Professional Athletes and ACL Repair Surgery Washington DC

Becoming an elite athlete is a serious undertaking that requires remarkable commitment on the part of the individual.  Those who have a natural ability combined with the work ethic to be better than yesterday's best self every day can reach incredible career heights.  And, in just one tragic second, years of dedication and practice can be wiped away by an unavoidable injury.  Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are very common at all levels of athletic competition.  The sports that are most likely to cause these injuries include soccer, football and basketball.  All of these sports require landing, cutting, jumping and pivoting that can quickly go wrong and result in this type of knee injury.  Baseball also has its share of ACL injuries, but because the action in this game is a little bit slower, the rate of ACL tears is not quite as high.

After ACL Repair Surgery

ACL Repair Surgery Washington DC is often done by replacing the injured ligament with a donated tendon.  While this is a very good surgery for returning the average individual to their favorite activities, it is not always successful when it comes to allowing really elite athletes to compete at the same level they did before the accident.  Clearly, the emotional and financial consequences can be enormous.  What is, perhaps, even more upsetting is the fact that at the professional level, many sports are considered industries and the players are little more than a piece of the product.

Most orthopedic surgeons will say that the minimal amount of recovery time needed subsequent to ACL Repair Surgery DC (http://www.medstarwashington.org/) is six months.  It is unfortunate that people who are profiting from the industry of professional sports often want to return players to the game long before they should really be medically cleared for participation.  The result is that athletes become stressed out, not only about how they will perform post-injury, but about unrealistic timelines for healing and consequences to their hard-won careers if they aren't able to comply with what franchise owners are pushing their coaches to demand from them.  Many elite players have returned to their sports as only average because of dynamics like these.

Facts about IBD Washington DC

IBD is an abbreviation that stands for inflammatory bowel disease.  About one and a half million people in the United States have IBD Washington DC.  IBD is an over-arching category that includes both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.    While there is presently no permanent cure for inflammatory bowel disease Washington DC, there are a number of effective treatments that can help patients to manage their conditions and decrease the number of flare ups that they experience.

Symptoms of IBD DC

Both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are autoimmune disorders that cause the body to attack its own, perfectly functional, organs.  In this case, the gastrointestinal tract is the target of the attack.  Both of these diagnoses cause symptoms  like abdominal pain, persisted diarrhea, stomach cramps, rectal bleeding and fatigue.  Like many other autoimmune disorders, these diseases may go though remission periods of various lengths before re-surfacing.  Sometimes, a reoccurrence will have identical symptoms to previous episodes.  Sometimes symptoms will be completely different.  Stress is thought to increase the likelihood of an attack.

IBD Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn's disease is characterized by its capacity to cause inflammation in any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus.  It usually impacts specific parts of the digestives system, but not others.  When it appears in the bowel wall, its lesions can possibly extend through the entire thickness of the wall.

On the other hand, ulcerative colitis causes inflammation only in the large intestine and the rectum.  It is limited to the innermost layer of the colon, and is often limited to the lower bowel and rectal areas.  Advanced cases of ulcerative colitis can involve the entire large bowel.  Some patients with very bad cases of ulcerative colitis eventually develop colon cancer.

Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Everyone's digestive system contains some harmless bacteria that assist in the process of breaking down food into nutrients and waste.  These bacteria are normally not targeted by the body's immune system.  It is believed that environmental factors are to blame when the immune system does target them, leading to an inflammatory bowel disease.  It is not fully understood what aspects of the environment are responsible for this process.

Preparing for Weight Loss Surgery Washington DC

Weight loss surgery Washington DC has been performed more and more frequently over the past twenty years or so.  While the surgery itself takes only a few hours, the approval process can take up to six months.  If you have made it through the preliminary testing and made up your mind to make a change in your life by having weight loss surgery DC, this short article is for you.  It is meant to help you prepare for your procedure and hospital stay.

Comfort after Weight Loss Surgery

Having surgery is never pleasant and is not how most people would choose to spend a fun weekend.  However, there are a few things you can do to make sure that your procedure goes as smoothly as possible and you are as comfortable as you can possibly be.  Depending upon the procedure you are having, you will stay 1-2 nights as an inpatient.  What you pack in your suitcase is important.  These are some things you may want to take:

• Comfortable clothing that is easy to get on and off is essential.  You will be up and walking around the day after surgery.  Clothing that is too tight around your mid-section will definitely cause unneeded discomfort.
• You smart phone or tablet can help you pass the time by staying in touch with friends or streaming a movie.  After surgery may be the perfect time to treat yourself to a trashy novel.  If possible, bring less expensive electronic items because things in your room are not always fully secure.
• Slippers, socks, or slip-on shoes with good tread will be a necessity.  Floors in the hospital are sometimes dirty and they are usually made of tile, which is cold and can be slippery.  The last thing you need right after surgery is a fall.
• Many people experience a lot of "gassiness" right after this kind of surgery.  Bring a room spray deodorizer if you are the kind of person who gets embarrassed about odors.
• Because you won't be able to eat or drink anything right after surgery, your mouth and skin can become dried out.  Lip balm and lotion will be useful to keep you comfortable.