My name is Dr. Chris Tsai. I am a chiropractor who just almost joined the group. I have the pleasure of writing on the newsletter and would like to first introduce myself quickly. I have been practicing in Taiwan for the past 9 years and just came back to Los Angeles September of last year. I was the Team Chiropractor for the Taipei Recreational Rugby team, The Baboons for about 7 years. Thus, very familiar with sports injuries. Currently, I am also working to get my certification in sports chiropractic to further my studies and hoping to work more in the sports. That is all that I will say about myself. For more information about my credentials, feel free to visit my website at www.drchirochris.com.
Let's start off this month's newsletter with a little injury prevention of the knee. The knee pretty much is one of the most common injured joint during skiing. I can contest to this because I had bilateral knee strain when I first tried snowboarding 11 years ago (first time on the slope). The knee is mainly bound together by four
ligaments as you all know. The medial and lateral collateral ligament and the anterior and posterior
cruciate ligaments. Then we have two shock absorbers, medial and lateral meniscus. These are the ligaments that hold our knees together. They are pretty tough unless it is involved in trauma. My recommendation is to make sure you are on some kind of collagen supplement to make sure they remain strong throughout theseason. I am frequently asked what about glucosamine or chondroitin? My recommendation is DON'T TAKE THEM unless you are told to AFTER a medical profession has examined your knee and tell
you to take them. The reason is that we do produce glucosamine in our body. Once we introduce it into the
system as supplement, the body decreases production. Also, it has been proven that we only absorb about 1-2% of the supplement and at best 10% with some of the higher quality glucosamine. The best way to increase lubrication is by doing a very easy exercise. Just go buy some ankle weights (about 7 lbs), strap them on, sit on a chair or stool where your legs will be dangling, in Wailer tradition, make sure you have a beverage of your choice, and swing your legs!! The swing should be right, left alternating at a slow pace, without major movement (should be about six inches of movement only). You should swing your legs for at least 15-20 minutes; so, make sure to have a big enough beverage and a good TV show to go along with the exercise. This video should soon be posted on my website. Now that we know how to lubricate our joints, next time I will show you how to strengthen it!!
