oh, my.
Dr. Edwards:
--from people who have started it. Because I believe the workout--I haven't done
it myself but I believe the workout is pretty vigorous. And so, you know, people
will start it without having done anything, and then they come in with sore
shoulders or knees and need some attention, so.
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Andrew Schorr:
Is part of it, too, let's say you're 40 or 50 and you get that program, for example, is
some of it unfortunately having to realize that you're not 15 or 18 or 25 anymore
and that your body is not as resilient? Is that part of it?
Dr. Edwards:
It is part of it. I think the body just needs longer to recover the older that you are,
and so clearly to be 20 you're kind of in your prime. And it doesn't mean that a
40-year-old can't get there either because I think now you've got athletes like Dara
Torres who, you know, competed in five Olympics and is showing us that you can
compete at that level as you age. But, you know, I think just starting out for an
amateur athlete or a weekend warrior type, you know, you do need to start slowly,
give your body rest in between those days of activity and give it time to recover.
Warning Signs of an Injury
Andrew Schorr:
Let's talk about the warning signs. So what are the signs of injury? I think of pain,
of course, swelling, but maybe you could take us through it. And then I want to
understand what we can do at home and when we should call you or seek
professional care.
Dr. Edwards:
Sure. Pain is the number one sign that something is wrong in your body. So it's
always wise--particularly when you're starting an exercise routine--you don't want
to push through the pain. Another injury that can happen if people start running or
start doing something high impact is that they can get a stress fracture if they
haven't run for a period of time. So that's always on my list when I see a patient
who tells me that they maybe changed their routine or upped their exercise routine
recently. I worry about them developing actually a fissure in their bone, which can
sideline you for six to eight weeks, sometimes three months, to recover from that.
I'm sorry, what else did you ask about?
Andrew Schorr:
Well, I wondered about swelling. So would you see swelling, redness, any of that
stuff?
Dr. Edwards:
Yes, redness or swelling about the joint are definitely signs of a problem. Swelling
is the number one thing, particularly in the knee, that we'll ask about. And it's a
sign, you know, your body will produce fluid in the joint trying to protect itself, and
so if you're exercising and your knee starts swelling significantly, that's a sign
something is wrong and that you should see somebody for an evaluation.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, I've had it sometimes where I, you know, took off and did some running that
I hadn't done lately, and I'll get some tenderness on the side of the knee, and I
understand there are like little sacs there and things like that, and they can become
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irritated or inflamed. And usually I'll just rest and then it will subside, and if I go
about it again slowly a few days later I seem to be okay.
Dr. Edwards:
Yeah, that's true. We have these sacs of fluid around--all around our body,
actually, that are called bursal sacs, and when they're inflamed it's called bursitis.
People may have heard that term before. But when you're active they help our
muscles glide smoothly around the joints, and that's why they're in our body. And
sometimes from overuse they can get inflamed and irritated. And you're right, they
generally calm down with a few days of rest and taking some type of antiinflammatory medicine if you--if it's safe to take those. And icing can help and
compression, those are the main treatments for our general aches and pains.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, I understand there's an acronym, RICE.
Dr. Edwards:
Yes.
Andrew Schorr:
So R has got to be rest.
Dr. Edwards:
Mm-hmm.
Andrew Schorr:
I is ice.
Dr. Edwards:
You've got it.
Andrew Schorr:
C, compression?
Dr. Edwards:
You got it.
Andrew Schorr:
And then what's the E?
Dr. Edwards:
E is elevation.
Andrew Schorr:
So does that mean, let's say if my leg were swelling or a calf or something, then I
would elevate it, lay back on a pillow, put it up on a pillow maybe over the level of
my heart? That would be the kind of thing?
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Dr. Edwards:
You've got it. That's right.
Andrew Schorr:
Oh, good for me. But then the question is when to call the doctor. So let's say I'm
exercising and something pops.
Dr. Edwards:
That's right.
Andrew Schorr:
Like something pops with my knee or a feel, I don't know what a torn Achilles
would feel like. It sounds painful, first of all.
Dr. Edwards:
People often describe it feels like--they'll say it feels like something shot my leg
even though no one has been shot that have it, but patients routinely will say, “I
felt like a gunshot hit my leg.” But usually I think big warning signs where you
need to see someone right away is if you have an injury and you hear the pop
followed by swelling, that's definitely a sign that something is wrong. If it's in a
lower extremity and you can't bear weight after it happens, if you're unable to
walk, you need to see someone right away.
