If you suffer from tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), listen up. A new, more effective, treatment may help you get faster pain relief. A study presented at the annual American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine meeting showed that adding one simple home-based exercise to traditional tennis elbow treatment resulted in immediate and significant improvement in tennis elbow pain. The results were so dramatic, in fact, that the researchers stopped the study because they wanted everyone in the study to get this more effective treatment.

Eccentric Wrist Extensor Exercise
The exercise that had this dramatic effect was a simple eccentric wrist extensor movement using a flexible rubber bar. The exercise involves twisting a rubber Flexbar with one hand and resisting the bar as it untwists using the injured arm. The result is an eccentric contraction (movements that cause muscle to contract while it lengthens) of the wrist extensor muscles on the injured forearm. Eccentric contractions increase tension on a muscle as it opposes a stronger force, which causes the muscle to lengthen as it contracts.

In this study, the patients performed 3 sets of 15 repetitions per day and increased the intensity at regular intervals.

If you have tennis elbow, ask your physical therapist to show you how to do this exercise at home.

Compare prices: Thera-Band FlexBar

_Source

Tyler TF, et al. Addition of a novel eccentric wrist extensor exercise to standard treatment for chronic lateral epicondylitis: a prospective randomized trial. American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, 2009 annual meeting.

Do you have a favorite way to warm up, cool down, or prevent sports injuries? Share your injury prevention tips with other sports medicine readers.

Most pro and recreational athletes will have to deal with some aches, pain or other injuries over the years. Some injuries will require the care of a physician or another specialist for proper diagnosis and treatment. Choosing a provider is often one of the most difficult parts of dealing with an injury. These tips may help you decide who is right for you.

Over the counter sports creams containing salicylates as the main active ingredient are not effective and are, in fact, a waste of money. This is the conclusion of Oxford biochemist Andrew Moore, who lead a comprehensive review of all studies on the topic.

The review, published in the July Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, found little evidence that over the counter sports creams, such as Aspercreme, Ben Gay and Icy Hot have any effect at all on muscle aches and pain when compared with a placebo (sham treatment).

So, What Does Work?

According to Moore, some topical local anesthetics work. Topical capsaicin works, and some topical NSAIDs work for strains and sprains.

What Do You Think?

Are Sports creams effective? Are they a waste of money?
Share your opinion about sports creams.

Also See:

• Over-the-counter pain medication
• Sports creams
• Newwise Story about the study results.

_Source

_{Matthews P, et al. Topical rubefacients for acute and chronic pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 3, 2009. [http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab007403.html].}

The most common golf injuries occur in the lower back, elbows, shoulders, hands and wrists and are generally defined as either cumulative (overuse) or acute (traumatic) injuries. Proper conditioning and swing mechanics can often prevent golf pain and injury as well as boost your golf game.

Prevent Golf Injuries and Improve Your Swing With:

• Prevent Golf Injuries: Conditioning and Swing Mechanics
• Conditioning Exercises for Improving Your Golf Game.

Golf.about.com offers a great "head-to-toe" golf stretching program and the latest equipment reviews.

The FDA announced a product recall for the energy drink products New Whey and Hardcore Energize Bullet because some of these products may have been tampered with.

Two small utility knife blades were found in the energy drinks which are sold in vials that look like test tubes. While no one was injured, the line of product has been recalled. If you have any of these products, return them to the place of purchase or toss them out. If you have any concerns with these two products, contact the FDA.

Learn More about Optimal Sports Nutrition in Sports Nutrition Basics - From Training to Competition

The Tour de France begins this weekend and while all eyes are on the return of seven-time winner, Lance Armstrong, some scientists are more interested in the bone health of professional cyclists over the month-long bicycle race.

Over the past several years, research on bone health, has uncovered some surprising information regarding the effect of cycling on bone strength. And it's not all good.

Several studies, including one last year, found lower bone density in elite level cyclists who train for hours on the bicycle.

Researchers are not entirely sure the cause of the bone loss in cyclists, but the current theories include:

• The nonweight-bearing nature of cycling.
• Minerals, including calcium, are lost at an enormous rate during hours of sweating.
• An energy imbalance (more calories are used than consumed) over hours of exercise.

Low bone density, referred to as osteopenia, can lead to osteoporosis and a significant risk of bone injury. A fractured clavicle, like the one Lance Armstrong suffered in March, is one of the most common fractures to occur in cyclists.

In order to combat these risks, all athletes are advised to participate in some form of regular weight-bearing exercise, such as:

• Weight Training, especially the the Squat Exercise
• Plyometrics
• Jumping Exercises, such as practicing the vertical jump.
• Body Weight Exercises can also help build bone density
• Jump roping, or running

It seems that everyone is after a better, easier way to lose body fat and just as many people claim to have the answer in their latest book, diet, workout or piece of high-tech equipment. Before you take the bait, take a look at this list of the Top 10 Weight Loss Myths from Paul Rogers, About.com's weight training guide. Paul provides some great advice for anyone tempted by a promise of fast and easy weight lose.

Also see:

• Spotting Health Scams
• FTC Guidelines for Identifying Weight Loss Scams
• Fitness Myths and Half-Truths
• How To Get Fit Fast

Research continues to support the use of balance training to prevent recurrent ankle sprains in athletes. One study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that a proprioceptive balance board program is effective for prevention of ankle sprain recurrences. A more recent study found that balance training reduced the risk of a noncontact inversion ankle sprain in high school football players.

To learn more about starting your own balance training program, check out Balance Training and Proprioception or How To Build Joint Stability After an Injury.

Ankle Sprain Types and Degrees

Nearly every year there are reports of serious heat illness or sudden death in student athletes during sweltering summer practices. Football players, with bulky pads and helmets and intense workouts, are especially susceptible to the affects of heat. Since 1995, at least 39 student football players have died from heat-related causes. In 2008, alone, there were four deaths at the high school level and two at the college level all related to heat stroke.

Because of the growing number of reports, most states now have guidelines for students athletes that address practice and competition in hot weather.

The National Association of Athletic Trainers offers a comprehensive list of recommendations to reduce the risk of heat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletics provides recommendations for the initial 14 days of pre-season practice. The following are some of the recommendations:

• Each individual practice should last no more than three hours.
• On Days 1 to 5, athletes can participate in only one daily practice.
• During the first 2 days of sports requiring helmets or shoulder pads, a helmet should be the only protective equipment permitted.
• On Days 3 to 5, only helmets and shoulder pads should be worn.
• Beginning no earlier than Day 6 and continuing through Day 14, double-practice days must be followed by a single-practice day.

More Information About Exercising In the Heat

• Hot Weather Exercise Safety
• Dehydration
• Sunburn
• Heat cramps
• Heat rash
• Heat exhaustion
• Heat stroke
• Hyponatremia - Water Intoxication