Search This Blog

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Physical Therapy Excursion

     During my spring break I had the opportunity to shadow a physical therapist. It wasn't purely for this project however, my dream job is to be a physical therapist and I thought it would be beneficial to trail one. But. seeing as how my topic is sports injuries, it clearly fits well with my experience. When people get hurt, they often need help recovering from the injury, especially the more serious ones. When this happens, they go to a physical therapist for help.
     While on my observation experience at Luther Midlefort I got to see how the PT told the patient to deal with the injury. The first person who came in had torn an ACL and was going through rehab after surgery. They were in their third week of rehab and hadn't been progressing as far as they would have liked. The person shared these frustrations with the therapist, who told him that these things were to be expected. Not every injury is the same, so it is unreasonable to expect the same results for them all. This seemed to ease the patient a little bit. The doctor had some printed out exercises for the patient to take home and do. As he explained them, I got to see a demonstration of each. It was really nice for me to see exactly how they were supposed to be done, and the therapist explained that if they were done incorrectly, it could do more harm than good. I found this to be really interesting. I would really like to include this in my research. The other patients I saw the PT I was shadowing were not victims of sports injuries, rather they had been in car accidents. Due to this fact, I find it inappropriate to include stories of those visits in my research, but they too were helpful to me.
     I found this visit to be extremely beneficial. I had written in my mid-research review that I would like to look more at the treatment and what happens after the injury, as opposed to the injury itself that I focused on in the first half of my project. The most valuable and eye-opening pieces of information that I gained were: A) No injury is the same, and B) If done incorrectly, the rehab could end up doing more harm than good. These two facts will end up in my thesis, because I feel they are extremely important.
(Action-Oriented, Writing)

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Bibliography with Annotations

Articles
Yde, J., and A. B. Nielsen. "Sports Injuries in Adolescents' Ball Games: Soccer, Handball and Basketball." British Journal of Sports Medicine 24.1 (1990): 51-54. Print.
This article talks about an experiment that was conducted regarding injuries amongst basketball, handball, and soccer players. It provides an in-depth exploration of the how different the sports are and how these differences play apart in injuries. The research shows that soccer players are most likely to get hurt with 40% of the players getting injured at some point during the season. Basketball players were the least likely. This is not a biased article because it was written by medical professionals. It connects to my research because it looks at the different types of injuries that can be sustained in the different types of sports.

Cassas, Kyle J., M.D., and Amelia Cassettari-Wayhs, M.D. "Childhood and Adolescent Sports-Related Overuse Injuries." American Family Physician 73.6 (2006): 1014-019. Print
Sports injuries in youths is the main focus of this article. It talks about all the risks that children face when playing sports. The most serious and common risk is overuse. When children are playing in three or more sports and sometimes are going from practice to practice to game all in one day there is a serious risk of an overuse injury. The human body cannot keep up with such a strenuous schedule, especially at a young age when the body is not fully developed yet. The article also discusses the different ways that doctors can diagnose the injuries. This article could be a little biased because although it was written by doctors, people tend to be more sensitive when dealing with children, so they could make it seem a little worse than it actually is. It connects to my research because children play a huge part in our sports culture because it all starts at an early age and how they are shaped as athletes will affect how they shape the next generation.

Simmon, Drew, and Peter Burkner. "Sports Ankle Injuries." Focus: Sports Injuries 39.1 (2010): 19-24. Print.
This article is specifically written about ankle injuries in sports. The article goes into a history of ankle injuries and discusses some of the things that cause them. It talks about how to prevent them and how to recover from the injury. It also gives advice to the doctors on how to correctly diagnose the injury. If they incorrectly diagnose the injury, it could mean trouble for the athlete. The doctor could prescribe the wrong treatment and cause further harm that will increase the recovery time. This article connects to my research because in my own experience ankle injuries have been a very common injury for myself and others I play with.

