Living An Active Life on Your Own Terms

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As our attention turns from the Sochi Winter Olympics to spring time sports, the month of March offers a great deal for enthusiastic sports fans.  Especially after this particularly difficult winter, many sports fans are anxious to see their favorite pastime back in action.   Baseball has its spring training in Florida and Arizona, college basketball teams have March Madness, professional tennis begins outdoor tournament season at Indian Wells, and professional golfers are busy preparing for April’s Augusta National.

To enjoy lasting success in any sport, high quality orthopedic care is sometimes a necessary component to help athletes perform at their peak. The simple fact is that some sports activities put a great deal of stress on the human body, often more than nature intended.

Learn more about sports injuries.
Source: Mount Sinai Hospital

As a result of intense training and play, many athletes experience injuries requiring specialized care, including physical therapy and orthopedic surgery. Yet professional athletes are amazing examples of how recovery from serious injury is not only possible, it is very achievable to return to top form and live an active life to the fullest.

Orthopedics on the Global Stage

Looking back at the Olympics, we have several examples of athletes relying on orthopedic care in the months leading up to the global competition. For example, the story of Russian figure skater Evgeny Plushenko is a wonderful example of battling back from injury and going on to incredible victory. As one of the greatest figure-skaters of all time, it was expected that he compete and win, yet he faced considerable obstacles in the form of two spinal surgeries, while also struggling with knee injuries for several years. Because of his disciplined regimen, Plushenko managed to compete in the team figure skating competition, with Russia taking the gold. The orthopedic care and therapy he received after his surgeries were vital to his recovery and training prior to competing in the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Just as impressive is downhill skier Chemmy Alcott, who at age 31 had suffered 42 fractures and four breaks in her pursuit of Olympic excellence. After suffering from a broken leg, she left competitive skiing until the Sochi 2014 Olympics, where she took 19th in the women’s Olympic downhill. The consistent use of high quality orthopedic care following each and every injury is what allowed her to recover from so many devastating injuries and compete against other top skiers from around the world.

A Successful Recovery is Within Reach

Here in the States, such greats as Zach Thomas, Trent Green, Donavan McNabb, Will Demps, Brodie Croyle and Daunte Culpepper have relied on orthopedic care to help them return to peak condition and recover from what previously would have been career-ending injuries. Even iconic athletes like Tiger Woods rely on orthopedic surgery to help them bounce back from serious injuries, such as when Woods underwent ACL surgery and reconstruction in 2008. This can be a difficult surgery to recover from, but it is possible – as Woods has gone on to demonstrate.

Just as you must be single-minded in your pursuit of athletic excellence, you must also be disciplined in your goal to recover from injury. That means investing in orthopedic care when needed and working hard at your therapeutic regimen after surgery. Doing so means restoring your health, happiness and the freedom to do what you love!

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Arthritis & Joint Replacement Center of Reading

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