SportsWatcherss New Look: Comming Soon

            We are excited to announce that our website is going under construction. While we are disappointed that we cannot continue to execute the website the way we were at this very moment, we are designing a website to give you the safest, easiest, and smoothest  website on the web. Our concepts and values will remain the same. Therefore, there will be no complete surprises when it comes to who we are and what we do for our returning customers as well as our new customers. While we are in the process of creating our website, we will have a launch page up and running within the next few days. On the launch page,  a registration form will be available. If you register before the official launch,  you will have access to the website a week prior to public release, and will be eligible to win many cool prizes that we will announce within the near future. Thank you for your love and support as we continue to improve what we do for you!

SportsWatcherss' Monthly Community Run

Here at SportsWatcherss, we promote four aspects of sports: events, health, business, and technology. When pertaining to health, we originally wanted to maybe put up a few tips for people to follow as they workout. But as time went on, we realized that something like that is already out there if people really want it. Re-focusing on health, we have decided to be more personal in our approach. Therefore, in order to promote health and encourage people to take a serious look at health, we came up with the idea of hosting a cardio run once a month to the public.

One thing that we wanted to make clear was that the main purpose of this was to encourage cardio exercise. Therefore, we decided to hire up and coming trainer Kyle Livingston to manage the run, but make it free for all participants. Health is one of the most important things to have in life. If you aren't healthy , it's hard to do anything else. If your favorite athlete isn't healthy, then they can't participate in the sport they love. So like our favorite athletes, let get in shape and work towards a healthy lifestyle. If you are currently living in the Miami, Ft.Lauderdale, or Palm Beach area, take a look at the flyer for more details about this run. Share this information with anyone that you believe would be interested in participating. If you are interested in participating, go to http://www.sportswatcherss.com/p/community-run.html and fill out the tiny form. This will allow us to account for you as we prepare the goodies that we have in store for you.

As we are trying to make this movement grow outside of Miami and outside of Florida, if you know of any trainer that would be willing to host a run in a community near you, e-mail us at info@sportswatcherss.com. 

Concussion Review

In sight of the one of the biggest problems with the NFL is concussions. Thanks to Dr. Bennet Omalu along with the help of others, this topic that the NFL tried to hide for so long finally came to light. The movie "Concussion" explains how CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) was discovered and brought to America's attention about it's effects to football players. Throughout the movie, Omalu endures many failures and successes when trying to reveal his work. Many denied his work in the beginning, but as time continues to move, events take place that force others to re-consider Omaul's work.  For anyone interested in football, this movie is a must see.

Sports Psyche: (Josh Norman got into OBJ's Head)

We see this in every sport from time to time. Whether it be basketball, baseball, golf, or football, trash talk has and will be apart of any sport. Is trash talk just something used by athletes to ridicule their opponents? Or can it is used to psych the player out in order for them to lose focus during games. How can trash talk affect players? Let's take a closer look into sports psyche.

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According to the Webster dictionary, the term "trash talk" means to "disparage, taunt, or boast comments especially between opponents trying to intimidate each other." This definition can clearly be seen between Carolina Panther's cornerback Josh Norman and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr since the beginning of last week. Both of these players are at the top of their games right now, so football fans everywhere were looking forward to seeing the two go head-to-head. When Josh Norman was interviewed about the matchup, Norman referred to the matchup as "edible". When Beckham was asked about the matchup, he simply stated that the matchup was "just another matchup", yet he seemed as to have a very serious demeanor when trying to answer such a question. Fast forward to Sunday, and OBJ is flagged for three personal fouls throughout the game. The initial trash talk was not exactly the reason that OBJ played in such a mild manner Sunday, but I'm sure that Norman and the rest of the defense knew they could get into OBJ's head due to the way he plays the game. Athletes that really play with a lot of emotion could really be up or down, depending on what's happening. In this case, OBJ was frustrated, as his team only managed to score 7 points within the first half. In addition, Beckham was struggling to produce. This combination brought OBJ to really go back and forth with Josh Norman. It even got to the point in which three after the play skirmishes occurred in the first quarter alone. It even reached to the point that both were hitting each other out of pure frustration. The difference between Norman and OBJ was that Norman had more self control over his emotion when pushing or distracting Beckham. Through"secret" ,or not as obvious blows to OBJ, Norman was less likely to be penalized for his actions. In the case of OBJ, Beckham's frustration level got to the point where he didn't care about getting penalized, as long as he was able to retaliate to whatever actions Norman was performing. This psychologically takes OBJ out of the game because he is so distracted with Norman. Although Norman is important to his team, OBJ is even more important to the Giants. Therefore, it is imperative that OBJ tries to keep his cool moving forward in order to help his team win.

