St. Francis Sports Medicine Newsletter | February 2014 
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February 2014
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Gloria Beim, MD, the Team USA chief medical officer for the 2014 Winter Olympics, provides us with her sports injury tips. Please continue reading to learn more:

Sports Injury Tips From an Olympic Doctor

 

Carol Peckham| Medscape Medical News

 

Gloria Beim, MD, is the Team USA chief medical officer for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This is the third Olympics she has served in. Beim is the founder of Alpine Orthopaedics in Colorado.

 

What can regular, non-Olympic athletic people or weekend warriors learn from Olympic athletes as far as training and competition?

Beim: What they should know is that Olympic athletes are training all the time. They are training in the on-season and the off-season, whereas weekend warriors often don't really train at all. They may work all week and then play tennis on the weekend, or go skiing twice a year, or play basketball once a month with their buddies. They may not stretch properly. They may not strengthen properly. They don't always have the greatest mechanics on the court or on the ski slopes, because they often don't have good teachers or coaches experienced in the proper mechanics for their sport.

 

Non-Olympic athletes who are really interested in playing a sport need to think about training during the off-season. Think about doing routine flexibility and strengthening exercises and keeping your body balanced, because that reduces injury. Proper biomechanics and muscular balancing reduces injury. It really does.

 

I will give you an example. I often see tennis players (and even golfers) in the summer with shoulder pain. They tell me, "Yeah, I didn't do anything all winter, but I just played tennis, five games, over the weekend, and my shoulder is killing me."

 

Well, that is not surprising. The Olympic athlete would never do that. They are training all the time and they are keeping in excellent fitness, excellent muscular balance. They have the coaching, the training, the physical therapist or athletic trainers -- all the resources to help them train properly and stay balanced and fit. They don't get the overuse injuries that a non-Olympian would who jumps into his sport now and again.

 

So in summary, what they can learn from Olympic athletes is to stay muscularly balanced and think about conditioning in the off-season or in between their ski trips or weekend games.

 

Are there any specific exercises that you would recommend?

Beim: Strengthening of the hips. I always harp on people and their hips because many people do not think about them. Also, rotator cuff strength. You may see people in the gym pulling huge weights for the shoulders, but you rarely see them using bands and small weights to work their rotator cuff. These people are more likely to develop bursitis and impingement than the person who works their rotator cuff. If people added into their normal exercise regimen training some of the muscles that they don't usually think about, along with flexibility exercises and stretching, it could make a big difference in their performance and injury rate.

 

If you need to see a doctor about an orthopedic injury or a nagging condition, find a Bon Secours Medical Group orthopedist online>>  

 

 

Get in Faster
with 675-HURT
 

When injuries strike, you just need to remember one number - 675-HURT, St. Francis Sports Medicine's 24/7 injury hotline. 675-HURT provides concierge service to Piedmont Orthopaedic Associates and Carolina Orthopaedic Center physicians, getting you an appointment with an orthopedic expert faster. If you're not sure if you need to see a physician right away, the professionals at 675-HURT can give you advice for at-home treatment.

 

In fact - grab your phone and enter 864-675-4878 into your contact list now. Then you won't have to remember any numbers! 

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 Wren JV Girls Basketball  
 

  

 
      Greenville Track Club's Green Valley 10 miler winner, Matthew Hammersmith

 

 

 

 Spring Cycling Series at BMW

 

 

 
PlayGreenville Flag Football at the Kroc Center 
 
  
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Jordan Smith, Powdersville High School Quarterback, signing his letter of intent to continue his football career at North Greenville University.

 

 

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