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CSP Strengthens International Programs Partnership During Trip to India

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Two Concordia University, St. Paul staff members recently visited India as part of the university-wide initiative to strengthen its global presence through international student enrollment. Director of International Student Services Tiffanie Loeb Schneider and International Recruiter and Partnership Manager Veronica Mashek spent the second week of September promoting CSP’s graduate and undergraduate offerings.

The first portion of the trip included the chance to visit local schools and participate in a college fair. CSP staff took advantage of opportunities to meet prospective students and showcase CSP’s increasingly popular MS in Information Technology Management and MS in Data Analytics, as well as its strong undergraduate catalog. These face-to-face interactions with future international students and their parents were invaluable to generating interest in programs and easing any fears about studying abroad.

The second leg of their visit centered on continuing CSP’s highly-regarded relationship with its international admissions partner. That flourishing partnership has resulted in a massive influx of international students enrolling at CSP, particularly in graduate programs.

“Since then, the partnership has changed and grown, with our largest student population now being graduate students from India,” said Loeb Schneider. “This growth is expected to continue in the future, so this is a valuable partnership for CSP.”

The international admissions partnership has been marked by success with the university welcoming a record number of international students in spring 2022, and being featured in Forbes India, published earlier this year. In total, CSP currently enrolls 577 international students as of fall 2022. The spring enrollment milestone was simply the first step in CSP’s long-term global outlook as both sides continue toward further growth.

“It was such a great experience being able to meet our partners. I am very optimistic about our relationship moving forward,” added Mashek.

Beyond building in-person relationships, Loeb Schneider and Mashek also made local TV news appearances as featured guests presenting CSP’s degree programs. Watch their full segments on YouTube below:

Tiffanie Loeb Schneider on TV5 News

Veronica Mashek on NTV Live

 

Learn more about international admissions at CSP:

Common Pickleball Injuries and How to Recover – Summit Orthopedics Post

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Link: https://hubs.ly/Q01gSshZ0

Common Pickleball Injuries and How to Recover

Summit Orthopedics hand therapist Shannon Evenson, OTR/L, CHT, shares some common pickleball injuries — and what you can do to get back out on the court quickly.

Have you heard about pickleball? It’s a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong into a fun and accessible game that almost anyone can enjoy. But like other racquet sports, pickleball can also result in sports injuries, particularly to the upper body. Summit Orthopedics hand therapist Shannon Evenson, OTR/L, CHT, shares some common pickleball injuries — and what you can do to get back out on the court quickly.

“I am an avid tennis player, so I underestimated how challenging pickleball can be the first time I played,” Evenson said. “The court is smaller, and the racket is smaller, but when you’re getting started with pickleball, remember that it can be more of a workout than you might expect.”

Most common pickleball injuries

The most common pickleball injuries are in the elbow. They include:

  • Golfer’s elbow — medial epicondylitis, or “golfer’s elbow,” is an inflammation of the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to the inside of the bone at your elbow.
  • Tennis elbow — lateral epicondylitis, or “tennis elbow,” is an inflammation of the tendons that join the forearm muscles on the outside of the elbow.

Both of these conditions are overuse injuries that can happen as a result of forceful gripping of the racket or repetitive wrist motions.

Wrist and hand injuries can also happen in pickleball. Specific issues can include:

  • Tendinitis in the wrist
  • Flare-up of arthritis or tendon pain in the hand, both arthritis in the base of the thumb and trigger fingers, a form of tendinitis in the hand

In some cases, pickleball players could see shoulder impingement or aggravation of past impingement or bursitis in the shoulder. It’s especially common to reaggravate old injuries, causing symptoms to flare up. “But of all of these upper-body areas, it’s most common to injure the elbow,” Evenson said.

How to recover from common pickleball injuries

“When you first experience an injury, you always want to start with ice,” Evenson said. Icing the affected area for 20 minutes two to four times a day will help with soreness.

Massaging the area, followed by some gentle stretching, will also help promote circulation and ease irritation. After about a week, Evenson recommends switching to heat. “Gentle heat opens up the vasculature of the body. It helps healthy circulation reach the involved joints and tendons,” Evenson said. “It can make massaging and stretching easier as well.”

The best medicine, Evenson said, is always prevention. “Making sure you do a good warmup before you hit the court or field can prevent overuse injuries in the first place,” she said. Doing some simple wrist circles, bending and straightening the elbows, circling the arms, and then doing some gentle volleying for five to 10 minutes is a good basic warmup.

Finally, if your pickleball injury is not improving after a week of self-treatment, it’s a good idea to have an orthopedic specialist check it out. “You may think it’s nothing serious, but what if you’re wrong? The longer you wait, the harder it can be to get it under control,” Evenson said. “We want to prevent something more serious, so when in doubt, check it out.”

So, You Overdid It. Here’s What to Do Next

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https://www.summitortho.com/2022/07/13/so-you-overdid-it-heres-what-to-do-next/

Summit Orthopedics hand therapist Shannon Evenson, OTR/L, CHT, explains what to do if you’ve overdone your summer activities and are having soreness.

