Close to 20 percent of sports-related injuries occur in the lower back or neck. While exercise is essential for overall health, those who play sports have a higher risk of injury, and injuries to the spine are often severe and cause lasting damage. Lower your risk by understanding the causes and effects of spinal injuries .

Causes of Spinal Sports Injuries

Spinal deterioration can be caused by any sport that involves running or other high-impact up-and-down motion, as the discs of the spine are put under tremendous pressure with every step. Improper form in activities as diverse as golf, weight lifting, and bicycling can cause back strain as well. Severe injuries can be caused by contact sports like football or through impact with hard surfaces in sports like skiing or skateboarding. Jumps which are not landed properly in these sports can lead permanent spine injury and even paralysis.

Health Implications

Symptoms can range from minor to severe. If your back feels sore after working out, try to correct your form and strengthen your core muscles to prevent further damage. If the injury is to the spine, and not your muscles, the damage can be much more difficult to heal. Severe spinal injuries can rob you of your mobility, and even your life, so taking efforts to avoid them is well worth your time.

How You Can Prevent Injury

Always warm up and stretch before beginning any sporting activity. Use proper equipment, and wear shoes that fit and support you. Do not attempt jumps, tackles, or other high-risk challenges for which you do not feel totally prepared. Have a coach or other professional check your form to make sure you are properly executing all movements and not straining your muscles.

If you have questions about how to prevent sports injuries or have suffered an injury or pain in your back, contact the Spine Institute of Nevada . Visit our Las Vegas office or call us today at (702) 239-3787 .

Our recent blogs have discussed different treatment options for specific issues in the spine. If you are experiencing back pain, read through the articles below for helpful facts to guide you toward proper treatment:

• The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons offers information on  spinal fusion surgery.
• Learn about failed back surgery syndrome in this article from Spine-Health.com.
• Get some statistics on back pain and treatment with the American Chiropractic Association.
• WebMD.com reviews the services that a chiropractor can offer.
• For a brief history of chiropractic medicine in the United States, visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

The Spine Institute of Nevada offers comprehensive treatment for all types of back pain and deformities. Schedule a consultation with our leading physician, Dr. Perry, by calling (702) 239-3787 or visiting our website.

Spine surgery is the only major medical procedure that has a specific syndrome associated with its failure. Failed back surgery syndrome, or FBSS, is chronic pain in the leg or back felt after spinal surgery. In order to remedy this problem, more minimally invasive surgical techniques have become widely used that make healing easier and surgery more successful. However, traditional spine surgery is still commonly performed, and this procedure may leave you in pain from a variety of potential complications. Read on to learn about the complications associated with traditional spine surgery and how revision surgery can help:

Complications

Some pain and discomfort is natural in the healing process after surgery, but pain reminiscent of what you experienced before surgery or pain that is worse than it was before should be addressed by a spine surgeon. The goal of back surgery is to help you regain your ability to move freely. If this is not the case, your back has not healed successfully from the first procedure. Since the spine is made of living tissue, even seemingly successful surgeries can end in FBSS .

Revision Surgery

The success of revision surgery will be highly dependent on the original condition affecting the back as well as the exact cause of failure in the first surgery. The doctor will work closely with you to fully understand your symptoms and the complications that have occurred from the first surgery. To minimize further issues with your surgery, the Spine Institute of Nevada utilizes the most advanced minimally invasive techniques that eliminate problematic scar tissue, bleeding, and infection.

Find out how you can live comfortably after failed back surgery by scheduling a consultation with Dr. Perry of the Spine Institute of Nevada . Contact us on our website or call  (702) 239-3787 for complete information about our surgical services.

Back pain is a problem that almost all Americans will suffer with at some point in their lifetimes, and chiropractic medicine is the most popular solution to remedy it. Chiropractic therapies may be used exclusively or in conjunction with other treatments to relieve back pain and other conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system:

Healing the Spine

In order to understand the way that chiropractic can work to relieve symptoms such as headaches, pain or numbness in the extremities, or even fatigue, you need to know how the spine affects all areas of the body. One primary function of the spine is to house the spinal cord, which is a bundle of nerve roots that communicate with every part of the body. When an injury has been sustained in the back, it will cause a subluxation that irritates the nerves. Symptoms may be felt all over, but the primary focus of the chiropractor will be to make adjustments in the back.

Healing the Body

Before beginning any sort of treatment, the chiropractor may use x-ray or other imaging techniques to assess the condition of the spine and pinpoint problem areas. By applying pressure to areas causing pain, pressure is relieved around the joints. This allows the body time to heal itself by rebuilding the soft tissues.

Typically, chiropractic adjustments need to be performed regularly over a series of several weeks. Each adjustment will provide relief, but there can be soreness while the joints are being manipulated. Relief of symptoms, including back pain, neck pain, stiffness in the joints, and headaches, has been proven, and ongoing studies are working to prove the effectiveness of chiropractic for a variety of other conditions.

At the Spine Institute of Nevada , we will design an individualized treatment plan to address your symptoms. Schedule a consultation to discuss your back or neck pain by calling (702) 239-3787 or visiting our website.