Ready for some football (injuries?)

Vast numbers of people are football fanatics in the USA.  For example, an estimated 91 million people watched the 2010 Super Bowl. Playing football is as American as eating hamburgers, apple pie and the Fourth of July.  It starts as a kid playing tackle football in the backyard or touch football in the street.  Then comes more organized football games such as flag, Pee Wee, high school, and for some, college football.  Yet for most of us, as kids, playing a game of football in a muddy backyard is one of life's fondest memories. As we become older, many of us still want to play touch or flag football on weekends with our friends and co-workers. It's a lot of fun and great exercise, but now it tends to be more painful. As an adult, making a leaping catch, or running for a touchdown, or body blocking someone else, now has more consequences than when we were children. Aches and pains seem to happen more, stay longer, and are more intensely painful. Sometimes the adult body doesn't give or bend as much when contorted or bashed around during a game. This is when injuries occur. It happens to the 'weekend warriors' as well as the most fit among us. While no injury is fun, we, at Rehabmart can assist you in your recovery. 

 

"Football is not a contact sport. It's a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport."
                                                                                                                           ~Duffy Daugherty

 

Rehabmart has many products that will help you heal from the injuries sustained on the frozen gridiron.  For example, many people injure their wrists, knees, or arms while playing the game. To help you deal better with these type of injuries, we can provide you with some great products, such as some  Wrist Supports. One example is the Captain Wrist Support with ThumbHole,  which is attended for quick injury recovery. This support provides therapeutic heat retention to help reduce stiffness and regain pain-free wrist movement. The Captain Wrist Support is made with non-slip neoprene and is equipped with a thumb hole for easy application. The large Velcro closure ensures a snug fit while allowing for a customizable level of support and is designed to be use on either wrist.

 

 

 

                                                                 

 

 Elbows are another problem area when it comes to sports injuries. To help ease the elboe pain, we can offer many options for Elbow Protection and Support. 

 

One elbow support is the Bauerfeind EpiTrain Elbow Support.   This support is worn by many professional athletes. This is a knitted elbow support incorporating two anatomically contoured silicone inserts surrounding the medial and lateral elbow bones (epicondyles) and laying over the flexor and extensor muscles. Silicone inserts leave the elbow bones pressure-free and provide an intermittent compression to the soft tissue of the joint, leading to increased circulation, thus aiding in the resorption of swelling and edema. It also promotes proprioception, thus heightening sensory awareness in the elbow for increased joint stabilization. Graduated compression at the edges prevents constriction of circulation. Being a lightweight, breathable knit, the EpiTrain will not retain heat and is completely machine washable.

 

 

 

The shoulders just seem to stick out and receive most of the force when you hit the ground while being tackled. When this happens, you can choose from a number of at Slings and Shoulder Supports. One choice is the Arm Sling Orthosis. The Arm Sling Orthosis by RCAI supports the arm from elbow to wrist due to injury, sprains, tendonitis, arthritis, strokes, or disabilities.   This sling is made of a breathable cotton material that can be machine washed and air dried. The adjustable shoulder strap accommodates most patient sizing, and features a shoulder pad for patient comfort. 

 

Another choice is the SullyShoulderStabilizer, the shoulder stabilizer of choice for athletes in all sports! Traditional shoulder braces have forced you to sacrifice either stability or function. Now you can have both! On the outside, elastic straps attach with hook to the neoprene at any point in any direction, and with any amount of force you choose. 

 

You can functionally stabilize, assist or restrict movement of the shoulder area according to the specific needs of each athlete. On the inside, the perforated, breathable, rubber-like neoprene grips the skin so that the support moves with the athlete. It's as if the stabilization straps are attached directly to the body.

 

 

                        

 

 

 "Football is not a game but a religion, a metaphysical island of fundamental truth in a highly verbalized, disguised society, a throwback of 30,000 generations of anthropological time."

                                                                                                       ~Arnold Mandel

 

In football, you have a quarterback handing the ball to the halfback, who is running out of the backfield following a fullback, where a linebacker will try to tackle the halfback. When this happens, someones back may get hurt. In these instances RehabMart can can provide you with some great Back Supports.  So, in getting back to what we were talking about, the Saunders Posture S'port is one way to help your back get back in shape.  

