Athletico Health Resources

Co-author: Payton Hufnagel, SPT

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) affects approximately 8% of the population, most commonly women between 20 and 50 years old. In this blog, we’ll discuss the causes and types of TOS, its presentation, and how physical therapy can help those with TOS symptoms get back to doing what they love.

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Pickleball has recently taken the news by storm as one of the fastest-growing sports, which means it can lead to potential injury if you’re not proactive.

As a pro pickleball player and a physical therapist, I want to see you on the court, not in my clinic. Therefore, I will outline my favorite tips, which I use personally and with my patients to maintain strength and decrease the likelihood of injury. As an athlete, muscles are essential to perform; they support our joints to promote optimal function while minimizing stress. But you don’t have to be a pro athlete to reap the benefits of a fun and social sport like pickleball! Whether you’re a pickleball prodigy or simply enjoy a game or two on the weekends at your local court, here are three common pickleball injuries to be on the lookout for:

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You had the unimaginable happen; you tore your ACL. You probably felt it pop or knew exactly what happened when it happened. Your mind immediately started going 1000 miles per minute, thinking about the worst. “My season is over!” “Will I ever be able to play again?” “What happens next?” All these questions and more are likely swirling through your head, sending anxious thoughts through the roof. ACL tears are quite common in the sports injury world; anywhere from 100,000-200,000 people tear their ACL in a given year. While you may be worried now, this blog will outline steps to help inform your decisions moving forward and determine what will be best for your situation.

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Tumbling activities put a lot of force through the spine and can put more stress on the lower back in certain circumstances. Tumbling athletes occasionally have an injury and report a “broken back.” What does this really mean? For the purpose of this blog, we will focus on the lower back or lumbar region only. We’ll dive into what a broken back is, and how recovery may look with a goal of returning to tumbling sports such as cheerleading or gymnastics.

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The summer Olympics are fast approaching. Gymnastics for the Olympics includes artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline events. If you plan to tune in to any Gymnastics coverage from Paris, here is some information on how gymnastics is scored and who to look for on Team USA.

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Keeping your arms and shoulders strong and mobile are important in a successful season for any overhead athlete. Often, skipping out on warming up, cooling down, and stretching can cause preventable injuries. Athletes can excel throughout their season without worrying about injury with proper care and effort. The throwing or hitting motion of sports such as baseball, softball, tennis, water polo, swimming, and volleyball could result in injury due to the tremendous force athletes put through their shoulders. In women’s volleyball, the ball can be spiked up to speeds of 70mph, and in tennis, players can serve up to 128 MPH. With such high velocity and force behind hitting and throwing, athletes need to keep up with strength and mobility. Here are six exercises all overhead athletes can do for a healthy upper body.

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As a physical therapist, I see many athletes who experience a golfer’s elbow, medically referred to as medial epicondylitis. This condition is characterized by a burning ache along the inside edge of the elbow, which worsens with gripping or during certain wrist motions. While it is a fairly common issue among athletes and recreational sports enthusiasts, it’s most commonly experienced by golfers.

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Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: either a hoop, ball, rope, ribbon, or club. The sport combines dance and gymnastics and requires strong, flexible, coordinated athletes. Due to the nature of the sport and the repetition during practice and performing, the most common area of injury for rhythmic gymnasts is the foot.

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