Athletes will always be challenged at some point psychologically during their respected events. Whether it be opposing players, coaches, or fans, it is important for participants to tune out the negatively impacting noise. Doing so will allow them to focus


 Check out this link to see the highlights between Josh Norman and OBJ http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000605411/Odell-Beckham-Jr-vs-Josh-Norman-highlights

Sports Injuries: Groin Pull

One of the most common injury is a groin pull. A groin pull occurs when a muscle within the thigh tears. This is can happen due to sudden stops, jumps, or quick changes of direction. This injury especially happens in sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and hockey.

According to WebMD, there are three degrees of pulls. The 1st degree is mild pain, but with only a little bit of movement loss. The 2nd degree is moderate pain, which could even include damage in the tissue. The third and highest degree means that severe loss of strength has occurred because the muscle has completely torn.

Recovery
This type of injury is an injury that will heal through ice, elevation, and most importantly, time.

Fitness in the Technological Field

Introduction

Technological advances can be seen across the world. Just over twenty years ago, PC’s were not even in homes. With technology’s advancements, cellular phones, tablets, laptops, and even watches are considered small computers. When it pertains to health, technology has affected the industry in ways that seemed unimaginable, especially in fitness. Using Aristotle’s virtue claim, we will discuss how technology has positively impacted fitness in three sub topics:  exercise, protection, and recovery.

Exercise

Technology has drastically changed the landscape when it pertains to exercising the body. Before we had software trackers on mobile devices, people would rely on different things to track exactly how much they have worked out such as stopwatches.  Even some of the stopwatches weren’t as precise as the devices today. For example, if someone were to run laps around a park, they would more than likely rely on signs that display the distance of a lap. But if one were to run 5 3/43 miles, it would be really difficult for one to exactly know how much they ran at that moment. As time progressed, machines such as the treadmill were developed. Nowadays, programmers have come together with fitness experts in order to create applications that can easily track exactly how much exercise the user is performing. With today’s technology, the exact amount of miles that people run can be tracked through cellular phones, wristbands, and even watches.

With the ability to find out exactly how much people can move around and exercise, it’s important to do so while making sure that the programmers of these companies use good morals. Parallel to many companies around the world, then number 1 goal is to make as much money as possible.  To accomplish this goal, some companies are willing to do whatever it takes, even if that includes harming the customers. In the fitness industry, there are many “contraptions” that supposedly make you nearly instantly lose weight if you use this brand’s machine. This and other negatively used tactics go against the virtue claim that Aristotle explains. The two main characteristics within his claim include character and community. In order to make the community better, we must try to make sure that we are not we are not gaining material items at the expense of damaging other people, which damages the community overall.