In the upper extremity people will often wait longer because clearly we don't walk
on our hands, but let's assume you hear a pop in your shoulder and then you have
weakness when you try to lift your arm up, that's a sign that either the rotator cuff
could be torn or something is wrong inside, so we would want to see someone right
away with that type of history.
Andrew Schorr:
What about numbness?
Dr. Edwards:
Numbness is an issue. That's less common right away. It could be from a neck
issue, actually, or it could be more peripheral. But if it's a new, rapid onset of
numbness, absolutely, you should call and get in to be seen.
Knowing When to Stop an Activity
Andrew Schorr:
Now, I used to be a long-distance runner.
Dr. Edwards:
Mm-hmm.
Andrew Schorr:
And some of us, of course we had knee problems and ankle problems, and a lot of
people, as you know, become kind of addicted-6
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Dr. Edwards:
Yes.
Andrew Schorr:
--and they run through the pain. Let's talk about that. I mean, I'd see people
hobbling but they would run eight, 10 miles a day and it was time to do it again no
matter what. What about running through the pain?
Dr. Edwards:
Yeah, I'm not a fan of that just because I think pain is good in a way in that it's a
warning sign. It's telling you something is wrong in your body, so it depends on
the type of pain and the quality of the pain, but generally if you're in pain and
you're doing an activity your body is telling you to stop. It's just common sense. I
know people have that adrenalin or endorphin addiction and they are going to keep
running no matter what I say, but you know, usually it is a warning sign that
something is wrong.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, if you had one of these stress fractures though, and you were running on it,
wouldn't it get worse?
Dr. Edwards:
Absolutely. It can get worse and end up requiring surgery. The scary one is in the
hip. So if you're running and you have hip pain when you're running, that's
something that we would want to evaluate right away.
Andrew Schorr:
So I've heard of this term, when I was in high school, hip pointers. So what's that
versus this other, more serious thing you're talking about?
Dr. Edwards:
Hip pointer, they're actually very painful, but they're more superficial. It's usually
due to a direct blow on the iliac crest, so up high on the pelvic girdle, and it causes
a lot of pain and there's some blood collection under the skin there. So they're
very painful, but they typically don't need surgery and can be treated
conservatively.
Andrew Schorr:
All right. So let's say you played soccer on the weekends, somebody bashed into
you. You had this on your hip. Would you go to the doctor? Would you ice it?
Would you stay home?
Dr. Edwards:
You'd want to wrap that, wrap it and ice it and take some anti-inflammatories. And
then I'd give that a week or so and if it's not getting better than get in to be seen.
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The Role of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Andrew Schorr:
All right. Let's help people understand anti-inflammatories. So Tylenol, or I guess
that's acetaminophen, right, that's not an anti-inflammatory, correct? So what are?
Dr. Edwards:
The major anti-inflammatory, the most common one is ibuprofen. And so that's
goes under trade names of Motrin or Advil. But ibuprofen is the most common one
and it's over the counter that people can take. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory.
Naprosyn or naproxen are common ones, so Aleve is the name that you'll hear over
the counter. Those are the big ones that you can buy over the counter.
Andrew Schorr:
Okay. And then you feel comfortable with the instructions as far as dosage that's
just on the package?
Dr. Edwards:
Yes, exactly. The one thing if you do have a history of stomach problems or ulcers
we advise that you don't take those, or kidney problems. So any stomach issue
with an ulcer, reflux or a kidney issue, then you don't take anti-inflammatories.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, let's say somebody has had some pain but the big soccer game or whatever
activity, volleyball game, whatever it may be they like to play with their friends or
on their weekend team is coming up and they want to take that to kind of dampen
down the pain so they can play, how do you feel about that?
Dr. Edwards:
You know, it's hard. As a team physician I see that all the time, and we have kids
playing on anti-inflammatories that are sore and they kind of live their life sore
because of their workouts and playing football or basketball or soccer or other
contact sports. And so, I think it's okay. I think it's to be understood that a lot of
athletes are used to playing through a little bit of pain. But, you know, it's the kind
of thing where you have to have common sense and understand your body and
know, “All right, this is a new pain, this is excruciating, this is different,” versus,
“My muscles are just sore today and so I'm taking this to decrease my soreness so
I can go out there and have a good performance on the field.”
