Most of us realize the importance of hydration to exercise. Drinking water before, during, and after workouts regulates your body temperature, delivers nutrients and oxygen to your cells, and removes waste. But did you know that proper hydration is also an important part of preventing injuries?

Quiz: If you’ve just hurt yourself — for example, sprained your ankle or tweaked your shoulder hitting a tennis serve  — do you ice the injury or apply heat to it?

Or how about chronic soreness or swelling from conditions like osteoarthritis or lower back pain? What’s more effective: heat or cold?

These are questions many people have, and a surprising number aren’t certain about the answer.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are an extraordinary medical development. Taken as directed, they have saved countless lives by treating and even preventing certain types of bacteria-caused infections. Millions of people have safely taken these drugs to successfully combat infections of their sinuses, lungs, and urinary tracts.

However, in 2008, 2013, and 2016, the US FDA (Food and Drug...

With its elements of school spirit, dance, gymnastics, and daring stunts, competitive cheerleading is an extremely popular high school athletic activity. Over 400,000 high school girls participate in cheer each year, and many continue on to compete in college. When practiced safely and responsibly, cheer is a fun activity with a low rate of injury — safer than most other high school sports....

Do you experience aches, pains, or swelling in your joints? You may have osteoarthritis, or OA. OA is a progressive disease of the joints caused by the degeneration of cartilage between bones. 

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative condition affecting the joints. About 27 million people in the U.S. have some form of OA, which is a breakdown of joint cartilage that can lead to pain, swelling, and stiffness. OA is a long-term, incurable disease; you can't reverse its effects, but you can learn strategies and options for managing your symptoms.

Statistically, men and women sustain sports injuries at about the same rate; but how they get injured, and why, are not exactly the same. Are you familiar with the most common sports injuries for women? 

If you follow professional sports, you may have heard about platelet rich plasma therapy, or PRP — a therapy credited by many world-class athletes for accelerating the repair of their sports injuries. Today, more and more orthopedists are offering PRP injections to help treat non-pro sports injuries and arthritis — but what exactly is PRP, and is it right for you? 

Osteoporosis, meaning "porous bones," is a disease affecting bone density. Over time, bones become less dense — thinner and more fragile — which can lead to an increased risk of fracture. Osteoporosis affects about 9 million Americans, both men and women. How do you know if you're at risk?

In our last blog, we explored the ways that swimming can cause back pain. Often, it was from doing front strokes incorrectly. More often, swimming is a great way to exercise because it is so low-impact. Many people turn to swimming when recovering from back injuries or issues.

Swimming is a great way to get exercise and relieve back pain because it is low-impact. It allows you to build muscle mass...