Friday, February 25, 2011

Important Statistics on Sports Injuries

The National Athletic Trainers Association
reports that more than half of all sports
injuries occur during practice.



According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research Twentieth Annual Report:From 1982-2002, the total numbers of direct and indirect fatalities among high school athletes were:



Baseball — 17
Basketball — 88
Cheerleading — 21
Cross Country — 14
Football — 22
Soccer — 31
Track & Field — 47
Wrestling — 16






According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program:
In 2001, the number of sport-related injuries for each sport are as follows:





Gymnastics — 99,72
Basketball — 680,307
Baseball — 170,902
Softball — 118,354
Football — 413,620


According to SAFE KIDS USA:
More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year.
Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States.
Overuse injury, which occurs over time from repeated motion, is responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle-and high-school students. Immature bones, insufficient rest after an injury and poor training or conditioning contribute to overuse injuries among children.
Most organized sports related injuries (62 percent) occur during practices rather than games. Despite this fact, a third of parents often do not take the same safety precautions during their child's practices as they would for a game.
A recent survey found that among athletes ages 5 to 14, 15 percent of basketball players, 28 percent of football players, 22 percent of soccer players, 25 percent of baseball players and 12 percent of softball players have been injured while playing their respective sports.
Children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. The rate and severity of sports-related injury increases with a child's age.





In my research, I found that the
most injurious sport, regardless
of age, was BICYCLING.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Let's Talk Teeth (and bones) (and brains)


In Traditional Chinese Medicine,
the teeth are the extremity of the bone.
That means the teeth represent the
health and condition of the bones.

We all know how to take care of
our teeth, RIGHT ? Well...
We can all do better.

In order to care of the bones, the
human must place stress on them.

Unstressed bones weaken and
deteriorate. That's why astronauts
come back to earth with weaker
bones.

The amount and manner of stress
is of vital importance to optimizing
the bones, and to overall health.
Too much stress and the wrong kinds
of stress can wear out the joints
or even break the bones.

The back, a.k.a The Spine, is the most
concentrated, complicated archipelago
of bones, joints-- and this is important--
spinal cord, grey matter or "brain matter."
Your brain goes all the way down
to your ass. Yup, all the way down there.
(It's called the filum terminale)

In Chinese Medicine, the position of
the lower vertebrae and the coccyx
("the tailbone") are the key to optimizing
bone strength and overall health.
(Remember where your brain is...)

T'ai Chi Magazine published an article
by Liu Chang Jiang called, "On Skeletal
Posture and Muscle Function." In it,
Liu expounds,

"In untrained people, the angle between
the lower vertebrae and the coccyx is
typically quite big; about 30 degrees.
This causes the lower vertebrae to incline
forward with the result that that body
naturally leans forward and is perpetually
slightly off balance.
If the angle between the lower vertebrae
and the coccyx is any greater than this,
as it can be in those with back problems,
the pressure on the vertebrae becomes
excessive and can easily lead to chronic
back pain."

Let me put in easy terms.
You have to curl your genitals forward
and up; this is also known as "horizontal
pelvic tilt." Maybe you've heard this before ?

Don't you think it's time to learn how
to support your bones and your brain
with proper posture ?