A Guide to Stretching
Andrew Schorr:
Dr. Edwards, so we talked about anti-inflammatories, we talked about icing and
resting and all that. We talked about really using common sense and also for those
of us who are a little older with New Year's resolutions starting slower. Now, one of
the things I've always wondered about is stretching. Where does stretching come
in? What's the benefit of stretching?
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Dr. Edwards:
Well, what we know is that stretching does help prevent injuries. So by elongating
your muscles and trying to maximize that it definitely can help prevent you from
injuring yourself while you're working out. Just a proper warm-up in general is
advised.
Andrew Schorr:
Okay. So does that mean that when you walk into the exercise room of the gym
should you stretch right away, or could you ride the exercise bike for a little bit, get
the blood flowing and then stretch?
Dr. Edwards:
Yeah, I think exercising for several minutes actually kind of getting the blood
flowing and then doing the stretching at times can be more beneficial than just
stretching beforehand. It's also suggested that stretching after the work out is
more important than stretching before. So, you know, that's typically what I do
when I'm working out is I'll just start working out and then 45 minutes later I'll do
a nice, 10-minute stretch as I cool down.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, what about coming back from an injury? So let's say you did the things at
home. You rested a little bit or maybe, you know, I know for me if I've had certain
running injuries then I'll do some swimming, you know, or something else that I felt
was less, you know, less of a trauma to those muscles or joints for a while, but I
basically took it easy. So now I'm trying to come back. How fast can I come back?
What about, you know, if muscles were tight, that stretching? Do I like vigorously
stretch them, am I gentle? How do you approach it?
Dr. Edwards:
Definitely a gentle stretch is the way you want to stretch, and it's also
recommended that you don't bounce. And so a lot of people will lean forward and
try to jerk themselves, you know, to a more provocative position, and the reality is
you want to do just a nice, gentle stretch to the point where you feel the pull and
then stop and back off and hold it. You hold it there for several seconds and then
relax.
There is some dynamic stretching now that's done, and I've actually done that as
well where you're actively moving your limbs while you're stretching them out and
swinging your hip from side to side and that's shown to be beneficial as well. So
there's a few ways you can stretch appropriately.
Andrew Schorr:
Let's talk about knees for a minute. I was reading that deep knee bends are not
such a great thing.
Dr. Edwards:
That's right. You know, it's funny, when you go past 90 degrees with your knee
you put a lot of pressure at the patellofemoral joint, so where the kneecap
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articulates with the rest of the knee, and you're loading that significantly. And you
also put extra pressure on your meniscus which is deep behind. And so when
you're doing a lunge, for example, they recommend just going to 90 degrees. And
a problem I have are with a lot of my male athletes when they want to do a squat
and they tend to want to go really deep into the squat. They feel like they're
getting more glute strength or power by doing that, but often, you know, just
stopping at 90 degrees is good enough and puts a lot less pressure on the knee.
The kneecap sees about four times your body weight, and so you can imagine if
you're lifting weight and going deep, you know, you're loading it extensively. It's a
lot of weight that can be transmitted to that joint.
Exercising While Overweight
Andrew Schorr:
Let's talk about weight for a second.
Dr. Edwards:
Sure.
Andrew Schorr:
So let's say you were, you know, a high school athlete and now you're 40, and you
say, well, I'm going to get back in shape. That's my New Year's resolution, but you
weigh 35 pounds more.
Dr. Edwards:
Right.
Andrew Schorr:
That extra weight you have to be mindful of as far as not just that your joints, etc.,
have aged but that you're going to put a lot more pressure on them, right?
Dr. Edwards:
Yeah, yeah. I think that's a good point that you make, and I jotted that down
earlier because I was thinking, you know, “Why are these sports injuries on the
rise?” And one thing we don't often comment on is the rise of obesity in this
country. And not that 30 pounds is going to make you obese, but--but potentially
we're looking at a nation of people that are overweight that are trying to get back
in shape, but all that added weight puts a stress on the joint, you know, increases
the risk of stress fractures. We know that it greatly increases the risk of arthritis,
and so it is a factor.
And so it actually, you know, tells me that you need to go slower when you start.
