I am currently watching the Wimbledon semi-finals for the men and it is 21-21  in the 5th set and John Isner and Kevin Anderson have now played over 6 hours of tennis. 
 
The last two weeks have had tennis fans world wide enjoying the best that the world has to offer.   Wimbledon is one of the four grand slam tennis events held annual in the world.  It is held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, England.  The tournament is played on grass courts and all players who play at the All England Club must adhere to the all white dress code.
 
I had the opportunity to tour Wimbledon in September 2013, and we were able to go everywhere from Centre Court stands to Murray Mound (formerly Henderson Hill) and even the press area for athletes.  What a thrill for a tennis fan!
 
I started playing tennis about 14 years ago and fell in love with the sport, but I was a fan for many years before I had the opportunity to play.  Andre Agassi was my firs tennis pro that I followed and since his retirement I’ve been a huge Fed (Roger Federer) Fan! 

Tennis requires so many different skill sets and is very physically and mentally demanding.  The hours of training and play and the repetitive nature of the sport involving numerous joints and large muscle groups inevitably results in injuries.  Whether you are a professional player or an amateur player, we can all appreciate the demands on one’s body. 
Take for instance, serves in the current Wimbledon semi-final match being played between Isner and Anderson. John Isner, has currently hit over 265 serves just in this match, whereas Serena Williams has hit about 370 for the entire tournament to date. 

There are many players who sustain repetitive injuries,require rehabilitation and even surgery to knees, hips, wrists, elbow and shoulders. We also see foot and ankle injuries and ongoing back problems with some tennis players.  As a chiropractor, I actually see more lower extremity injuries from tennis than upper extremity injuries, due to the pounding that they undergo on the hard court surfaces.

Milos Raonic,  Andy Murray and Raphael Nadal are just a few of the top players who have battled injury recently.
Milos suffered a thigh injury during his quarter final match during Wimbledon.  Andy Murray has not been back to full play since an injury to his hip during Wimbledon 2017 and Raphael Nadal had to pull out of the Australian Open and missed some of the season earlier this year with a hip injury.  Nadal has gone on to return to full play and one Roland Garros (the French Open) and will play in the semi-finals at Wimbledon later today.
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The role of Chiropractic in Tennis. 

Tennis players professional and amateur alike can benefit from regular chiropractic care. 

John Isner for example was quoted in Baseline in April of this year for the role that chiropractic and his stable, family life have contributed to his great play this season.   His chiropractor of 6 years has helped him tremendously. Isner was quoted as saying
"It's not anything that he did this week. It's what he's done through the course of the six years that we have been together," Isner said. "And I have been very healthy for six years, as well, I will knock on wood. That is in large part to him: adjusting, putting this machine on me, or massage. It's everything. There is so much that goes into it." 
 
Andy Murray has been adjusted in his mid back and shoulder blade region right on the court during a medical time out during Wimbledon a few years ago. He went on to win the title that year.
 
Chiropractors help maintain and improve mobility and neuromusculoskeletal function, reduce overuse injuries and help speed up the healing of joint and soft tissue related injuries through a variety of rehabilitative techniques.  It’s not just about low back pain, or mid back pain.  Our roll is to help with the knee and hip injuries, the foot and ankle injuries and the upper extremity injuries.

We treat our patients as whole people and we work together with our patients and use our extensive training to help improve and maintain performance by helping athletes amateur and professional alike.

Every clinic is different, at Kingston West Family Chiropractic, our interdisciplinary team will work together and can offer a variety of treatment options for tennis players and for other athletes. This may include chiropractic, rehabilitation, active release technique, contemporary medical acupuncture, registered massage therapy, registered kinesiology, laser therapy, concussion management and more. An individualized approach to care will be determined in consultation with you based on your needs and your goals. 
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If you want to help maintain and improve your health, follow the leads of some of the best in the tennis world and schedule a chiropractic appointment today.

Now, I am going to finish enjoying the athleticism and excitement of the remainder of today's Wimbledon semi-finals and perhaps go out and play myself this afternoon once the hot afternoon sun cools down! 

It is estimated that approximately 4% of the world’s population play soccer.  In 2006 FIFA conducted a survey called the Big Count and it was found that over 264.5 million people played soccer.  There were found to be 113,000 professional soccer players at that time. As it is now 2018, we can only imagine how these numbers have increased!

We are now into the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the premier professional soccer event in the world that is held every 4 years. 

When I started writing this post we were only into the second matches of the group stages!  Time has flown by.
I didn’t grow up with cable or satellite so the world of professional soccer remained hidden to me until I was finally finished school and had access to cable television and a little more time on my hands. 

I started enjoying the World Cup in 2002. I figured if our Canadian team would not make it through to the group stages, then England was a good bet for me to follow and some Great British heritage on my side didn’t hurt my decision making at all either!  This forced me (by choice) to learn all the words to “God Save the Queen” so I could belt out the song in support of my team with the masses in the stadium (to the chagrin of my poor husband).  I also started to watch some English Premier League play around this time and follow Manchester United, Chelsea and occasionally Liverpool.

Now this world cup is particularly exciting as England is now on to the semi-finals!    This World Cup has certainly seen its share of upsets as well as some surprises, but that is what competition is all about.

In viewing this world cup, the FIFA website and doing a little bit of my own research, I discovered that in the fall of 2016 FIFA started to offer the FIFA Medicine Diploma.  There are 42 modules with multiple lessons to each module (for example the hip has 15 lessons to complete for that one module).

Over 25000 individuals have signed up for the program to date, but about 1200 have completed it. I am  registered and now working towards my diploma. From beginning my first module, it seems to me that this Diploma is best suited toward health care professionals and it will help me gain extensive insight into soccer related injuries and how best to manage and prevent them.  This information is invaluable in terms of clinical practice!  Well done FIFA! I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my progress with the FIFA Medicine Diploma.

Chiropractors are now playing a crucial role as part of the core medical team for many soccer teams both at the league level and at the national level.  It is becoming more common for a team to have a team chiropractor who travels with them during the season.  The financial loss from an injury that was preventable can be considerable to a soccer player and to the team.   Take Dr. Jesse Saenz, who is the team chiropractor of Republic FC and works full time during the off season with Hull City AFC in the English Premier League.

Now, you don’t have to be a world class soccer player to benefit from chiropractic care. You could be on a recreational team or play competitively.
 
The most common injuries seen with soccer player are lower extremity injuries, such as ankle sprains, internal knee derangements, muscle strains to the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, and calves, hip injuries and concussions. These are just to name a few. Sports injuries are inevitable with frequent training and the extensive and vigorous nature of the sport.

At Kingston West Family Chiropractic we can help put together an off season and on season strength and neuromuscular training program to help reduce the risk of potential injury. Our team works together post injury to help to return you to play safely and as soon as possible. 

I (Dr. Adrina Patterson) am a Shift Concussion Management provider and a member of Kingston Concussion Alliance and we offer rehabilitation not limited to chiropractic, but including registered kinesiology, registered massage therapy, contemporary medical acupuncture, concussion management and low level laser therapy to help with soccer-related and other sports injuries. 

Let's all continue to enjoy the exciting outcome that will conclude this weekend for this 2018 FIFA World Cup (Go England!) and for those who love to play the sport as much as they enjoy watching it, consider making chiropractic part of your choice for healthy, long-term play!
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