James, Christopher. "Injuries in One High School Sports Season Can Affect the next One." Berkshire Eagle. N.p., 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
This is a news article featuring a high school student from Massachusetts. It shares her story about breaking her ankle in the basketball state finals and how now she is unable to play the start of the softball season. The article talks a lot about how coaches in winter and spring sports get frustrated because their players can't play because of injuries sustained in an earlier season. It also talks about how important it is for the players to fully recover before trying to play again. If they start again too soon they risk re-injury that will take even longer to recover from. This article is a bit biased because when the author talked to the coaches, of course they are going to be biased towards injuries are an issue because it is negatively affecting them and their season. This is helpful to my research because it is good to see that side of the issue and how the people on that side are perceiving it.

Manoloff, Dennis. "Noted Surgeon Dr. James Andrews Wants Your Young Athlete to Stay Healthy by ..." Plain Dealer. N.p., 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2013
This an article that is written about an extremely opinionated surgeon who has seen enough. He is tired of operating on children with injuries that could have been avoided. He blames the coaches who he says mean well but do not know enough to adequately protect their players. He also blames parents who think their kid will be a superstar and push and push until the kid breaks. He has recently written a book about this issue hoping to educate more people about these injuries. This surgeon has operated on many famous professional athletes, so he has seen a lot of different injuries. But that's not what he's worried about. He is however worried about the fact that the kids he has coming in to him are having adult injuries rather than injuries typical of children. This is not biased because it is coming from a professional surgeon who deals with these things every day and knows what he is talking about. This is a great article and it relates to my research because is really illustrates the point that overuse and not enough time off are hurting the athletes.

Nonfiction Book:
Culverhouse, Gay. Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis : From Pee Wee Football to the NFL. Lake Forest, CA: Behler Publications, 2012. Print.
     This book focuses on two big issues in sports, doping and concussions. The book goes into great detail about both topics. The main point it made about doping is that as players are getting bigger and stronger there is also a bigger potential for injury. Concussions are the biggest injury and not many people are well educated about it. The culture around sports is to tough out injuries and not be hurt. The book is written by someone who has inside knowledge of the NFL and football and can speak for both players and management, so there is little bias. The author isn't advocating any changes, just trying to make people more aware. This book directly relates to my research because a big part of my research on sports injuries has been about concussions. Even doping relates to my topic because as the players are getting bigger and stronger because of the drugs, there is a lot bigger chance for injuries to occur.

Documentary
Head games. Dir. Steve James.  Head Games The Film, LLC, 2012. Film.
     This documentary is all about concussions. It discusses the consequences of multiple concussions and the long term effects they can have. It talks about how most people are not very educated about concussions and it is almost as if they became a big issue over night. It features athletes from various sports talking about their experiences and it really asks the question, "what are you willing to give up for a game?" There is a little bias in this documentary because it is mostly coming from players and former players who have had their lives effected, if not ruined, by concussions. Because of this, you really only get one side of the issue, it doesn't really talk about all of the people who are safe and injury free. This is a good fit for my project because it is clearly about sports injuries. Even though it is a little biased it still fits well because my research is about injuries and not the healthy people so the fact that it doesn't show uninjured people is irrelevant.

Websites Used
"Learn More." STOP Sports Injuries. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/>.
"Virtual Sports Injury Clinic." - Sports Injuries, Treatment, Exercises, Massage. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/>.

TV Show
Brenkus, John, and David Leepson, prods. "Sport Science: Field Warriors." Sports Science. ESPN. N.d. Youtube. Web.
     This episode of Sport Science goes behind the science of injuries. It discusses why the injuries happen and who is at fault for them. It looks at the science of the equipment that is used and how it could be better. They look at the anatomy of the human body to see what happens when certain injuries occur. There is no bias in this TV show. It is straight facts. All they are doing is telling the viewer what is happening and why. This is very helpful in my research and fits in well. Along with looking at the injuries themselves, it is important for me to look at why they are happening and how they could be prevented as well.

