Knees Knees Knees
Why not Run A Lacrosse Player? You are right!
Recently, one of my teammates informed me that she had experienced knee pain. It was not obvious to her that this is something I’ve been doing since high school. I wish I knew she was having problems. I might have helped. Instead she went to see her family doctor, and was advised to “stay off her knees, don’t run!”She didn’t get a diagnosis from the doctor! This was an easy problem that she could easily fix. She suffered instead!
For a specific problem, I don’t mind seeing my family physician. Simple solutions are what I prefer, so if your goal is to keep your child on the field, you can too. Perhaps your child has been complaining about pain in her knees.
Chondromalacia Patella or Patellar Tendonitis…
Chondromalacia Patella/Tendonitis are very common in young athletes. This is the wear away of or softening the cartilage beneath the kneecap. This can be explained in several ways: 1. When bones grow fast, they change their shape and length. Muscles and tendons don’t always do this as rapidly. 2. All of our activities involve the lateral, or outside the quadriceps. Over development can result in this muscle becoming too large. When the quads contract, the knee cap can become a track. This causes it to become more worn than normal and makes it wear faster. 3. An external rotation of your hip may result in a misalignment. The tracking may also be affected by this.
Is there anything we can do to help our kids?
It is worth visiting your family physician to check for any orthopedic problems, such as ACL, MCL and meniscus tears. You can also ask me for a quick review and tell you my opinion. You know, I am a sports medicine doctor. It’s funny, but I forget to tell my parents that I have been treating sports injuries for over 20 years. Most of those injuries were in young women athletes. Sometimes I lose sight of what my real job is. That’s probably the right way to go…
After confirming that the joints are healthy, you can do some things for your injured team members to help them train with this injury. Keep them on the field. There is no room for injury!
Stop the inflammation process:
Dixie Cup icing:
- 2-6 times per day. Minimum two times a day. More is better.
- Allow at most 20 minutes for icings to dry between them.
- You can pick up a bag of Dixie cups at the supermarket. Then freeze 12 of them with enough water. Take one of them out and place it in a cup.
- Place the towel between your legs so that the leg is straight. The towel gives water an area to drain.
- You will need to set the timer for 5 minutes. Place the ice cube on your skin. The soft tissues around the kneecap should be circled. The area below the knee cap is where most swelling tends. Continue to circle until the timer rings: five minutes. You can stop.
- First, you’ll feel cold. Next, pain. Finally, numbness. Do not stop for 5 minutes!
Traumeel
- After you have iced, use this to your advantage.
- This is the homeopathic remedy/gel I use to treat inflammation and sports injury. You can find it online. It is a favorite of my patients. They can get it on the internet and I won’t even sell it.
- You can use the same amount of toothpaste as you would toothpaste. Use it to rub the joint, kneecap and knees. It should not be washed off.
- Be sure to put on more before you go to bed. This should be done 2-3 times per day!
- This can be kept in your lacrosse bag throughout the season. This works great!
Rebuild your cartilage
- Take Glucoseamine sulfate. Take 1200mg/day.
- This stuff was the subject of a book called “The Arthritis Cure”You can read it here. It is available for you to read if necessary. The study claims that it is safe and effective. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old; arthritis can cause cartilage to wear away.
- GAS is not a good supplement to a healthy diet. Keep taking it even after feeling better.
- Don’t buy Glucoseamine HCL. Research has shown that it doesn’t work.
- Chondroitin Sulfate should be avoided. Although it does work for some people, there is no double blind placebo study that proves it to be effective. Anecdotal evidence and testimony support this claim. “proof”I agree. DO NOT GET ENOUGH.
Modify the tracking of the knee cap
- You should ride a bicycle three times per week on smooth ground for twenty minutes. You should have the seat high enough so that your knees are straight when you’re in the down position. Then, keep moving your feet.
- It is also a great idea to use a stationary bike. Use light tension.
- Continue with the icing, traumeel
After you feel better, consider leg lifts.
- Place your hands on the back of your head and straighten your legs. The injured leg can be extended to the side.
- Start by putting only the weight of your leg in the first step. Next, wrap 2 soup cans inside 2 tube socks. Then tie the ends together, wrapping them around your ankle.
- Begin with two sets of 10-reps, and then work your way up to four sets of 20.
You can go to the gym if you’re old enough
The last 15 degrees of leg extension.
- This will activate the medial four. This could quickly change the tracking issue!
- Keep your legs straight. Begin by bending your leg. It shouldn’t be forced into hyperextension
- Begin with a very light weight (between 10-20 lb) and then gradually increase to medium weight (30-40 lb).
- Begin with two sets and rest for 1 minute between. You should do 10 reps.
- Up to 6 sets can be done with a 1-minute rest.
Feel better!
Play more lacrosse until then! We’ll see you on the field.
Coach Jen
www.girlslax.org
www.triplethreatlax.com