April Focus . . . Athletes! (no foolin')

In April we celebrate so many things . . . Ramadan, Passover, Easter . . . National Occupational Therapy Month . . . and if you are in a drought stricken state like California we hope for some April Showers that bring May Flowers and relief to our parched soil! 

At Cairn Physical Therapy & Wellness we are going to take this month to focus on our athletes ~ our student athletes, performing arts athletes and our weekend warriors! 

Let's start with Student Athletes

Generally, Student Athletes are define as any student of an educational institution that participates in sports for that institution. We at Cairn extend that definition to include those who participate in organized community and club team or individual sports. This includes the traditional school and community sports ~ football, basketball, baseball/softball, soccer, track and field ~ as well as the lesser known or geographically specific sports ~ lacrosse, waterpolo, hockey, cheer, and more. It also includes individual sports/exercise ~ swimming, diving, surfing, skiing, snowboarding, wrestling, horseback riding, golf, gymnastics, ice skating, yoga hiking dance, and so much more. 

Let's continue with Performing Arts Athletes

Dance you question? Cheer? Yes! In fact at Cairn we believe that actors, musician, singers, dancers (Performance Artists) are athletes! Let me explain . . . Merriam Webster defines an athlete as: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. If we substitute sports or games with performance or portrayal can we agree that performance artists require physical strength, agility, or stamina to do what they do? They use their bodies to create their work, they train and practice, they become gifted and talented. Check out this article: Musicians Are Athletes, Too: The Physical Challenge of Being a Pro

Performing Arts Medicine is now a "thing" in the industry! And yes there is some overlap between sports medicine and performing arts medicine however like in all professions specialization must occur. Each athlete has different needs, different skills. We see this even within sports. Here are a variety of research articles that scratch the surface of this topic ~ note that so much more research is needed in the field. 

Have I convinced you? 

Moving on to our Weekend Warriors. 

My husband is the almost perfect definition of a weekend warrior. He works long hours and rarely has time in the morning or evening to squeeze in some exercise so he hikes on the weekends, does yard work and tries to sneak  in some weight lifting as well. It is a serious situation for those of us in America due to how we have structured our work/play habits. 

Student Athletes, Performing Arts Athletes and Weekend Warriors all have one thing in common . . . at some point they will over train, under condition, over use or injure a body part during their athletic career.  For student athletes these injuries may look like sprains, strains, fractures, tears. Performance athletes will have similar issues in addition to overuse injuries, lack of breath control/support, postural issues. Weekend warriors tend to suffer sprains and strains in addition to falls, back/neck pain, next day stiffness, and overuse/under conditioning injuries. 

I have spent the greater part of the last 10-15 years treating student athletes and their weekend warrior parents. (Before that I worked with patients with neurological injuries.) These are easy to prevent and easy to rehabilitate though they will take time.  

If you are interested in more information on how to help your student athlete (or yourself, weekend warrior) to get off the side lines and back playing you may enjoy this Free Report: 5 Strategies to Get Your Child Off the Sideline and Back Playing After Injury

If you are interested in helping your child get back to the performing art they love you may appreciate this Free Report: 6 Strategies to Get Out from Behind the Curtain and Back Performing After Injury

This month Cairn PT&Wellness is offering a free 30 minute student athlete, performing arts athlete assessment to help identify risk of injury and create a prevention plan. We are also offering our weekend warriors a free discovery visit to help you discover if Cairn PT&W can help you return to the activities you love. 

I look forward to your questions and comments! Be Well, Dr. Roxi 

For more, we invite you to join our email list or please visit: 

www.cairnptwellness.com

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