Tarsal Tunnel

Alright, so for this blog I decided to do an injury that most people do not know about and by most people that includes me. The reason I have chosen to do a blog on Tarsal Tunnel is because I recently went to the doctors and I was diagnosed with this injury. When I was in that doctor's office and he told me that had tarsal tunnel my eyes widened and I could not believe it. The more and more the doctor talked about it the more it made me depressed. As soon as he mentioned the word SURGERY I could not bear to hear anymore! All I could think was ME, an athlete, hoping to go on and play basketball in life but might have to sit back a couple months! I can't even rest one week without playing a sport, I feel bored and dead without them. So me, trying to go at least 1 month without playing a sport is just not in my mentality right now.

Allow me to explain what is Tarsal tunnel its a painful foot condition in which the tibia feels tight as it travels along the tarsal tunnel. Your tarsal tunnel is located on the inner leg, behind your medal malleolus. (located in the picture) To determine if you have this injury you must get a physical examination  and take an X-ray but an MRI is highly recommended too.

How can tarsal tunnel happen? This injury can happen for a number of reasons for example the reason I have it, is because I have flat feet. Also, those who have arthritis in their feet can lead to tarsal tunnel, diabetes, another injury can lead to this as well or, simply you could have a disease.

Symptoms

The first time I noticed there was something wrong with my feet, I got agonizing pain at the bottom of my feet. It was a very sharp and later on numbing pain that prevented me from playing to my full potential. I could tell there was something wrong with the nerves in my feet but I did not know what it was! Here are other symptoms that may occur:

• Burning sensation
• Numbness in the foot
• Very bad pain at the bottom of feet
• Swelling of the feet
• Also, if any of these symptoms spread up your legs

Preventions

• Do a good warm up
• Do exercises to make the feet more flexible
• Wear the proper shoes
• Make sure to give your feet a break throughout long durations of activity

Treatment

Non surgical treatment

To try and get ride of the pain there are many solutions but depending on how severe your injury is, it might not cure it. First of all, I have went with the solution of getting orthotics, that you must wear in all your shoes to try and help create an arch in your foot. Also, you can take medication to help cure the nerve damage in your foot. The other option which frightens me the most would be steroid/ anesthetic injections in the nerves of your foot to try and release the swelling and pain.

Surgical treatment

For this solution the doctors would either release the ligament that surround the tunnel, fix the structure of the tunnel or clearing the obstruction.

Here is small video explaining everything you need to know about Tarsal Tunnel!

http://injuryfix.com/archives/tarsal-tunnel-syndrome.php

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/peripheral_nerve_surgery/conditions/tarsal-tunnel-syndrome.html

ACL tear

AHHHH here we go! It's time to talk to talk about the worst injury in my opinion ever! The injury that I fear to get the most and pray will never happen to anyone! It's an ACL tear. ACL is a short abbreviation for Anterior Cruciate Ligaments. An ACL tear can only happen painfully to your knee. No words can even describe the feeling that this injury provides. There is so much to know about this injury, I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll start with my personal story.

Alright, so thankfully this injury has never happen to me but it has effected my old favourite NBA player. I feel so bad for Derrick rose, he was such a good basketball player. Although, now he's been sitting out for at least a year already and not being able to play the sport he is passionate about. He was such a young and exceptional guy in the NBA, I cannot believe this injury has happen to him! With 1 minute and 22 seconds left in the game, it was the most devastating thing the crowd and I could experience. Rose went up for a layup and fell awkwardly to the ground all most in tears and so was I. Later on he was diagnosed with an ACL tear and now all of Chicago and Derrick Rose fans were devastated. I believe one of the reasons he got hurt so easily was because his body was not at the same level as his athleticism. He was super quick, small, and very aggressive although, he could have built him body shape to suite him. Meaning I feel he did not have the strongest leg muscles to support the big role player he is. That is why now he is doing a lot of physio and training and especially weight lifting to be able to return as quickly and safely as possible back to the NBA. Sadly not just Rose has experienced a major injury but many in the NBA have this year. It has become very scary to see how many athletes in the NBA have had an injury this year.

So now let me get to how you know an ACL tear has happen. You typically will feel or hear a pop causing your knee to give out and you may fall. The swelling and pain make it too difficult to continue playing your activity. This injury can a small, medium or complete tear of the ligament. There are 4 major ligaments in your knee , you have your ACL, PCL, MCL and LCL. They are all used to connect your femur and your tibia and controls your excessive motions. Sports that it is more common to happen in is basketball, hockey, soccer, football, etc but can appear from any activity.

The symptoms of an ACL tear are if your hear or feel a pop in the knee. If there is swelling and it is very painful that you are barely capable to walk. To diagnose this injury you may get an MRI then they will be able to tell you if you have a tear and how severe it is.

Treatment
The best way to treat an ACL tear is to have knee surgery. You and the surgeon would discus the physical activity you wish to pursue after the injury to determine if surgery is necessary. Those who do not do physical activity do not have not have surgery but it is recommended. For athletes surgery is highly recommended! According to medicinenet.com this is the level of activity you will be able to do if you choose to or not to have surgery.