And look for alternatives too. Where maybe you were a runner before but maybe
running hurts your body now, so you're going to do the elliptical and do some
swimming or cycling, something that's less traumatic to the joints.
Andrew Schorr:
So it sound like if you're trying to get back into it gradually is better.
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Dr. Edwards:
Yes.
Andrew Schorr:
Maybe you're also improving your diet, so hopefully you're going to see some
weight loss. And so as you get back into it you're getting your body retrained,
you're firming up, and there's less weight pressure on the joints.
Dr. Edwards:
That's right. That's right. So slow and steady wins the race when it comes to this
kind of thing. So it's not the kind of thing where you go out and--and it's hard
because people are enthusiastic, and I think it's great that people are motivated
and want to get back into shape, but again we want them to do it safely so they
don't have setbacks and end up in my office.
Advances in Surgical Techniques
Andrew Schorr:
Yeah. Now, let's say we are in your office. After all, you're a surgeon. Surgical
techniques have been perfected, arthroscopic procedures, all sorts of things to try
to be less invasive, have people recover quickly, have less trauma in the surgery.
So tell us a little bit, both with knee surgery and shoulders, I know you specialize in
that, people are still going to be out for a while and they're going to need rehab,
but it sounds like there's been tremendous progress in your techniques.
Dr. Edwards:
That's true. Particularly in the knee we have developed arthroscopic techniques for
taking care of meniscal tears. I think 20 years ago most meniscal tears, they were
just excised, and now we end up repairing a lot of them because of the ease of the
techniques and preserving that meniscus to help prevent arthritis.
ACL reconstruction is a big surgery that I do. And that's interesting because I think
when I was training even 10 years ago the techniques have changed so much, and
that's more of a positioning system. So we've learned more of where to put the
tunnels so--or position the graft for the ACL so it lasts longer and is more--I guess
it mimics the physiology of the regular knee better. And so that's been a real
change that we've done.
And the shoulder, again, 15 years ago almost every rotator cuff repair was done
open, and now it's flipped where almost all of them are done arthroscopically. And
it's interesting because a lot of patients think, “Well, if you do this arthroscopically
does that make my recovery faster?” It doesn't necessarily make it faster, but it
makes it less painful at the time, and we don't transect as many muscles to get
down to where we need to do the work. So the rotator cuff still takes the same
amount of time to heal, unfortunately. I wish I could invent a way to make it heal
faster.
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The Importance of Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy
Andrew Schorr:
Well, let's talk for a minute about rehab. I think we're most familiar, you know,
with the news reports on famous athletes and where they're out for the season or
out for two months or whatever it is, but after their surgery they make it their job
to do very careful rehab. We're not professional athletes, but if we had surgery
with you that would be something we'd have to really do--you know, we'd have to
apply ourselves to, right?
Dr. Edwards:
Oh, that's exactly right, yeah. I think that's another innovation, you know, in the
last 30 years really where physical therapy is really as important if not more
important as the surgery itself as far as the recovery goes because I can do the
best ACL reconstruction in the world or the best rotator cuff repair in the world, but
if the therapy isn't done then that surgery will fail. Because, you know, essentially
we've traumatized the leg by operating on it and if the rehab isn't done correctly
those muscles won't recover their strength and the same with the shoulder. So it's
very, very important.
And I emphasize that to patients before we operate on them. And some patients
are interesting. They'll be honest right up front and say, “Well, I can't do that
much therapy,” and then I'll tell them, “You're not a good surgical candidate
because it is quite important.”
Andrew Schorr:
So it's a two-step process.
Dr. Edwards:
It is. It really is. It is interesting too, like you mentioned the professional athletes,
because I think a lot of patients' information comes from watching ESPN or
SportsCenter, and they [think], “Hey, this guy came back and he did great.” And,
you have to imagine they will do therapy four hours a day, five hours a day, after
they have had a surgery, where a patient, a normal patient is maybe doing it twice
a week, two hours a week. And so sometimes that's a big part of my job, too, is
managing expectations of people.
Andrew Schorr:
Now, you're a team physician with Northwestern.
Dr. Edwards:
Yes.
Andrew Schorr:
So I imagine the college-level Division I coaches are pretty smart about this and
the trainers, but I'm sure you've got to do education because at the high school
level or wherever we may have parents listening or kids, their coaches may not
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have that expertise. The last thing a kid wants is to be injured where if they hope
to play, let's say at Northwestern, that hope is ruined because they have a serious
and maybe ongoing injury. So it would seem like there has to be a wisdom that
comes with this as far as advocating for yourself, saying, “I need some time off.