Positive advancements are trying to be made when it pertains to the United States.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 33% of adults are considered obese. “The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S was $147 billion in the US dollars”. What is being done to reduce this number? In addition to lower priced gyms, efforts from the Food and Drug Administration, and companies raising awareness about health diseases, technology is being created to encourage more activity targeting people who are overweight. One technology is commonly used is called the gastric bypass surgery. In this surgery, a  portion of the top part of the stomach is sectioned off. As food moves outside of the top par of the stomach, it “bypasses ” the bottom part, and connects to the lower part of the small intestine. The after effects of the surgery do work. However, if exercise is not implemented into the person’s daily activities, they will only re-gain that weight.  Being overweight tends to be more than just a physical issue amongst people. Sometimes, getting lack of exercise can stem from mental blocks as well. A lot of the times, people say that they are too busy in their daily lives, or that they’ve tried to do it before, but they failed. For these reasons, people in the US fail to exercise as much as they should. Developers and sports psychologist have recognized this problem. Programmers have since created apps that allow interaction between people and trainers that can motivate them daily. One example of such an app is Fitmo. Fitmo is an app that connects you with a trainer sets up a schedule, suggest meal plans, and checks up on you through texts and calls. In order to keep people from lying to their trainers, the app connects to wearable fitness technology to track how much one exercises. Applications such as these allow people stay motivated, making them feel like they are not alone in their struggle of exercising consistently.

Around the world, people use different regiments in order to keep people exercising. In Brazil, the exercise of Capoeira is used.  This is an exercise with a mix of martial arts and dance. In Japan, there are warm up stretches that schools, companies, and even capable elderly do called Radio Tasio.  This stretch is done through radio airwaves and it is performed at a set time each workday. This activity is used to unite people and promote good health. Even in China, people are walking backwards in order to improve their posture and use muscles that aren’t used on the regular. The treadmill is one of the main machines that the Chinese use to perform this activity.

Protection

Protection of the body is so important when it comes to fitness. Every year, there are stories of athletes passing away for various reasons. Whether the cause is dehydration,  or a serious unknown internal injury, protection will never be perfected, but it must continue to be improved. According to Stanford Children’s Health, approximately 3.5 million injuries occur each year. There are always stories about people getting injured due to violent physical sports such as football or rugby. What can technology do about it? Well, much technology is being developed to prevent injuries from happening.   

Companies that aid in following Aristotle’s virtue reasoning tend to benefit in multiple ways. Companies are being innovative and producing items that can really aid in the prevention of injury. This benefits all of us as a society.  

In the United States, American football is the most popular sport. With football being such a physical activity, concussions reduction is taking precedence as the main focus for football athletes. More protective headwear is a theme that is constantly looked at in world of football.  A company by the name of Riddell creates football helmets. With the ever-growing concern of concussions, Riddell has added both an attachment system and extra protection for the sides of the helmet in order  for impact to be reduced when a player is hit in the head.  In addition to football, other companies are innovating headwear that can be worn in multiple sports. For soccer, basketball, and any other sport in which athletes wear headbands, there is a company called force field. Force Field has created headbands. A little larger than the average headband, these headbands contain a polymeric layer that wraps around the head to increase protection in crucial areas of the head that headbands can cover.  The best way to prevent a concussion is simply wear sports equipment properly, and make sure that the equipment fits and is worn correctly.

Concussions are not the only injuries that occur. The three most common injuries are the ankle sprain, the groin pull, and the hamstring strain. The best natural way to prevent these injuries from occurring is by stretching before and after activity. While technology is not quite there yet when it pertains to complete prevention of these specific injuries, there are technologies that are used to help prevent serious injury. Ankle braces nowadays use polymeric layers to absorb energy between the joints and the braces. This absorption allows for less wear and tear on the ankle in the long run.  In addition to ankle braces,

Around the globe, sports groups are using technology that can trace if players are overworking themselves. One example of  such is a company by the name of Catapult. This Australian company works with over 350 professional and collegiate players. They have created a gadget half the size of a cellular that can measure heart rates, distance traveled, player load, and acceleration. Their goal is to have the ability to measure a player’s fatigue so that injury can be prevented. Prevention is something that if improved upon technologically wise, a lot less injuries can be prevented in the future.

Recovery

Once an injury occurs to anyone, the next step in fully healing is recovery. The two main important things that the health industry must be great at is prevention and recovery.  Recovery is extremely vital because if it is not done properly, the body may not heal the way it’s supposed to, or may not even completely heal at all.