• Level I: jumping, pivoting, and hard cutting
• Level II: heavy manual work or side-to-side sports
• Level III: light manual work and non cutting sports like running and bicycling
• Level IV: sedentary lifestyle without sports

After surgery you must go through rehabilitation to help strengthen the knee and regain stabilization and excessive motion.
It will not be easy but it will take time to heal. Usually this injury take about six to eight months to heal! You must be careful and do exactly what your rehabilitation doctor tell you to do, so you do not damage the surgical knee. It is highly recommended to wear a specific knee brace to protect the knee after.

Prevention
Can an ACL tear be prevented? Sadly this injury can occur at any moment, there is not exact way to prevent it. Although you can reduce the possibilities by building good muscle strength and flexibility. A good exercise for that would be plyometrics. Also, doing a good warm up and cool down will help.

Here is a small 4 minute video concerning ACL tears! Hope you enjoy!

http://www.medicinenet.com/torn_acl/page4.htm

Dislocation

This week I have chose to talk about dislocations. For many this subject is self explanatory but for others allow me to elaborate. By reading the word "dislocation" it is clearly stating that it's evolving a bone location. Therefore, a dislocation is when your bones get separated from the joint where they connect. A dislocated bone is no longer in its correct position! You can dislocate divers parts of your body such as you knee, shoulder, hip, ankle. It's usually hard to tell from a broken and dislocated bone although, this injury is equally an emergency too!

Causes: This injury is caused by a sudden hit or impact to the joint. Such as if someone were to fall or be hit with great force it could lead to a dislocated bone. When you dislocate a bone once, it's easy to dislocate the bone again in the future.

Let me tell you a story regarding dislocations and how they effected my cousin. It all started when he was about 15 years old and now he's 26. His shoulder has dislocated 5 times in the last 11 years or might I say his SHOULDERS! Yes both his shoulders have been dislocated. The first incident was in the school yard when he was 15, he was playing football and got tackled by a guy who is 2 times his size. He was in great pain and screamed for help. Much like his second incident when he fell down the stairs and dislocated the same shoulder. By his 3rd incident he was practically an expert, after he was checked in hockey, he knew exactly how to fix his shoulder. Although, he could never overcome the agonizing pain he was able to pop it back in place. The next time he got hurt was a little different, this time it was his left shoulder that dislocated exactly the same as his fifth time. He has been to the doctors several times and they said that his shoulders are prone to dislocate easily because it has happen so often. My cousin does not let this injury affect his life, I am so proud that he continues to play sports and enjoy his life. He is just more cautious now of what he does.

Symptoms

• Bruising/ swelling
• Intense pain
• Hard to move
• Redness
• Limited movement
• Visibly out of place

Treatment
The treatment will depend on your doctor and how severe the dislocation is! For minor dislocation all you must simply do is R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevate). Although, for more severe dislocation your must get it popped back into place. After the treatment, the injured area will be placed in a sling and would profit from muscles strengthening (physiotherapy).

How to Prevent

• Use handrails when using the stairs
• Keep a first aid kit in the area
• Move electrical cords off the floor
• Wear protective gear when playing sports
• Be careful on rugs
• In the bath tub, use non-skid mats
• Do not stand on unstable items

This video demonstrates how your bone can dislocate!

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000014.htm
http://www.healthline.com/health/dislocation

Stress Fracture

Hello again everyone today I'm going to talk about a stress fracture! Now just to elaborate, this is a type of fracture. A fracture is basically a medical term for a broken bone. So when its a Stress Fracture, just like mentioned in the name it's because of stress to the bone.

A stress fracture is a small crack in the bone and can be any size such as a hair line fracture to a huge crack. They are usually caused by overuse or high impact sports. That being said when your muscles become fatigue and can no longer absorb the shock it causes stress which leads to the horrible fracture.

I have a family member who had a stress fracture but they were not aware of it. They felt so much pain in their foot and it made it difficult to walk. Their main priority was sports, sports, sports, no time to rest any injuries no matter how much pain there was. They went days even years without getting the injury checked out. Discovering 2 years later they had suffered from a stress fracture and did not let it heal properly. Due to their decision, they now have problems causing pain quite often on that foot. Sadly, it could be something they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives or a good majority of it. So this is why I chose this injury and want to explain everything you need to know to be able to either prevent, treat or even identify a stress fracture.

Symptoms

• Pain in the injured area
• If the pain increases with time
• Sometimes their if redness or swelling

How to diagnose it? Just like most injuries you must get a X-ray. Although, sometimes the fracture may not appear in a X-ray which is why your doctor would schedule you a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which is a more sensitive photograph.

Prevent

1. To prevent this injury, a person must have proper dieting meaning making sure to get their vitamins such as calcium, vitamin D, etc.
2. Also, the most important would be to take caution of how much we exercise and listen to our bodies when there is too much stress and needs a break.
3. Lastly, make sure to wear the proper equipment and do every exercise properly.

Treatment

1. TAKE A BREAK!!
2. Take pain medication prescribe by a doctor if necessary
3. Make sure to ice the injured area

Here is quick video giving a summary of my blog and a in depth explanation of a stress fracture!

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00112
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/stress_fractures.html#