Fiction Film
Friday Night Lights. Dir. Peter Berg. Perf. Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke. Universal Studios, 2004. DVD.
 Friday Night Lights does a really good job of showing how intense it really is for high school athletes. It looks at the other side of the injury issue. Yeah, its bad to play when injured and our culture pushes toughness over safety, but on the other side of that coin you have young adults who put everything they have into their sport. It is easy to see why people continue to play while injured, they don't want to give up their dream. I do not believe that this movie is biased because it really shows both sides of the issue pretty evenly. It relates because it shows how big of an impact that an injury can have on more lives than just the person who got injured.

5 Articles

Scholar:
http://bjsportmed.com/content/24/1/51.full.pdf+html
    This article talks about an experiment that was conducted regarding injuries amongst basketball, handball, and soccer players. It provides an in-depth exploration of the how different the sports are and how these differences play apart in injuries. The research shows that soccer players are most likely to get hurt with 40% of the players getting injured at some point during the season. Basketball players were the least likely.
http://www.eteamz.com/bangoreastll/files/Yourhsportsinjury.pdf
    Sports injuries in youths is the main focus of this article. It talks about all the risks that children face when playing sports. The most serious and common risk is overuse. When children are playing in three or more sports and sometimes are going from practice to practice to game all in one day there is a serious risk of an overuse injury. The human body cannot keep up with such a strenuous schedule, especially at a young age when the body is not fully developed yet. The article also discusses the different ways that doctors can diagnose the injuries.
http://almacen-gpc.dynalias.org/publico/Ankle%20Injuries.%20NHRMC%202010.pdf
    This article is specifically written about ankle injuries in sports. The article goes into a history of ankle injuries and discusses some of the things that cause them. It talks about how to prevent them and how to recover from the injury. It also gives advice to the doctors on how to correctly diagnose the injury. If they incorrectly diagnose the injury, it could mean trouble for the athlete. The doctor could prescribe the wrong treatment and cause further harm that will increase the recovery time.
News:
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_22795226/injuries-one-high-school-sports-season-can-affect
    This is a news article featuring a high school student from Massachusetts. It shares her story about breaking her ankle in the basketball state finals and how now she is unable to play the start of the softball season. The article talks a lot about how coaches in winter and spring sports get frustrated because their players can't play because of injuries sustained in an earlier season. It also talks about how important it is for the players to fully recover before trying to play again. If they start again too soon they risk re-injury that will take even longer to recover from.
http://www.cleveland.com/dman/index.ssf/2013/02/noted_surgeon_dr_james_andrews.html
This an article that is written about an extremely opinionated surgeon who has seen enough. He is tired of operating on children with injuries that could have been avoided. He blames the coaches who he says mean well but do not know enough to adequately protect their players. He also blames parents who think their kid will be a superstar and push and push until the kid breaks. He has recently written a book about this issue hoping to educate more people about these injuries. This surgeon has operated on many famous professional athletes, so he has seen a lot of different injuries. But that's not what he's worried about. He is however worried about the fact that the kids he has coming in to him are having adult injuries rather than injuries typical of children. This is a great article.
(Writing)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Another Interesting Element!

This Website is specifically made to address the issue of sports injuries in youth. The website is linked to an organization where people can donate money or join the team to help fight sports injuries. This website makes a big push for the fact that most injuries are preventable. This site offers tips specifically designed for different sports. There is a lot of good stuff on this fantastic website!!! As Mark Spitz once said, "If you fail to prepare, your prepared to fail."

