Dr. Nicholas Cappello

If you have been unfortunate enough to injure your back, one of the first things you should do is apply ice to the injury site. You should keep the ice on the site of injury for about 12 minutes at a time, with 20-minute ‘recoveries’ between applications. Ideally, you or a helpful friend can perform ‘ice massage’ on your affected area, using the nub of ice from a styrofoam cup (which has been left in the freezer for enough time to freeze its water) to gently work coldness into the hurting area; reveal the icy nub within the cup by peeling away its topmost styrofoam. Massage for about 12 minutes, take a 20-minute break, and repeat. At least six 12-minute massages per day should be performed to ease pain, inflammation, and swelling. Some athletes have gained considerable relief from using a special ‘PROSERIES’ ice-pack system for their backs; this system wraps neatly around the back and can be used during activity, providing both cooling and compression of the low back.

“The Anti-Inflammatory Diet”

Are you unable to sleep on one side because your shoulder wakes you up at night? Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm? Does getting your wallet cause you to wince in pain? You may have a rotator cuff problem!

I have over the past 25 years developed a deep understanding of how to treat this problem and it does not require becoming an anatomist or physiotherapist.

I have read “Anti Cancer a new way of life” by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber. I thought to myself, if this life style change can help cure cancer why not to prevent and promote healing in SPORTS INJURIES. Dr. Servan-Schreiber was on top of the world he was one of the founders of Doctors without Borders, was PHD, MD. He was doing research on brain neurophysiology when one of his subjects did not show up for a MRI he substituted himself. He looked at his MRI and could not believe his eyes…he had brain cancer. His journey took him to remission of the cancer with tradional treatment to relapses. He decided to do his own research on cancer. And what he found saved his life.

The fact that we were eat 5 kg. Of sugar in the 1800 and now consume 70 kg. Had a lot to do with the increase in cancer. He notes that cancer cells can only feed off of sugar to survive; a PET scan used to detect cancer is radioactive sugar that is picked up by cancer cells. Sugar also triggers inflamation which aids in the growth and spread of cancer. The Trans fat found in many fast foods is also an inflammation trigger.

So your new approach is to eliminate inflammatory food in your diet, such as white sugar, trans fat, alcohol, (red wines excluded) and most fast foods, Increase anti inflammatory foods high Omega 3, VIT D, salmon, olive oil, berries, and broccoli THIS will help in the healing of your rotator cuff tendonitis by increasing the blood flow and providing a nourishing environment for healing.

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After many years of following the debate on Calcium and Vitamin D. I follow the guide lines of National Institute of Health  if you have no contraindications.

The researchers followed the health of more than 5,000 female Navy recruits participating in eight weeks of basic training. Members of one group were given 2,000 milligrams of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D a day, while the other group received placebos. There was 25% less fractures in the supplement group.

25 years ago when I was a medical student we were thought that the rapid growth of bones caused stretching of the muscles which was responsible for the pain experienced during childhood.

But despite widespread acceptance of this claim, there is virtually no evidence that it’s true. Most studies have found instead that the pains experienced during adolescence — which can affect nearly half of all children — result from brittle bones and, local overuse syndrome in particular overuse from running, climbing and jumping during the day. When your child complains of pain pay attention to their activities.

1. Make time for warming up a then stretching AND IN THAT ORDER

The most common complaints I receive are over use injuries so do not try to get too much in at first, When you feel your muscles get a slight burn then its time to slow down, The burn is caused by the build up of lactic acid and requires a few minutes to be converted back to a chemical your muscle can use for energy.

2.  Proper hydration is often overlooked!

Remember … Your brain is 75-85% water! By the time you feel thirsty your body has lost between 3 and 5 8 oz cups of water! …so drink plain water before you get thirsty. There is no science behind all those energy drinks , they all have lots of sugar and chemicals your body can do without.

When you start downing these — especially the sports drinks — after a workout, you’re looking to rehydrate yourself, which makes it all the more likely that you’ll over-consume what is essentially a sugar-filled soda.

Besides — we should save our sugar intake for something that tastes better, anyway — something we can eat in relative peace — without the post-workout demands of our body bearing down on us.

Take a banana with you if you need a boost ..The sugars in bananas are called glucose and fructose. Glucose is the most easily digestible sugar. It gets into your bloodstream rapidly and can be utilized for a quick release of energy.

The fructose is absorbed more slowly, and thus it provides a more lasting fuel release. Neither glucose nor fructose cause the adrenaline surge linked to consumption of sucrose (table sugar) that gives children the “run around like crazy” and then leaves them exhausted.

3. Choose clothes and shoes designed for your type of exercise. Don’t get over-sold on synthetic materials.

Synthetic materials often come highly recommended. Before you buy synthetic materials, however, be aware of the following:

Natural materials tend to breath better. This can be critical when you start to work up a little bit of a sweat and need to evaporate this sweat so that you don’t become cold later when you are a little less active , my personal choice is cotton , Synthetic materials are to be used if you find the weather conditions to be windy.

For tips on picking the proper running shoe  view this post!

The ball and socket joint of the shoulder is the most commonly dislocated joint. That is the price the shoulder pays for having the greatest range of motion of all the joints.

Another reason is it really is not a ball and socket and looks more like a golf ball sitting on a tee. We use the term unstable joint.

There are 3 ways to treat the first time shoulder dislocation, sling, rehab, or surgery.

A general rule of shoulder dislocation is if you subtract your age from 100 that will give you an idea of you chance of a second dislocation, e.g. if your 20 then you have an 80 percent chance of a second dislocation.

The sling treatment usually last for 4 to six weeks. Recent studies have shown that immobilizing the joint for this length of time actually causes more atrophy or muscle wasting and does nothing for preventing a radiolocation. Study by Henry no immobilization 80 percent re-dislocation, 90 percent with immobilization. The latest thoughts on a sling method is to put the arm in a special sling the holds the ball in some external rotation. And allows the shoulder capsule and muscles heal in a more anatomic position.

One of the best studies was out of West Point . The young cadets  first time dislocaters  who were treated with no surgery  had an 80 percent redislocation rate and the surgical group had a 14 percent.

A later study by Buttoni also had similar results. The quality of  life of the patients was looked at as well and the operative group was much better. When you look at the  first time shoulder dislocation  you can see it makes sense to have your shoulder repaired to prevent further damage.