 

The Posture S'port discourages stooped shoulders, reminding the wearer to maintain good posture. The suspender-style elastic straps crisis-cross over the back to gently pull the shoulders, spine and lower back into a neutral position, decreasing back and shoulder pain. The comfortable Posture S'port anchors around the waist with an adjustable, elastic waistband that ensures a custom fit. The elastic underarm straps are covered with soft, cotton fabric to prevent pinching or binding.

 

It can be worn over or under clothing.
Another of the many back supports we carry is the Bauerfeind LumboLoc Back Support.   This back support provides effective support for the lower back to relieve back pain. It has knitted lumbar support which stabilizes and relaxes the lower back muscles. 

 

It promotes functional therapy and does not restrict muscle activity. Oblong-shaped stays contour to the anatomy while providing therapeutically effective and desired support. Promotes proprioception, thus heightening sensory awareness in the lower back for increased stabilization. Velcro® fastenings and hand straps allow for easy application and adjustment, even for people with arthritis. 

 

The lightweight, breathable knit will not retain heat and is machine washable. The stabilizing orthosis relieves the back by individually-adjustable compression of the abdominal cavity.

The knees are one of the most injured part of the body when playing sports. Sooner or later a person will hurt their knees running around in a field while other people try to knock them over. Because a lot of people do enjoy this type of rough and tumble activity, we at RehabMart can offer you help you when you knee-d it.

 

Take a look at almost 100 choices of different Knee Braces and Supports. 

 

One of the many examples is the DeRoyal Concise Patella Stabilizer. The DeRoyal Concise Patella Stabilizer is available in 1/8 inch neoprene construction which provides warmth, compression and knee support. It uses the breathable Tri-Tex material, and has a low-profile design which allows for increased range of motion during activity. The unique strapping system pulls the patella into a desired position.

 

Another example is the J-Brace Patellar Stabilizer.   This stabilizer allows complete range of motion while providing stability. Ideal for patellar instabilities, subluxation and dislocations, chondromalacia and post-operative management. Made of 1/8 inch DermaDry, which is a unique bracing material that combines the breathability and water vapor transmission capabilities of open-cell sponge rubber with the durability, stretch, and compression of neoprene. It also features two lateral and two medial spiral steel stays along with a tubular rubber buttress to align the patella. Laterally attached straps pull medially to displace force to the patella.

 

 

For other types of knee injuries, we have the ProGlide Knee Brace and Support. The ProGlide brace for the knee is a dynamic knee brace and support splint that offers flexion and extension assistance in one unit. It is made with an aircraft quality aluminum frame which makes it strong yet lightweight. The tension lockout is 0°, 45° and 90° for easy donning and doffing.

 

     

Last, but not least, are the ankles. The ankles are also one of the most injured parts of the body from football.  The ankles produce the movement for the rest of the body.  Of the over 60 choices of ankle supports to choose from, here are a few examples. The first will be the Lace-Up Ankle Support.  

 

This Lace-Up Ankle support has a low pro?le design that ?ts easily into any athletic shoe. It has a sturdy canvas stirrup design with removable, plastic medial/lateral stays, and is a good product for chronic ankle sprains.
Another good ankle support is the Air/Gel Ankle Support. The Air/Gel Ankle Support's liner may be used for cold therapy to treat tender or swollen ankles. The rigid, thermoplastic shells help prevent inversion/eversion. Suitable for wear from acute to active phases of ankle recovery and rehabilitation.

 

The last example is the Heelboot Orthotic Boot.   This heelboot aids in the treatment of non-fixed contractures of the lower extremities. The molded shell allows heel to float, eliminating pressure. The rotator bar helps correct internal or external hip rotation. Toe pad protects patient's toes from bedding and can be positioned to hold foot off the bed.

The older we become, the motto seems to be, "Play hard, recuperate hard." But don't let that stop you. Go out and play around. Run in the fields, hit the softball, kick the soccer ball, play flag football, or go bowling and just have fun. But remember not to overdo it. Even-though the mind and spirit are ready and willing to fly with the eagles, more often than not the body is still trying to keep up with the pigeons. 

 

If you do get hurt, see your doctor and then come see what RehabMart.com has to offer you.

 

"What about football? Is it a sport or a concussion?"
                             ~Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times

 

 

Bill Stock

Library Editor for RehabMart

and

Hulet Smith, OT

RehabMart Team Leader & CEO