Vital - distributed monthly within the Detroit Free Press & The Detroit News. Also available free in hundreds of local racks

« Articles

It's in the Way That You Use It

Learn these tricks to avoid common summer sports injuries

By Joyce Wiswell

Warm summer days can tempt even the most dedicated couch potato to turn to physical activity. Whether you're golfing, running or playing softball, the thrill of victory can come with pain if you're unaccustomed to getting a workout. Make sure your summer is one of recreation and not recovery.

Golf glitches

Once considered the genteel sport of older men, golf has become a national craze among women, as well, and all age groups. Michigan has more than 800 courses, according to Pure Michigan, the state's tourism Web site.

But like all sports that require repetitive motions, golf can cause bodily strain.

"I see a fair share of shoulder and elbow injuries from golf, and also wrists," says Brett Martin, D.O., a sports medicine specialist with Henry Ford Medical Group in Novi and Detroit. "There is a lot of tendonitis [swelling of the tendons] from overuse."

A recent study of 200 golfers by The Methodist Center for Sports Medicine in Houston found that nearly 35% of them reported having suffered some type of hand or wrist injury.

Golf also can wreak havoc on artificial knees because so much force is placed on the forward knee during golf swings, according to a recent study by California's Scripps Clinic.

Use it the right way: Switch from steel to a graphite shaft. This will decrease weight and stress on the backswing. Remember to keep both hands in parallel alignment for a natural wrist motion.

Consider a cart. If you're the recipient of a new knee, talk to your physician before hitting the links. Consider renting a cart.

Strengthen your grip. Henry Ford's Martin recommends these exercises:

• Grip a hammer, and turn your wrist from one side to the other, palm down then palm up. Do 10 to 12 reps, and then repeat with the other hand. Don't perform more than three or four times [a week] because it can lead to more overuse injuries.

• Squeeze a strength ball - or a lump of Play-Doh - for a few minutes three or four times a week.

Running risks

Joggers like to talk about their runner's high - that euphoric feeling that comes with prolonged exercise. Unfortunately, the pounding your body takes during a run also can bring its share of lows.

"No matter how seasoned you are, with running, you're doing the same motion repetitively, so you're using the same muscle groups over and over," says Laura Ramus, a senior physical therapist at DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan and head athletic trainer for the Detroit Shock. This repetition can cause the front hip muscles to become short and stiff, she adds.

"Then the body tries to grab that motion from somewhere else," she says. "I like to say that it hits the neighbor upstairs or downstairs - the lower back or knees."

Though all runners are susceptible, novices are more likely to sustain injuries because they tend to weigh more and take longer to finish a course.

Use it the right way:

Get proper footwear. High arches need a shockabsorbing, soft sneaker, and flat feet demand a stiffer shoe with more support. Ramus also recommends seeing a sports medicine specialist to get fitted for a custom shoe insert.

Stretch it out. Ramus advocates the butterfly stretch, a move she puts Shock players through after every practice:

Ramus also recommends the runner's three, a one-minute-per-leg stretching exercise that she says starts anyone's day off on the right foot.

Play ball - carefully

Most softball and baseball injuries are preventable, according to William Gonte, M.D., of Advanced Sports Medicine in Southfield.

"People will start with a little jog and think they're in shape for the season," he says.

Pitchers might also want to take note of a recent study from the Medical College of Wisconsin that found the standard height of a pitching mound (10 inches) can be a contributing factor in injuries to pitchers' shoulders and elbows. Gonte recommends pitchers start out flat and then gradually raise the height of the mound.

Use it the right way: Start out slowly. "You need to throw the ball a little bit over time, not just be on the Stairmaster at the gym," Gonte says. "For baseball, it's better to do a 40-yard dash than a five-mile jog."

Work your arms. Get your arms ready by working out the rotator cuffs with rubber tubing (found in sporting goods stores). Once on the field, start with a few easy lobs before throwing harder

Strengthen your core. Gonte also recommends daily core abdominal training, which helps when swinging the bat and making game-saving catches.

For the girls

Female athletes, including a growing number of girls on the soccer field, are four to eight times more likely to suffer a knee injury than males, says the Shock's Ramus. Females are especially susceptible to injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a major ligament in the center of the knee between the thighbone and shinbone. The ACL is responsible for stability and holds the femur and tibia together.

Ramus says that as girls go through puberty, they demonstrate muscle weakness or loss of strength. Boys, however, experience a neuromuscular spurt during puberty, and gain strength and coordination. This spurt is believed to be related to the testosterone changes that occur in boys during puberty, when they go through their growth spurt, she says.

Most female soccer players tear their ACL when they stop abruptly or land awkwardly after jumping, Ramus says.

"Every female athlete has to learn to jump and land correctly before we get them on the field to play," she says. "Doing otherwise is putting the cart before the horse."

Use it the right way: Learn proper technique. Ramus feels so strongly about teaching proper jumping techniques that she's launched a Web site, www.girlscanjump.com which offers educational materials and community-outreach programs.

One move to try: the body weight explosive squat. Begin in a 90-degree squat, arms at side, making sure knees don't come over the toes. Then, in one move, come onto your tiptoes with your hands extended up in the air.

Train your core. It's crucial to add basic core-muscle strengthening, such as hip strengthening and gluteus maximus exercises, to complement balance and jump training, Ramus says.