I'm not ready to go back in the game, maybe I need to do some other kind of
training right now.” You have to kind of look out for yourself, don't you?
Dr. Edwards:
That's absolutely right. And it's hard too, I mean, particularly young teenagers
don't necessarily make the best decisions all the time about that, and so they
clearly--it's in their best interest to play and be out there. That's what they want to
do, but, again, we see reinjuries all the time of people that are sent back too
quickly or, again, coaches maybe that are unaware that are, you know, having a
kid pitch every day of the week or pitch too many games, and so it is an issue. You
do need to be aware, particularly if you're a parent or if you're a player, and
advocate for yourself, particularly when you have pain or some injury, and kids
need to not be afraid to talk about it.
Closing Thoughts
Andrew Schorr:
Well, let's just review some of this, pull this all together. So, Dr. Edwards, first of
all for kids we have to recognize that they're growing and so it's you can't push it to
the limit and that cross training, stretching, strengthening exercises but not like
hitting heavy weights for little kids, they have to do that wisely, right?
Dr. Edwards:
That's right.
Andrew Schorr:
For adults, if you made the New Year's resolution and you're trying to get back into
it, as you said, slow and steady wins the race.
Dr. Edwards:
That's correct.
Andrew Schorr:
And then as far as if there is pain or swelling, etc., there's that RICE approach. If
you hear something pop or you have a shot in your leg in your Achilles or
certainly-Dr. Edwards:
Or if you're unable to walk or feel weak.
Andrew Schorr:
--can't walk, or certainly if a bone is pointed sideways in an unusual angle with a
wrist or an arm or a leg, then you need to get help, right?
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Dr. Edwards:
That's exactly right.
Andrew Schorr:
Okay. And if you do need surgery, more improved techniques, but rehab is a basic
part of it too, and you have to be committed to do that.
Dr. Edwards:
Yes.
Andrew Schorr:
Okay. Am I good student?
Dr. Edwards:
You got it. You got it. You were paying attention.
Andrew Schorr:
Okay. All right. Thank you. Well, I think the knowledge here in this program is
really precious for people. We don't want you to be injured. Dr. Edwards is a
surgeon, but she'd rather you not have surgery and not deal with the pain, and it's
really within your control.
One last thing I should mention is you want people to have the right equipment,
and that even includes the running shoes that are right for them, right?
Dr. Edwards:
That's correct, yeah. And that's important too. I think some runners don't realize
or even parents don't realize how frequently they need to change the shoes. And I
was taught something that I think is wise, is when you start to see any wear on the
tread on the bottom of your shoe, and it can be six weeks, eight weeks, usually
when you start noticing and looking at the bottom of your shoe if you look for that
wear it's time to change them. And so when you really start paying attention if
you're a runner, and I wasn't a long distance runner, just kind of a mediocre,
weekend type runner, but I like to run maybe three miles a day, two to three miles
a day, and it was about every six weeks I needed new shoes. It was interesting.
Andrew Schorr:
Yeah, good point. Well, I hope people take some notes on this program because
we want to help you avoid that pain and that injury. So the right equipment, we
talked about it for kids, we talked about it for adults. And remember, if you're
going to the gym now [don’t] just be there in January or February, but it's a
year-long thing. And get outside when you can, cross train, do it moderately, lose
some weight, and just if you have some pain or swelling, etc., take good care of
yourself with that RICE approach. And then there are great doctors like Dr. Sara
Edwards who can help should you need it.
Dr. Edwards, thank you so much for being with us and helping us understand sports
injuries, how to prevent them and get the care you might need if things are more
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serious.
Dr. Edwards:
Thank you, Andrew.
Andrew Schorr:
This is what we do on Patient Power is connect you with experts like Dr. Sara
Edwards from Northwestern Memorial. Thanks for joining us. I'm Andrew Schorr.
Remember, knowledge can be the best medicine of all.
Please remember the opinions expressed on Patient Power are not necessarily the views of Northwestern Memorial
Hospital, its medical staff or Patient Power. Our discussions are not a substitute for seeking medical advice or care
from your own doctor. That’s how you’ll get care that’s most appropriate for you.
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