Technology being used as a recovery can have an effect ethically in both a positive and negative light. In some instances, it is abused. For example, steroids are drugs that most people take in order to gain a competitive advantage. While it does make a person stronger, faster, and a better overall performer in the short run, it violates the virtue rule. Taking steroids is wrong because it puts all of the other people that naturally strengthen their body (through use of weights and dieting) at a disadvantage. In addition to the disadvantage, it is also wrong because it is banned from most sports.  This is when the right vs. wrong judgment is violated. While athletes do have the choice of whether or not to take steroids, companies that give it to people that are knowingly misusing the drug are also in the wrong. Pills can be addicting and bodily damaging if misused, therefore selling those pills to unethical people just to gain profit violates the virtue reasoning as well. With that being said, there are also positives in using technology for recovery. This will be explained in the next paragraph.

Recovery in the US has drastically improved over the past 30 years. Before , recovery was done mostly done by icing joints, taking pain pills and resting. In today’s world, through x-ray and ultra sound, an exact diagnosis of an injury can be spotted within minutes. Right after the diagnosis, recovery treatment can begin. Through therapy, many tools used right here in the US ensure that people are healed properly and to the fullest extent. For sprains, knee aches, or tennis elbow, one emerging treatment by the name of theralase is used to make a faster recovery. Theralase is a laser and infrared treatment in which the body absorbs the laser light, and transforms it into chemical therapy. This treatment helps because the chemical energy received is used to jump-start the healing of tissue in the wounded area. This treatment also decreases the amount of inflammation because of the extra cells given through infrared. For more serious injuries, such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), stem cell research is being done to reduce recovery time by months. While this specific process is still in it’s final stages before being released to the public, MRI’s are being constantly done to ensure this process heals ligaments completely.

Around the world, recovery is similar to the ones of the past for most people. With that being said, there is still technology that is emerging that will benefit people around the world. In Europe, a professional soccer team by the name Manchester City uses GPS monitors during practices and training sessions. This device measures performance levels, and heart rate. This helps the team customize workouts that can benefit their athletes the most without over working them. In the United Kingdom,  company named BAE Systems has teamed up with the Paralympic Games. In addition to giving athletes training and recovery tips, BAE also created wheels for wheelchair competitors that improve the acceleration of the wheelchair by 20%. Technology is even being implemented for non-athletes. Heart –rate monitors are being sold globally to aid with people that have irregular heartbeats. During exercise, it’s easy to get caught up and be less aware of one’s heart rate. With heart-rate monitor’s, a small alarm is sent out warning the person when they are beginning to exercise too hard. This invention prevents overuse of the body, and aids with the recovery after exercise.  This and other inventions have helped the people of the world recover in a quick and effective manner.

Conclusion

In conclusion, technology has positively affected health in three categories: exercise, prevention, and recovery. Through the advancement and development in technology, more and more technology is being used in sports. With many innovations being added to the market, we as a society will learn more and more about how our bodies work. With the new technology, we will be able to make sports as safe and clean as we can without truly interfering with the sport. As long as people invent products keeping Aristotle’s point of reasoning in mind, the world will be a better place.

Sports Injuries: Hamstring Strain

     For sports that involve much usage of the legs, a pulled hamstring string is an injury that has definitely plagued many athletes. Just the other day, Thunder superstar Kevin Durant suffered a hamstring strain against the Washington Wizards. Let's take a deeper look into what a hamstring strain is.

     The term "hamstring" represents a group of muscles through your thigh that allow you to use your leg at the knee. What causes a hamstring strain is when one of the muscles get overworked.  This usually happens with sports that involve a lot of running.

via moveforwardpt.com

Best Way to Treat A Hamstring
The absolute best way to treat a hamstring is by resting, icing, and elevating the leg.  While this may seem like a notoriously boring and mentally painful task, there is no way to beat rest. If the injury is not too severe, recovery time should only last two - three weeks. If it is more severe, recovery will be a couple of months.

What is an Orbital Fracture?

As we all have heard by now, Derrick Rose has been injured again. This time , it was an elbow to the face. Anyone that has played sports, especially basketball, has at some point taken a shot to the face. The pain never gets any easier, especially with something like an elbow to the eye. With Derrick Rose's unfortunate event, he even had to to get surgery in order to repair his eye.  So what exactly is an orbital fracture? What occurs within the eye? How can it be repaired?

