Dr. Karena Wu returns to The Today Show Third Hour to discuss springtime injuries. Warmer weather means people are doing their workouts outside. Most of these outdoor activities involve repetitive motions of the legs like walking, running, inline skating, cycling and even spring skiing. The muscles of the legs need to work continuously to propel the body forwards or up, catch the body weight on the landing leg and absorb forces to propel the body forwards again. This repetitive motion requires stability, strength, flexibility and endurance. When an individual goes out too hard or too fast, this lack of conditioning and training can cause injuries in the soft tissues. It is always the last activity of the trip or the last one of the day that causes an increased potential for injury and is oftentimes the textbook comment that a newly injured patient will disclose.

This segment discusses how soft tissue strains of the lower body are the most common injury as the weather warms up. The low back and the legs are injured and typically these injuries are soft tissues strains of the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Dynamic stretches are one way to avoid springtime injuries because they are dynamic, meaning they are movement based. They increase blood flow and circulation, loosen up the muscles and mimic the movements of the exercise or sporting activity. Dr. Wu discussed this topic and led the demonstration of four dynamic stretches for the Today Show team: Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin and Jacob Soboroff.

The exercises included: Hip Circles, ‘Frankenstein’ Monster Walk (aka Leg Swings), Butt Kicks, and Walking Toe Reaches (aka Knee High Sock Pull Ups). The NBC team did a great job at doing the moves with Dr. Wu and had a great time demonstrating their individual flexibility and getting their circulation up for the rest of the day.

To view the segment, click here: https://youtu.be/-nMvb_S57m4