Hiking, cycling, swimming, tennis, golf, kayaking, and jet skiing. The truth is that here’s a host of things that you can do during the summer! But that also means that there’s also many ways that you can get injured.
Keeping summer activities in mind, this article will explore some of the most common injuries that occur during the summer. It will also provide some tips on how to manage these injuries.
Summertime Fun Can Also Mean Injuries
Different sports have different injuries associated with them. For example, if you’re into weight-lifting or resistance training, then you’re probably aware of how easy it is to injure or tear a muscle. Likewise if you walk, hike, or run, you know that it’s easy to slip and fall or to hurt your ankle.
What all sports or summer activities share, then, is the possibility of injury. According to the Mayo Clinic, a leading health institute in the United States, from their research, nearly 2000,000 Americans die from injury annually. Specifically, the Mayo Clinic’s researchers have found that summertime is the worst time of the year for injuries. They point to “boating, ATVS and motocross” as key culprits in injuries.
Why Outdoor Activities Can Cause More Injuries
Outdoor activities can cause more injuries because there are more factors involved. Here are some of the most common factors:
- Unknown and uneven terrain: you never know when you’re rock climbing or hiking if the rock will move from under you or if you’ll slip and fall.
- People and animals: If you like to cycle, run, or enjoy shooting, then you’re aware of how people and animals can appear when you least expect them too.
- Assuming that you’re safe. While assuming that you’re safe and injury-free can happen in the winter, When it’s snowing or raining, then you might expect more injuries since you may be afraid of slips and falls. In the summer, this fear might be less prominent since the ground seems more stable to you and since you assume that there are less factors to worry about.
Because more people tend to be outside in the summer, these factors tend to play a greater role than in the winter.
Common Summer Injuries and How to Manage Them
Common summer injuries range from neck pain to spraining your ankle. Here are some key common forms of injuries to look out for.
- Spinal subluxations
Spinal subluxation is when your spine becomes misaligned. The causes of this type of injury includes: lifting things the wrong way or that are too heavy for you, having improper knowledge of stance and posture while exercising, falling, and minor or major accidents. Usually, spinal subluxation happens due to improper repetitive motions, although they may also occur through other injuries or due to certain conditions.
Common ways of managing spinal subluxation involve resting, learning the correct posture needed for wellbeing, using ice, and spinal rehabilitation. At the Health and Wellness Clinic, we can help you with the latter, especially since it involves more complex methods. We can also help you with things like posture through our emphasis on patient education and relaxation through the massage therapy that we have.
- Muscle strains
Muscle strain can occur from a variety of sources. Sometimes it might be looking down too much (as in the case of someone who works in an office typing) or from running (as in the case of, say, a trail runner).
Some of the best ways to help with muscle strain include some of the methods used in spinal subluxation: rest, ice, etc. At the Health and Wellness Clinic, we’ll address the cause of the muscle strain while teaching you what to do. We’ll also use various techniques to help you heal.
- Back Injuries
People usually take some form of medication to help with back injuries. But medication doesn’t help with chronic back pain. The most common causes of back injuries are osteoporosis, muscle strain, ruptured disks, and arthritis. Before you self-diagnosis, please see a chiropractor who guide you in your journey to wellbeing.
For tips on how to manage back pain, read this. The best method of treating back injuries is by getting the right medical help. At our Health and Wellness Clinic, we would love to help you in your journey!
- Neck injuries
The most common cause of neck injuries is repeatedly having your head facing one direction for a long period of time. Think of playing things like badminton or tennis.
Our Clinic will look for any underlying conditions that might be causing chronic neck pain. This means that we’ll rule out degenerative disc disease, pinched nerves and other conditions.
Summer Should Be Fun and It Can Be With the Right Chiropractor!
Summer should be fun!!! You should be able to walk, run, hike and do all the amazing things that you have planned. The great thing is that with a well-trained chiropractor, you can do all these things with safety and wellbeing in mind.
What Makes Us Different From Other Chiropractors
The Health and Wellness Clinic is different from other chiropractors in that we focus on having a well trained team, prioritize holistic health, and encourage our clients to pursue a well-rounded life.
As we help you manage different injuries or conditions, we also provide you with strategies that you need to learn in order to live a more healthy life. For example, we teach our clients exercises that we know will help them outside of our Clinic so that they, themselves, can have a role in the treatment process.
Want to learn more about how to manage summertime and other injuries? Contact us! We would love to hear from you.