With the plethora of new-age workout regimens and innovative gyms cropping up all over Hong Kong in recent years, it seems the health and wellness trend is showing no signs of slowing down as more and more people jump on the fitness bandwagon. “Life here is sportier than it used to be, and people have become more active,” observes Dr Francis Lam, an orthopedics and traumatology specialist at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road. And while that is good news for our collective health, this increase in activity has brought with it a surge in the number of sports-related injuries.
“Many of the injuries we see come from what we call the ‘weekend warriors’ –people who only exercise on weekends,” says Dr Lam, adding that most of these ‘weekend warriors’ come in with shoulder injuries – labral tears are more common with young patients while rotator cuff injuries are often seen in patients over 40. These types of injuries can impair shoulder stability, which can affect daily movements and sleep. “In these cases, in addition to slight pain throughout the day, you may find that your shoulder becomes ‘stuck’ even when you are making a small movement, or that you have less mobility when playing sports.”
How then, are we to stay active and injury-free? Dr Lam strongly suggests stretching before and after exercising and to start our fitness journey slowly with low-impact workouts such as stationary cycling, Pilates, or swimming. If we prefer playing sports, it is important to be aware of our body type and physical limitations and to make these known to the coach so as to minimize the risk of injury. In the unfortunate event of an injury, consult a medical professional immediately.
The Orthopedics & Traumatology department at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road continually introduces new therapies that aim to repair damaged bones and joints through a minimally invasive approach and restore function as soon as possible. “Our state-of-the-art facilities enable us to perform many advanced and highly effective procedures, allowing most sports injuries to be successfully treated, but it really depends on the case. Injuries that have been left untreated for years make our job a lot harder,” says Dr Lam.