The Biceps Brachii: A Common Cause of Shoulder and Elbow Pain in Athletes

May 19,2019 / By The Hand Society / 1 Comment

Hand surgeon Benjamin R. Graves MD discusses the biceps brachii and the impact it has on the shoulders and elbows of athletes.

As an upper extremity surgeon, I see patients of all ages, sports, and skill levels for shoulder and elbow injuries on a daily basis. These problems can be acute or chronic and vary from mild to severe. Mild cases can often be treated with non-surgical measures, whereas more severe injuries may require surgery.

One muscle in particular, the biceps brachii (pronounced bray-key-eye), is frequently injured during sports activity, and is one of the more common reasons a patient may come to see me for evaluation. What makes this muscle unique is that it spans two joints, the shoulder and the elbow. This means that an injury to the “biceps” can involve the elbow, the shoulder, or both.

Boxing Hand Sports Injury

The Beginner’s Guide to Boxing Wraps

May 12,2019 / By The Hand Society / 2 Comments

from Livestrong

Boxing a great cardiovascular workout — you can also burn up to 900 calories in just 30 minutes of intense boxing, turning you into a fat-burning, muscle-gaining machine. And it also happens to be a fantastic stress-relieving workout. There’s just something so therapeutic about punching something to release pent-up aggression.

Before you jump into the ring with just a set of boxing gloves, though, you first need to protect your hands with boxing wraps to prevent a serious injury.

Read the full story.

Baseball Elbow Hand Sports Injury

Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Treating Tommy John Injuries

May 27,2017 / By the American Society of Hand Therapists / No Comment

Baseball season is in full swing for the pros. Unfortunately, for many youth baseball players, summer leagues are just one of the year-round seasons they play. A Tommy John injury (injury of the ulnar collateral ligament at the elbow) was unheard of in youth leagues in the mid-90s. By 2010, the adolescent rate was nearly 40 percent. As a baseball enthusiast, I find this trend disturbing. I asked Dr. Bobby Chhabra, Chair of the Orthopedic Department at the University of Virginia, his perception of this epidemic.

“Every year I see more and more adolescent elbow injuries from pitching and throwing. These injuries vary across a spectrum from little leaguer’s elbow, to muscle strains, to UCL injuries (Tommy John), and cartilage injuries. I would agree that the adolescent rate is increasing and the trend shows that this group may soon reach half of all surgeries performed to repair a Tommy John injury.

The reasons for this are likely multi-factorial but include the increasing number of kids who play one sport and pitch year round from a young age, have poor mechanics, have fatigue leading to poor mechanics and injury, and have overuse with minimal rest.

Video: Causes and Treatment of Mallet Finger

Nov 9,2016 / By The Hand Society / 2 Comments

Mallet Finger, sometimes known as baseball finger, happens when the top part of the finger is injured, forcing your finger to droop down and no longer straighten. Watch our short, 3-minute video to learn more about this injury and how to treat it. The video features NBA basketball player Dirk Nowitzki.

This injury is common in sports because it is easy for a basketball, baseball or football to strike the finger forcibly. While it may just seem like a jammed finger (you will have pain, swelling and bruising), there can be serious damage with a mallet finger. Early treatment is very important, especially if you see blood under the nail. Your doctor may treat you with a splint, cast or surgery, depending on how severe the injury is.

Learn more about this injury at www.HandCare.org.

Finger Football Hand Sports Injury

Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Football Hand Injuries

Sep 20,2016 / By the American Society of Hand Therapists / 1 Comment

Football season is finally here! My friends and I like to go play a few flag football games during this time of year. I really don’t see too many football hand injuries putting NFL players on the disabled list (DL). Should I be concerned about hand injuries?

Numerous studies find a large percentage of emergency room visits are for hand injuries from recreational sports. Nearly half of these are from either football or basketball. Unfortunately, NFL players tend to play through their finger injuries. Take a look at Michael Strahan talking about his finger injuries. (How about the most twisted hand injuries in NFL history?)

What kind of hand injuries should I worry about?

As you can see from the video and photos of the NFL players, hand injuries from football typically involve tendons, ligaments and/or bones. Injuries to the tendons that straighten the finger are called mallet finger and central slip injuries. A jersey finger is an injury to the tendon that bends the finger.

The thumb and the middle joints of the fingers (jammed finger) are prone to ligament injuries. Hand injuries can progress to deformities if left untreated. An example of this is a boutonniere deformity.

Golf Hand Sports Injury

4 ways to prevent golf injuries

Sep 14,2016 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

There’s plenty of nice weather left this season for some great golfing. For golfers, the most commonly injured body parts are the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder and lower back. With nearly 28 million golfers in the U.S., golf injuries are a common occurrence. To prevent injuries during this golf season, follow these four tips:

Warm-up and stretch properly: 80% of golfers spend less than 10 minutes warming up before playing. This can be dangerous and cause serious injury. All golfers should have a comprehensive warm-up routine before playing.
Gradually increase amount of play: At the beginning of the season, a golfer’s body may not be used to the intense upper extremity activity from the game, potentially causing injury. To avoid an overuse injury, gradually increase the amount of playing when the season begins.
Core muscle strengthening: Keeping the core muscles in good shape will help prevent serious injury.
Refining technique: Many golf injuries happen when a golfer’s swing is not in correct form. To put less stress on the body, work with an expert to refine your technique.

Learn more about the different types of golf injuries by downloading our infographic. You can also visit www.handcare.org to read more.

Q&A on winter sports injuries with Dr. James Monica

Feb 12,2016 / By The Hand Society / No Comment

from My Central Jersey

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 1 million Americans are injured and 17,000 people die as a result of slip and fall injuries every year.

These injuries increase significantly during the winter season. In fact, about 450,000 people are treated annually for winter sports-related injuries. What’s more, snowboarding tops the list of accident-related winter activities.

Dr. James Monica, a board certified orthopaedist and member of University Orthopaedic Associates (UOA), knows this firsthand. He deals with winter injuries and treats a substantial number of fractures from sports and accidents.

Read the full story.

Category : Sports Injury

The Biceps Brachii: A Common Cause of Shoulder and Elbow Pain in Athletes

The Beginner’s Guide to Boxing Wraps

Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Treating Tommy John Injuries

Video: Causes and Treatment of Mallet Finger

Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Football Hand Injuries

4 ways to prevent golf injuries

Q&A on winter sports injuries with Dr. James Monica