Sunday, March 3, 2013

"Throwaway players" nonfiction book response


  1. A summary of your text.This book focuses on two main issues in football. One of those being doping by players and the other concussions. The book goes into great detail with each of these subjects. Which makes it a very valuable resource to anyone looking to know more about concussions. I would recommend this book to any parents trying to decide if they should let their kids play football or not. It is written by an insider, but has very little bias in it.
    Doping may not seem extremely relevant to my topic of sports injuries, but it is. As the players get bigger and strong with new technology and drugs that puts more stress on their bodies. There might be the same amount of violence as there was 50 years ago but now, instead of 250 pound men crashing into each other at five miles an hour, we have 350+ pound men crashing into each other at ten miles an hour. They may be big and strong but the human body was not meant to withstand such abuse. There was a very intriguing chapter of the book that featured a former player who had abused drugs talking about the affects and reasoning behind the drugs. It gave very good first hand experience to back up what the author was saying.
    The other important issue this book discusses is concussions. Concussions have always been a part of the game but it wasn't until recently that anybody new about them. It seems like they just jumped into the spotlight overnight. The book goes on to talk about the old days and how previously a player had been able to just pop up after a hit that left them seeing stars, run to the bench for a play, and the very next play are back in the game. But now they are under heavy watch and are held out of the rest of the game if there are any concussion like symptoms at all. The fact that the writer is a former NFL president means that there is inside information. She tells about what really goes on in the locker room and how the coaching staff tried to brush it off like it was no big deal. When information first started coming out the NFL was reluctant to take it seriously or make any changes. But then when former players started dying or committing suicide and it was clearly linked by doctors and specialists to head injuries sustained while playing football, they knew something had to change.

  2. At least 3 key passages from your text.“Experts say that the most frustrating aspect of concussions in football is the silence surrounding them. Football’s play-with-pain mentality discourages players from high school to the pros from revealing this virtually imperceptible injury to coaches or trainers, often causing more serious harm.” Page 68
Society itself has become accustomed to feeling no pain. We solicit pain killers regularly to deal with the usual aches that bodies experience.” Page 35

To complicate matters, football is no longer seasonal. There are weight and strength programs year-round for the committed athlete. There is competition to make the roster year after year. There is no time off.” Page 112

These players, these men, had been thrown away after their years of gripping our hearts with their plays. What remained were the broken bodies and lost souls of the men who have permanently left the locker room? This is what remains after the cheering subsides. This is what the NFL does not want you to see.” Page 125
  1. At least 5 thought-provoking questions that allow readers of your page to think about the topic you have chosen in relation to your nonfiction book and the world around us.

    Would you ever use drugs to increase your level of play, knowing the consequences?

    If everyone in professional sports used performance enhancing drugs, they would then be on an equal playing field, do you think this would be a good idea?

    In your opinion, what would be a good way for the NFL to take better care of its players once they retire? They clearly need some kind of care with their broken bodies.

    Have you ever had a concussion? Did you tell anyone about it? Why or why not? Have you had any other injuries you have not reported and continued to play with?

    The author, Gay Culverhouse, was so concerned with player injuries that she testified before congress. Do you think that this is really that big of an issue? Why or why not?
  2. A citation for your nonfiction book.

Culverhouse, Gay. Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis: From Pee Wee Football to the NFL. Lake Forest, CA: Behler Publications, 2012. Print.
  1. Include a picture(s) (one that you created or composed) on the page that relates to the book you have chosen.
  1. Finally, include a section on how this particular book has guided or fits in with the issue you have chosen to work with for this project.
    This book talks about concussions and performance enhancing drugs as main points. My broad topic is sports injuries and this book talks a lot about that. The main connection is that NFL players have suffered so many injuries, concussions in particular that they are having a hard time living after retirement. In addition to that the average career is only three years and after that the don't have many job applicable skills that they can use, so they really have to make enough money in those three years to live off of. Players would have much longer careers if they didn't get injured and be forced to retire.
(Writing)

Response to "Head Games" documentary

1.Provide a summary of your chosen documentary. Synthesize key ideas, concepts, or experiences explored throughout the film. Include a thorough summary.
2. Which storytelling techniques are used in the documentary you viewed? Does the film follow one person's story or many? Does the film use footage from other broadcasts/shows or its own footage? Does the film use statistics, experience, or both? Describe in detail about the variety of techniques used.
3. What are some elements of the media that are brought into the story?
4.What types of other sources are provided by the documentary?
5.Is there any bias in this film? Describe in detail why or why not.
6.What information can you take away from your documentary to include in your research? In other words, how does this connect to your research? 
 
(Visual)