Hand holding blue icepack over elbow

In Minnesota, summer is a glorious season, when we can enjoy getting out into our state’s natural beauty after a long, cold winter. In the summer months, people flock outside to garden and do yard work; play sports like golf, tennis, or pickleball; do spring cleaning; or go hiking, cycling, or swimming. With all of these options at our fingertips, it’s easy to overdo it.

“Getting active is good, but if you overdo it, you might find yourself having aches and pains in joints and tendons, or even numbness or tingling of fingers,” said Shannon Evenson, OTR/L, CHT, one of Summit’s team of certified hand therapists.

What to do if you overdo it

  1. Ice is best in the first few hours or days after an overuse injury — 20 minutes two to four times a day is good.
  2. Gentle massage and stretching is also helpful. Ice can make the area feel stiff, so ease into massage and stretching after ice.
  3. If the pain persists, heat might be more helpful in the days to follow. “Heat can be especially helpful if you suspect any arthritis pain could be contributing to your situation,” Evenson said.

How to avoid overdoing it next time

Evenson is a big proponent of prevention. “A few simple steps can prevent overuse injuries from happening in the first place,” she said.

Here are some quick prevention tips:

  • Don’t skimp on the warmup — five to 10 minutes of dynamic warmups, that is, gently going through the motions you’ll be using during the activity itself, will help warm up the muscles and lubricate the joints, getting them ready for the full activity.
  • Take breaks periodically — doing a half hour each day is better than doing four hours in one day.
  • Use good ergonomic tools and good body mechanics during the activity.
  • Start slowly — pickleball may be your new favorite sport, but you’ll want to cut your play sessions short at first to avoid injuries.
  • Stretch after the activity — static stretching for up to 30 seconds can help with flexibility.
  • Know — and heed! — your limits.
  • Stay hydrated — good hydration will help prevent injury.

If your discomfort and irritation have lingered for more than a week after overdoing it, even with at-home treatment, it’s time to make an appointment with your primary care provider or orthopedic specialist. “People say all the time, ‘I wish I hadn’t waited so long to come in.’ If you haven’t seen improvement after a week, come in and get it checked out,” Evenson said.

Grammarly Premium Subscription Available Free for the CSP Community

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The University recently entered an agreement with Grammarly to make its premium writing assistant services available at no cost to all CSP students, faculty, and staff.  The premium services allow users to proofread, check for plagiarism, adjust formality, and write with more clarity and confidence.  Invitations to join the service will come from the University or Grammarly.  In the meantime, this link provides additional information about Grammarly and its services.

Grammarly

How Can Older Athletes Stay Active?

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Summit orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician Brian Walters, M.D., discusses some tips for older athletes who want to keep playing the sport they love.

Whether it’s football, hockey, swimming, racquetball, golf, soccer, or any of a hundred other sports, being an athlete takes time and dedication. For many people, their sport becomes part of their identity. Being active is part of what makes them who they are. But as the years go on, playing the sport they love can get more difficult for many people. How can older athletes stay active in their chosen sport?

“I work with many patients for whom participating in their chosen sport is a crucial part of their lives. It’s how they stay healthy. It helps them deal with stress and maintain good mental health, and it’s part of their social lives as well,” said Summit orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Brian Walters, M.D. “But when an athletic patient gets a bit older — maybe they’re in their 60s — they begin to run into challenges with maintaining their current level of athletic activity,”

Tips to help older athletes stay active

  • Consider your goals

The first and most important thing, Dr. Walters said, is to set realistic expectations and goals. “Sometimes it’s important to sit down and have a frank conversation with patients who are active and older and have injuries,” Dr. Walters said. It may be time to modify the intensity or level of competitiveness, while still enjoying and participating in the sport. “Many of these individuals have continued to do things athletically that most of the population might have stopped doing 20 years ago,” he said.

  • Respect your limits

Patients who have been healthy and active their whole lives may not want to slow down. That’s fine, said Dr. Walters. It’s just a matter of being smart about how you engage in athletic activity and understanding how your body will respond at this age. Armed with that information, you can choose when and how much you push yourself.

“If you use proper form and set realistic training expectations, you can be active a lot longer. That’s only if you don’t push your body beyond the limits,” Dr. Walters said. “Sometimes, it takes a mental shift to realize that doing your chosen sport at 70 percent instead of 100 percent means that you can do it for a lot longer.”

More ideas for older athletes

  • Try innovative treatments

Many older athletes don’t want to have major surgery that will keep them out of the game for a significant period of time. Dr. Walters uses biologic therapies in his practice. “In the shoulder, I use biologic treatment to increase the chance of good success and recovery, especially in the setting of aging tissue,” he said. Biologics are designed to increase the healing environment in the joint, to speed recovery. It can be part of a surgical procedure or can be competed in the office.

  • Think through options

When it comes to staying active as an older athlete, it’s key to evaluate all of your options. “It’s so important to give patients choices, instead of telling them that there is only one treatment that will work best,” Dr. Walters said. By educating patients, and by laying out the top several options, older athletes can make the best decision for their goals and lifestyle.