Upcoming Events

12.3.11

Cincinnati Kings Game

Jingle Bell Run

12.13.11

Fleet Feet Holiday Run

12.19.11

Fairfield YMCA Injury Screens 

Patient Testimonial 

"When we were searching for a medical team to support Fairfield Optimist Soccer Club and its families, there was really no other choice for us other than Oxford Physical Therapy.

I had witnessed them in action with the Cincinnati Kings Professional Indoor team and their dedication to that organization convinced me that they were the one for us.  It is really a wonderful perk for our players in the club. 

From having a trainer at practices to the support of the therapists at the Fairfield location, Oxford has been absolutely fantastic.  They care about our players, they are dedicated to helping, and have become not just our medical team, but our friends"

~ Craig Rhodis Director of Coaching

FOSC

Oxford Physical Therapy Centers News

Greetings!
 

Chances are, most of you know someone who has injured their ACL. Maybe you have even experienced this type of injury yourself. A torn ACL is a difficult injury from which to recover (and our staff at Oxford is here to help with that process, should you find yourself in need of rehabilitation after ACL Repair). Depending on the severity of an ACL injury, treatment may include surgery to replace the torn ligament followed by rehabilitation exercises to help you regain strength and stability, which can be a difficult and lengthy process. This is why we'd like to give you some ideas to help you prevent this injury before it occurs. To follow is an overview of when ACL injury is most likely to occur and some tips on preventing injuring your ACL. 

What is an ACL tear and why does it happen?

An ACL injury is the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, inside your knee joint. An ACL injury most commonly occurs during sports that involve sudden stops and changes in direction - such as basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball. If your favorite sport involves pivoting or jumping, a proper training program can help you to reduce your chances of an ACL injury.

The causes of ACL injury have recently been the focus of research. Factors contributing to ACL injuries include ground hardness, grass type and cleat type. But one of the other major findings is that women are nearly three times more likely to have ACL injuries than men. And some statistics says that a female soccer player is eight times more likely to injury her ACL than a male soccer player. Researchers believe this may be due to differences in hormone levels on ligament strength and stiffness, neuromuscular control, lower limb biomechanics, ligament strength and fatigue. Findings have show a difference in neuromuscular control in women when landing jumps (women appear to have less hip and knee flexion than men).

Whether you're a female or a male, these tips can help you!

Sports Facts Concerning ACL Injury

• The frequency of soccer injuries is estimated at 10-35 per 1000 hours of competition, with the majority occurring in the lower extremities. Knee injuries account for 15-40% of soccer-related injuries.
• The knee is the most commonly injured area of the body in basketball.
• In football, it's pretty much the standard to undergo ACL surgery.
• Knee injuries account for to around 1 in 3 injuries when skiing. Within this group, ACL injuries account for as high as 49% of the knee injuries.

How Do I Prevent an ACL Injury?

Athletes can reduce their risk of ACL injuries by performing training drills that require balance, power and agility. Adding plyometric exercises, such as jumping, and balance drills helps improve neuromuscular conditioning and muscular reactions and ultimately shows a decrease in the risk of ACL injury. To follow are some basic stretching and strengthening articles to help prevent ACL injury:

• The literature indicates that by adding hamstring and hip strengthening all athletes, especially females can dramatically reduce their risk! You'll want to focus on exercises to specifically strength the hamstrings (the muscles that bend your knee) and your buttocks (specifically the muscles that move your hip backward and out to the side).
• Stretching can also be helpful. You can start with stretching muscles like your calves, your hamstrings, your hip flexors, and your quads.
• Dynamic strengthening and balance exercises are also great. Try a walking lunge or balancing on one leg.
• Plyometrics have also been shown to help prevent injury. Some examples include lateral hops and vertical jumps and scissor jumps.
• Use the proper landing technique when jumping at all times: accept the weight on the ball of your foot with a slight bend to the knee.

Don't let your focus on wellness fade with the holiday season! We would like to encourage you to work on your cardiovascular fitness.

Reducing Cardiovascular Disease Risk With Exercise

Beginning an exercise program to improve your cardiovascular fitness can be daunting. It may be intimidating to read that you "should" be doing X number of minutes of exercise per day, particularly if you're not exercising at all. But if you're told you need to do get in a half-hour of exercise, you don't need to start there. By doing only 10 minutes of exercise (walking at lunch time, taking the stairs when possible, parking as far as you reasonably can from your work place), you'll take your first steps toward fighting and preventing heart disease.

Start by doing an activity only once a week, then go up to twice a week as the new routine becomes a habit. Once you've made the activity exercise program a regular thing, try increasing the time you do it or trying something new, like signing up for a dance class.

The important thing to remember is that getting more exercise doesn't mean jumping in with an expensive gym membership and a huge time commitment. You'll do much better with an incremental approach.

Benefits of Improved Cardiovascular Fitness

• Reduction in blood pressure
• Increased HDL cholestrol(Happy cholestrol)
• Decreased total cholesterol
• Increased Aerobic Work Capacity
• Decreased Body Fat Store
• Decreased symptoms of anxiety, tension, and depression
• Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes

Jingle Bell Run                                        

Race Details:

Saturday, December 10

10 a.m

Northern Kentucky Convention Center

Oxford Physical Therapy Centers has a team participating in the Jingle Bell Run, please sign up to join us!

Look for the Oxford tent. We will be stretching runners before and after the race. Run strong!