SPORTS RELATED INJURIES
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WHAT ARE SPORT RELATED INJURIES?
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“Sports injuries” are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. The severity of these injuries can range from minor to very serious, with some injuries requiring surgery to resolve completely. There are many reasons for these injuries such as poor training practices, improper equipment, nutritional factors or an accident. Injuries can also occur when a person is not in optimal condition to play the sport. Young athletes often begin their competitive sports careers as early as age seven. Injuries are common in children as well and so I deal with sports personnel of all ages. Whether it’s an injury as a result of a hard tackle or a throwing injury, individuals may incur any sports injuries/ conditions and be totally unaware of it.
Let’s take a look of most common sports injuries.
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BONE FRACTURES / STRESS FRACTURES
Bone fractures and stress fractures occur as a result of direct trauma or continuous stress over a period of time. Nearly half of all stress fractures affect the feet.
DISLOCATIONS
Sudden rotations or direct impact to a joint may result in dislocations. This injury is often painful and is a medical emergency. Its more common in children who have lax joints. Dislocated shoulders and dislocated fingers occur frequently during athletic competitions.
KNEE AND ANKLE SPORTS INJURIES
Collisions, quick pivots, or squatting motions during activity can lead to cartilage damage, ligament tears, and tendon ruptures. Female athletes are more prone to ACL ligament injuries due to improper landing after take off.
ELBOW AND SHOULDER SPORTS INJURIES
Whether it’s baseball, volleyball, tennis or javelin throw-injuries to elbow and shoulder are prevalent. It can be due to overuse or inadequate muscle strength or improper technique used. We have many surgical and nonsurgical treatment options for common shoulder and elbow injuries ​
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A Full Range Of Orthopaedic And Sports Medicine Care For Your Sports Injury
​At Sports Medicine Ortho, its understood that every sports injury is unique. With this in mind, a personalized and methodical approach to your injury is taken and then a plan of action is designed. After all my aim is to treat the patients and not just their symptoms.
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So what are your treatment options? It all starts with a detailed history of your problem and a thorough examination to access the root cause of pain. It ends with a personalized plan of action specific to help you restore your active lifestyle.
HOW DO WE MANAGE PAIN AND OTHER SYMPTOMS
Pain being the commonest symptom, different types of pain indicate different types of sports injuries. What is your body trying to tell you? Your specific symptoms and your activity level will give me a better idea of the treatment options to discuss with you. There are many common sports injuries, each with a range of symptoms and varied degree of severity.
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Pain associated with less severe injuries (namely bumps and bruises) can often be managed with rest, ice, compression, and elevation. However, structural injuries and more severe conditions will require professional sports medicine treatment. Whether it’s a meniscus tear or throwing injury, or a stress fracture, it’s important to understand exactly what these symptoms signify.
JOINT PAIN AND SWELLING?
Inflammation and localized pain are both symptoms of typical sports injury, especially with sprains and contusions. Those suffering from tendonitis may experience pain only during athletic activity but not whilst the tendons are relaxed. Diagnosing this and planning a tailored approach will be the crux of our management plan.
WEAKNESS? JOINT INSTABILITY?
Tingling in the fingers and wrists as well as sharp joint pain are associated with an array of bone, connective tissue, and nerve injuries and conditions. Hand weakness, weak grip, and numbness in hands are also common nerve compression symptoms. Similarly, fractures and tendon injuries may make finger flexing difficult leading to reduced joint mobility.​
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LIMITED RANGE OF MOTION?
Sprains can cause the joint to feel unstable and with more severe sprains and ligament damage it may be difficult to bear weight on the injured joint or limb. Repeated ligament and tendon injuries can lead to chronic joint instability. Jumper’s Knee (also known as runner’s knee) is caused by inflammation of the patellar tendon and over time patellar tendinitis may weaken the tendon and result in a patellar tendon rupture or partial patellar tendon tear. If you are experiencing pain while pitching and diminished velocity you may have be suffering from shoulder or elbow ligament or muscle injury.
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POPPING JOINTS FELT? OR HEARD A POP DURING YOUR INJURY?
Bones popping and clicking joints (known medically as crepitus) is a common and often harmless occurrence, however, at times these sounds could signify a sports injury. For example, during a tendon tear, cartilage tear, or bone fracture many patients report hearing or feeling a popping sensation. In fact, this audible “pop” is exceedingly common with meniscus tears, ACL injuries, and Achilles tendon ruptures. If your joints are locking up and popping, this may be the result of loose bodies in the joint. That said, locked knee is common following a severe meniscus tear.
HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION?
Concussion symptoms include headache, nausea, mental “fogginess” (even amnesia of the
event), ringing in the ears, slurred speech, and fatigue. It’s important to note that some
concussion symptoms may not begin until days after the initial concussion.
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DIAGNOSIS
An accurate diagnosis is paramount to the shortest possible road to recovery.
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Understanding how often and how aggressively you can go about returning to your normal activity regimen will depend on your injury, your lifestyle, and your pain. Typically, many common aches and pains can be adequately managed with strengthening and activity adjustments.
IMAGING AND INTERPRETATION
If the previous treatment hasn’t adequately managed your symptoms, it may be time for further investigations to pinpoint the exact cause of your pain. Fortunately, we have facilities at our cutting edge medical complex to do imaging and arrive at the exact diagnosis.