Orbital Fracture

Orbital Fractures are seen as trauma to the eye. Depending on the severity of the eye, there can be three types of fractures: trap-door fractures, Medial blow-out fractures (mid-level fracture), and Lateral blow-out fractures(high-level fracture). According to templehealth.org,  symptoms can include swelling of the eye, double vision,   In addition to the orbital fracture , the orbital rims may also become injured.

Healing/Treatments

When it comes to healing, the biggest goal of healing an orbital injury is to prevent the eye from having permanent long term vision loss. Vision loss is one of the scarier things that can occur. That is one of the first things that enter's one's mind after initially getting hit. There are a few methods that are used in healing orbital fractures. Medical and surgical therapy are two of the more popular treatments used.

During medical treatments, steroids such as prednisone are used to treat orbital fractures medically. The prednisone aids in decreasing the amount of fluids that occur with swelling within the eye.
Surgical therapy are used for a few reasons: anatomic reduction, fixation of lost bone, and soft tissue adjustment.

For Derrick Rose, he will have to not participate in any activity for at least two weeks. This is great considered the damage that could have been done, especially receiving  an elbow from the size of NBA players.

What really is a sprained ankle?

For SportsWatcherss and others all around, this happens to most. Whether you're crossing the basketball over, trying to make a quick cut on the soccer field, or making a stick landing in gymnastics, a sprained ankle is something that can deliver throbbing pain as the sprain occurs.

How to Treat a Sprained Ankle

Although a sprained ankle is not one of the more serious injuries that do occur, it is still something that shouldn't be taken lightly. Lack of treatment can cause for aggravations, and even more time away from physical activity. Here are three simple ways to treat a sprained ankle:

1) Rest.
Nothing is more important than resting an injury, especially something such as a sprained ankle. With the healing process of four to six weeks, rest can reduce that time significantly. With that being said, people who perform daily activities on a daily basis cannot afford to spend that time on the sideline. So what can they do to aliviate the  pain and swelling of the ankle? Ice.

2)Ice.
Ice is almost the answer for any injury. Swollen eye? Ice. Banged up knee? Ice. Even ice baths are used for recovery of the body. Ice will reduce the swelling and temporarily remove the pain. Icing on and off for 30 minutes at a time is a great way to help your ankle and keep your ankle from freezing.

Any other particular ways you take care of a sprained ankle? Let us know on Twitter: @SportsWatcherss

A Closer Look at Eric Berry: From the Hospital Bed to the Football Field

In sports , we tend to see players leave the game that they love so dearly for a number of reasons: to spend more time with families, injuries, or fatigue. There are a few number of players that are forced to leave the game due to chemical reasons. Eric Berry was the latest to do so.  Most people who have gone what he's gone through don't always survive, let alone compete with the best athletes on our planet.  So how has his journey from the hospital bed to the football field been? Simply Amazing.

The Diagnosis

With just a few weeks remaining in the most crucial part of the regular season, Berry lets his team and trainers know that he is experiencing chest pain in the middle of his game against the Oakland Raiders. After receiving a chest X-Ray, Berry was diagnosed with lymphoma. Berry was put on the Chiefs illness list.

What exactly is Lymphoma? 

So what exactly is Lymphoma? Well, lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. Lymphoma occurs when a white blood cell becomes abnormal. When this cell becomes abnormal, parallel to other cells, they split and divide into more cells. As these cells continue to divide and increase, the immune system begins to weaken because of the large number of depleted white blood cells. The most common symptoms of this disease is fatigue and loss of appetite, chest pain, and weight loss.  In addition to fatigue, lumps throughout different sections of the body form.  This cancer has affected  between 20,000 and 200,000 people each year. This cancer is rare, and what is interesting about this scenario is that most people who get that are 60 and over. Berry was only 25 when it was first discovered.

