Posted: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 12:15 am | Updated: 1:34 am, Thu Oct 28, 2010.
Welcome to Ask Doc Dossman, a weekly column where you can ask Long Beach’s pre-eminent sports therapist…whatever you want! If you already forgot who Doc is, click here to read our introduction. To visit Doc’s website, click here, and buy his book, What I’ve Learned From Your Kids by clicking here. Email questions to Doc at askdoc@docdossman.com.
Hello Strong Beach. How are you? I’m feeling so happy to be back home! I’ve just returned from Cleveland, Ohio today. Stay tuned for next week’s video blog. It will be another installment of “On The Road” w/Doc Dossman. This time we will be working with Eric Wright of the Cleveland Browns! The video blog going up Wednesday night will be addressing the “HEAT vs. ICE” issue in our community, so be sure to check that out.
Well here we go, our first question and answer session. Maybe after reading this today, you will identify with one of the questions and get an idea of the kind of questions that are being asked.
Good morning Doc Dossman, I tore the Achilles tendon on my left leg 15 years ago in a recreation league basketball game. Every couple of months or so there is a slight pain that shoots through my Achilles. It doesn't bother me much any other time. Should I have it x-rayed to make sure everything is ok in there?
-William H.
Thanks for your question. Because of how far removed we are from your date of injury, I would not worry too much about anything serious. The Achilles tendon has to carry your body weight with every step you take. Depending on your bodyweight, that job is harder for some than others. In other words, you would know if something serious was going on with the Achilles because you would have pain with every step. If in fact there were an issue, an x-ray would not show you much, if anything at all. An MRI would be the best bet, but it’s just too expensive of a test when your pain is slight and infrequent.
If I were to have any concern or treat you for anything, I’d check around your calf muscle or Achilles tendon for old scar tissue buildup. You may even just have tight calves! Either way, if I were you I’d probably see a massage therapist to get some muscle work on your foot and lower leg before worrying about any diagnostic testing. Hope that helps! If you take my advice, let me know how it goes!
Hey Doc, what do you for Fractured ribs?
-Ray L.
Good question Ray! There really isn’t much you can do for rib fractures except to “sit still and let it heal.” Try not to have a good time or see any hilarious comedians for about six weeks! Hopefully you won’t come down with a bad cough or allergies because any coughing or sneezing might feel like the end of the world.
In my office, I try to do a few things to minimize the pain to my patient, but this is one of those cases where movement restriction is actually a good option. Sure I could try a few taping techniques and apply cold laser therapy to any local inflammation, but it will only be palliative and temporary. Sit still my friend. Keep me posted.
I was once an athlete & have banged/smashed my big toe in various ways in track/basketball/volleyball/martial arts etc. Sometimes it gets very stiff & feels like a knuckle that needs to be cracked to the 10th power! My wife has somehow embraced the idea that I have gout. What do you think?
-Cornell W.
Hey Mr. W., I will have to say that the first thing that comes to mind is arthritis. Now gout is definitely a form of arthritis, but from what you have shared, I wouldn’t make any bets on gout. Pain in the big toe isn’t the only sign we look for with gout. The pain from gout is quite painful. It is at LEAST more painful than a stiff knuckle. I’m looking for swollen knuckle, red knuckle, out-of-the blue very intensely painful “my toe is on fire” knuckle. If you were overweight and over 40, it wouldn’t hurt to get it checked out! I’m not worried about you my friend. Tell the wifey to go ahead and pull on that toe and see if anything pops!
My husband has a huge mark just below the inside of his knee that has been there for years. Sometimes it's dark brown, sometimes it's flaming red. He says it's an old baseball injury, i.e., sliding into home. Do we need to be concerned, because it turns from dark brown to flaming red from time to time? He says it doesn't hurt or bother him.
-Shasha H.
Hey Mrs. H! If it’s been years, doesn’t hurt, and it looks the same, I wouldn’t worry about it. I am no dermatologist, so it won’t hurt to get that looked at if you are concerned or just curious. I know it is no small feat to get a man to see a doctor when he isn’t concerned for his life, so good luck with that!
Doc, why does it seem as if younger athletes have a higher pain threshold than older athletes? It makes no sense to me since their muscles are not as conditioned or developed.
-Chuck H.
Wassup Chuck! You are a big time track coach so I don’t know if you are just asking for my opinion on the topic or really don’t know. I can’t say that I agree with that at all. At least in my experience, everyone is different. The only common trend that I have noticed is that women tend to have higher pain thresholds than men. I don’t know that it has anything to do with conditioning and development of muscles.
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Well that was fun--I love this stuff! Of course I always wish I had more information. My perception of things can be limited to the information given so this is why you should be careful when taking my recommendations, and be sure to see your own physician who actually sees you regularly. The more information you give me, the better I can help. I like to know things like age, sex, date of injury, past injuries, and things of that nature. Well that is all we have time for today folks! Until next week, stay STRONG BEACH!!!
To visit Doc’s website, click here, and buy his book, What I’ve Learned From Your Kids by clicking here. Email questions to Doc at askdoc@docdossman.com.
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