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INTEGRATED PHYSICAL THERAPY
Have you adjusted your lifestyle but your pain or injury is still holding you back? Physical therapy can strengthen the surrounding muscles and increase flexibility. It is the most necessary step to take when your underlying injury is capable of healing without surgical intervention. Our physical therapists will work directly with you to assure that your time to recovery is faster.
REGENERATIVE INJECTIONS
Today we are witnessing a true renaissance in sports medicine treatment with the latest biotech solutions which can regrow healthy tissue and set you free from chronic pain and joint instability. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell (bone marrow aspirate concentrate) therapy is available to use in certain cases.
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MINIMALLY INVASIVE CORRECTIVE SURGERY
Unlike more invasive “open” surgery, arthroscopic surgery involves less pain, less swelling and shorter recovery time. In day-care arthroscopy, patients can return home the same day and can be back to their active lifestyle in a minimal amount of time.
Non Surgical Treatment Options
​Depending on your age and activity, you may not need to undergo surgery. Fortunately, at Sports Medicine Ortho, we offer non-surgical treatment procedures for your sports injury including personalized rehabilitation at our state-of-the-art outpatient physical therapy center and the latest regenerative treatments, such as PRP injections.
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SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
Your specific symptoms as well as your lifestyle activity level will give us a clearer idea of the sports medicine treatment options to consider moving forward.
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ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS AND RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES
Once your athletic injury has been assessed and diagnosed by our board certified orthopaedic and sports medicine surgeons, we can determine your Return to Play
guidelines. These treatments will establish specific rules regarding your expectations and limitations until you return to your active lifestyle.
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​REGENERATIVE INJECTIONS
For decades, patients were strictly limited to shots designed to treat pain and inflammation (namely cortisone injections and steroid injections). Today, that has all changed and there are many biological regeneration solutions to regrow and build joint tissues. Come in today and let’s talk about your regenerative injection options and PRP injections. )
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When Is Surgery The Best Option For Your Sports Injury​
BONE FRACTURE SURGERY
From Boxer’s fractures to hip fractures, we treat a wide range of common sports injury fractures. The specific surgery will depend on the placement and severity of the fracture. More severe fractures will requires a series of surgical interventions.
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KNEE SURGERY
Nonsurgical sports medicine treatment options suffice for many less active or older individuals following ligament injuries. However, competitive athletes will often require surgery to compete at the highest level. We specialize treatment options for many knee sports injuries, including meniscus repairs and ACL reconstruction.
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SHOULDER AND ELBOW SURGERY
Diminished velocity is common with many arm sports injuries. To treat the underlying bone or tissue damage we have a range of sports medicine treatments including rotator cuff surgery, Ulnar Collateral Ligament surgery, nerve decompression surgery and others.
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HAND AND WRIST SURGERY
Hands and wrists are routinely damaged during competition and training and may require profession sports medicine treatment. Whether you’re experiencing flexor tendon injuries or a diminished grip strength due to nerve compression, we have selective investigations and appropriate treatment options to consider.
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Arthroscopic Surgery: Non-Invasive Surgery For Sports Injury
​Today there are many outpatient surgery options and typically patients are free to return home on the same day after the procedure. Unlike more invasive procedures, arthroscopic surgery doesn’t involve large open incisions and results in less swelling and faster recoveries. These arthroscopic surgeries are geared toward tendons, ligaments, and joint preservation not joint replacement.
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What exactly is arthroscopic surgery? During a typical procedure, the surgeon guides a small camera (arthroscope -- hence the name) through the elbow via a small incision and uses this visual data and surgical instruments to diagnose and treat the underlying cause of your pain.
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LESS PAIN AND SWELLING
General swelling and pain after arthroscopic surgery should be expected. Unlike traditional arthrotomy surgeries (also known as “open surgeries”) arthroscopic surgery involves small incisions to treat the underlying problem. This means less swelling, less damage to normal tissue, and less pain after your procedure.
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SHORTER RECOVERY
Smaller incisions often enable shorter recovery times allowing you to get back to your normal daily activity faster.
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DECREASED RISK OF INFECTION
These smaller incisions minimize the overall healing time and also reduce patient’s risk of infection.
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OUTPATIENT OPERATION
Almost all arthroscopic surgeries are performed as day care procedures and patients are normally free to return home on same day following the surgery. ​
What Is The Recovery Time For Arthroscopic Surgery?
Now that the surgery is over, it’s time for the healing process to begin. Knowing what to anticipate during the recovery process can help keep us set realistic expectations beforehand.
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Patients are able to return home quicker than when compared to non- arthroscopic surgery. At home, it’s important to keep the surgically treated limb elevated and apply ice packs as needed to minimize any swelling and pain. Medication will be prescribed to help minimize pain after the procedure.
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After elbow surgery or shoulder surgery, arm will be immobilized for the first week to allow the joint to heal properly. Following ankle, knee or hip surgery, may need crutches to assist with walking. However many individuals are able to walk on the repaired limb within a few days. Those with less strenuous “desk” jobs can go back to work a few days following surgery. Depending on the surgery, indulgence in sports may take several months although many procedures fully heal in matter of weeks.
Exercises are crucial to arthroscopic surgical recovery. Tailor made exercise regimen are given for specific injury. Exercises after arthroscopic surgery are designed to strengthen the muscles as well as increase flexibility to restore active lifestyle.
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