One of the symptoms of lymphoma are lumps appearing on the body. In this display, the lump is on the neck. The left image displays lymph nodes.

Patience is a Virtue 

After being diagnosed, the staff at Emory University Hospital was determined to aid Berry back on the field. The process of healing depends mainly two things: chemotherapy and patience. When treating lymphoma , there are two main types of regiments: ABVD or Standford V. While ABVD is known as the complete standard treatment,  Standford V is moreso likely to be used  in advanced stages of lymphoma. Each of these treatments can be given in the form of a pill,  in liquid form, or injection. A possible combination of chemotherapy and radiation or stem cell can be used. 

Depending on the route the doctor decided to take in Berry's specific case, Berry could have been receiving chemotherapy and medicine to treat the side effects at the same time. This is clearly a tedious and tough task for anyone, feeling drained from the therapy on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the goal remains the same: cure cancer. 

Back Again

Late in July of 2015, the Chiefs announced that Eric Berry was cleared to resume physical activity. This was wonderful news for all NFL fans. Berry left as one of the best safeties in the league, and was forced to stop. After nine long months of treatment, Berry not only recovered, but he also recovered with the ability to return to play with the pigskin once again. Good luck with the rest of the season, Mr. Berry!

Sports Medicine Making New Waves: Percustnaneous Tenotomy

One thing that every player of sports has gone through, from the overall roughness of hockey to shoulder straining gold, is: injuries. Whether it be a twisted ankle, or a torn ACL , injuries are something that is and always be one of the downfalls of playing sports.  According to Standford Children's Health, 3. 5 million youth suffer from some type of injury each year. As technology and medicine advance, methods such as Percutaneous Tenotomycater to sports injuries in a healthy, time effective way. 

What is Percutaneous Tenotomy?

Unless you are in the field of health, most of us do not automatically know what percutaneous tenotomy means. Percutaneous Tenotomy is a procedure in which a surgeon treats athletes with tendonitis. Tendonitis is a common issues amongst athletes, especially in the elbows, hamstring, and achilles. The process of percutaneous tenotomy can be broken down into a few steps:

1)  Surgeon identifies damaged area of tendon
2)  Surgeon injects needle into skin and makes incisions on tendon  

This procedure usually only takes around 30 minutes to do, and allows for a few days of no real activity. After 4 -12 weeks of physical therapy, the damaged tensions should be solid and healthy once again.

Sports Medicine With Kehmaneh Griffins: Q&A

     Sports is something that is loved by alot of people. Many begin playing at a young age. Many fall in love with it by either playing with family members, friends, or neighbors. While not everyone is able to turn their love for sports into a professional career, some find other careers that allow them to use their passion. Some people search for positions in management, technology, and in health. We took some time to interview an intelligent young man  by the name of Kehmani Griffins. Kehmani  has decided to combine his passion of sports and his likeness of health to pursue a career in sports medicine. Here is the Q&A:

    

     What made you decide to get into sports medicine? 

  I always had an interest in sports medicine but  it became apparent after getting a mysterious diagnosis of metabolic myopathy in middle school.It  stopped me from playing soccer seriously. I was determined to find an answer.

      Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

      In 10 years I see myself completing my doctorate degree and being involved in helping young athletes play sports the right way keeping them healthy and efficient.

       How do you plan to make an impact on the sports health world? 

     I want to show athletes that it’s deeper than the game itself. 
It’s a lifestyle. Everyone has a different path to reach their goals and I just want to aid in the process.

      

 How do you see sports medicine impacting athletes in the future? 

     Sports medicine can bring a higher level of awareness to athletes, from their diets to techniques elevating their performances and pushing all sports to new heights.

      If there is one thing that you could tell someone who has a passion for sports , but doesn’t know how to turn it into a career? 

     As long as that passion still exists there’s a way. Of course we all want to be on the field or court or track, but there’s still a way to contribute to your passion. From the fan to the player everyone has a role and they all matter. You can be any of these roles, the choice is yours. You might be paving the way for your cousin, younger brother or sister, or child by contributing to the sport.