Loudoun County, Va. — Memorial Day has passed and pools are open, signaling the unofficial start for summer for a lot of folks. Many children and teens in this area are getting ready to start, if they haven’t already, swim team practices and meets. So it’s timely to talk about shoulder injuries and make sure you and your kids know how to prevent pain and injury so you can enjoy your summer. Not too surprising, shoulder pain is the most frequent orthopedic injury among swimmers. A recent study showed that 91% of elite swimmers age 13 to 25 reported at…

By Owen Gotimer LoCoSports Editor-in-Chief [twitter-follow screen_name=’BigO_Gotimer’] Purcellville (May 2, 2017) — Woodgrove High School senior Puneet Kaur has been awarded a $20,000 scholarship as one of 20 student-athletes honored in the sixth-annual​ Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program​. “I’m the second person in my family to go to college, behind my older sister, so this scholarship will help my future endeavors,” Kaur said. For the sixth consecutive year, Foot Locker is recognizing students who demonstrate academic excellence and exemplify strong leadership skills both in sports and within their communities. “The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program celebrates and honors outstanding students…

By Kate Zanoni, LPTA Wellness Blog Contributor [twitter-follow screen_name=’@toCME4PT’] (April 26, 2017) — Ouch! If you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis, you know just how excruciating those first few steps are when you get out of bed in the morning. It can feel like you’re stepping on a knife as the tight connective tissue on the bottom of your foot stretches out. As someone who has had a recurrence of plantar fasciitis over the years, beginning in high school, I can tell you first hand just how painfully necessary it is to address the underlying cause to avoid flare-ups. What Exactly…

Loudoun County, Va. — Here’s a riddle for you: What holds your body upright, is made up of a series of irregularly shaped bones, appears to be in a straight line but is also curved when you look at it from the side? The answer: YOUR SPINE! Your spine consists of 33 bones: seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral and four fused coccygeal bones. Only the top 24 bones are movable. Depending on how you look at a ‘normal,’ healthy spine, it will appear straight or have two gentle curves. When the curves appear more exaggerated, it’s likely you’re looking at a…

Loudoun County, Va. — Overtime, sports have become more competitive. With this driving force, athletes are becoming less likely to report injuries or report when they are feeling pain to avoid being taken out of the game or missing practices. Concussion reporting has followed this same trend. According to a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training, 50-percent of concussions go unreported. The most common reason for athletes not to report a concussion or ‘bell-ringer’ was because the athlete did not think the event was serious enough to warrant reporting. Other notable reasons: The athlete did not want to be…

By Cierra Washington, ATC Wellness Blog Contributor [twitter-follow screen_name=’@toCME4PT’] (March 15, 2017) — If you’re participating in a spring sport, what should you be doing early in the season to get ready to compete? Hopefully, you have been training in the off season or at least have been staying relatively active to maintain your level of fitness. But if you had more of a couch-potato lifestyle for the past few months, it’s time to get up! According to the National Children’s Hospital, 50-percent of injuries could have been avoided if the athletes had been properly conditioned before competing in their respective sports. Whenever you…