More than 50% of injuries on Fourth of July are related to fireworks

The eyes are the most frequently injured body parts, followed by the fingers and hands. Here is a video from the Cleveland Clinic with some advice how to prevent these injuries:



This video discusses ways to prevent and identify heat-related illness in senior citizens:

Snowboarding continues to evolve as a sport, and so do injuries (video)

Snowboarding exhibits high injury rates, at 2-3 times the rates of alpine skiing

The relatively young sport of snowboarding has gained immense popularity during the past 30 years and exhibits high injury rates, at 2-3 times the rates of alpine skiing. Upper extremity injuries are the most common type in snowboarders as a whole. Injury rates in snowboarders remain higher than in skiers. Wrist, shoulder, and ankle injuries are more common among snowboarders, while knee ligament injuries are more common in skiers.



Injuries are different in elite-level snowboarders vs. beginners

Elite-level snowboarders are often injured when performing difficult manoeuvres at high velocities and with amplified levels of force to the lower limbs. Consequently, elite-level snowboarders suffer from injuries that are of higher severity and have decidedly greater lower extremity injury rates. Conversely, injuries to the upper extremities are decreased in the elite snowboarders.

Snowboarding injury patients are 12 years younger than skiing injury patients

At one Rocky Mountains clinic, the mean overall age of injured patients was 32.9 years, 35.4 for skiers and 23.6 for snowboarders. The knee accounted for 43% of all skiing injuries, the shoulder 12%, and the thumb 8%. The wrist accounted for 18% of all snowboarding injuries, the shoulders 14%, and the ankle and knee each 13%.

Beginner snowboarders were more likely to present with wrist injuries compared with intermediate and advanced snowboarders.

At this mountainside clinic, the most frequent ski injuries are to the knee and shoulder, regardless of skill level. Beginning snowboarders most frequently injure their wrists whereas shoulder injuries remain frequent at all skill levels.

Snowboarding continues to evolve as a sport. This includes a steady progression in the degree of difficulty of the manoeuvres conducted by athletes and an increase in the number of snowboarders attempting such manoeuvres.

Olympic athletes break down their signature tricks (video)

Snowboarders and skiers have an extensive vocabulary of spins and flips. Here, Olympic athletes break down their signature tricks (from NYTimes):



References:

Injuries in elite and recreational snowboarders. Br J Sports Med. 2014 Jan;48(1):11-7. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-093019. Epub 2013 Nov 26.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24282020

Injury patterns in recreational alpine skiing and snowboarding at a mountainside clinic. Wilderness Environ Med. 2013 Dec;24(4):417-21. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2013.07.002. Epub 2013 Oct 16.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24138836

Snowboarding injuries: trends over time and comparisons with alpine skiing injuries. Am J Sports Med. 2012 Apr;40(4):770-6. doi: 10.1177/0363546511433279. Epub 2012 Jan 20.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22268231

Related:

Sochi Olympics 2014 | Shaun White: Halfpipe Snowboarding | The New York Times - YouTube http://buff.ly/MuiEO7
Sochi Olympics 2014 | Mark McMorris, Slopestyle Dervish | The New York Times - YouTube http://buff.ly/1eKKpIm

The Barefoot Professor says barefoot running could minimize injuries (2014 Update: Not really)

2014 Update: 'Barefoot' Running Heads Into the Sunset - WSJ http://buff.ly/1nuz0E0



NatureVideoChannel — January 27, 2010 — Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman has ditched his trainers and started running barefoot. His research shows that barefoot runners, who tend to land on their fore-foot, generate less impact shock than runners in sports shoes who land heel first. This makes barefoot running comfortable and could minimize running-related injuries. Find the original research here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08723

Humans have engaged in endurance running for millions of years1, but the modern running shoe was not invented until the 1970s. For most of human evolutionary history, runners were either barefoot or wore minimal footwear such as sandals or moccasins with smaller heels and little cushioning relative to modern running shoes.

Related reading:

The Barefoot Running Revolution - INFOGRAPHIC  http://goo.gl/7SUGs

Sport Injuries: MRIs of hips of hockey players show abnormalities in 70% - are they clinically significant?

A study included M.R.I.’s of the hips of 21 professional hockey players and 21 college players. They showed abnormalities in 70 percent of the athletes, even though these hockey players had no pain or only minimal discomfort that did not affect their playing. More than half had labral tears, rips in the cartilage that stabilizes the hip.

“M.R.I.’s are so sensitive,” Dr. Musahl said. “They frequently show little tears or fraying everywhere. And it is very, very common to have a small labral tear in your hip — it doesn’t mean you have to have the particular symptoms.”

References:
Personal Best - Sports Injuries - Go to a Doctor or Tough It Out? NYTimes.com.

A Young Man with Hip Pain due to Piriformis Syndrome

Image source: X-rays (not MRIs), Edheads.org.

Professor Tracks Clusters of Terrible Sport Injuries in Hope of Prevention

From the NYTimes:

Prof. Mueller almost immediately noticed a previously hidden cluster in, of all things, pole-vaulting. Several high school and college athletes each year were killed or paralyzed simply by missing the pit with the pole, falling on their heads off the landing pad, or sliding down the pole and hitting their heads on hard surfaces. Pits were soon expanded and surrounded with softer padding.

Mueller detected a strange number of paralytic accidents in organized swimming, all from relay-type dives into water that was too shallow — resulting in today’s minimum depths.


Concussion Recovery - Mayo Clinic Video

References:
Professor Tracks Ghastly Injuries in Hope of Prevention - NYTimes.com.