Suffering from a sport injury? A guide to treatment, recovery and prevention
Playing sports is a great way to get in exercise, whether you’re a professional athlete or simply playing for fun. However, playing sports can also lead to some very common injuries.
These can be caused by overuse or acute trauma, and can happen to athletes of all ages, including young children and retired active athletes.
Types of sports injuries
Football players present most commonly with knee and shoulder injuries—MCL and ACL tears, meniscus cartilage injuries, patella and shoulder dislocations, fractures, and shoulder labral tears. Runners typically suffer from overuse injuries, including tendonitis and sprains and strains, as well as stress fractures. If the runner overdoes it they can experience stress reactions and sustain injuries to the bones. For soccer and field hockey players, they tend to incur knee injuries, ankle sprains, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and tears. In the case of basketball players, they sustain mostly ankle injuries, but can also experience knee and shoulder injuries—and shoulder injuries are largely what affect hockey players, including dislocation and separation. Golf and tennis players often suffer overuse injuries, including the common golf or tennis elbow.
Many athletes, in both contact and non-contact sports, are at risk of concussion. Certain age groups also tend to have more injuries in common, though these injuries can happen at any age. Younger children who have not reached skeletal maturity can have growth plate fractures, as the growth plate is typically weaker than some of the surrounding ligaments. Teenagers and young adults tend to have more soft tissue injuries such as ligament strains, meniscal injuries, and labral injuries. Older populations are at higher risk of fractures as bone density declines.
Avoiding sports injuries
Many injuries can be prevented. Avoid overusing certain muscle groups to reduce the risk of tendonitis and other inflammation. Stretching before and after an activity helps to keep your muscles and ligaments ready to go. And don’t forget to pace yourself—gradually increase your activity and intensity level.
Any sports such as soccer or field hockey that require pivoting or cutting movements put athletes at risk of ACL or meniscus tears. To protect against this, coaches or trainers can teach players some techniques that strengthen the musculature around the knees, correct their jump mechanics, and offer other strategies to protect against injury. This is particularly important for girls who tend to get more ACL injuries than boys.
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To keep student athletes fit, parents and coaches should encourage them to:
• Maintain a healthy balance between school and sports, with academics coming first.
• Eat a nutritious diet and enough calories for their body to repair and build muscle.
• Drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated.
• Stretch before and after physical activity.
Treating sports injuries
Treatment options for sports injuries can vary depending on the type of injury and its severity.
Most basic sports injuries such as sprains, strains or minor aches can be treated at home with a combination of rest, ice, compression, and elevation, known as RICE, and anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen. If things don’t improve, start with a visit to your primary care physician. They’ll know if you need to consult an orthopedist or physical therapist for evaluation and a treatment plan. Some sports injuries do require surgery.
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The Sports Medicine team at the Lifespan Orthopedics Institute is dedicated to the treatment and prevention of sports injuries. Our goal is to work with patients to return them to their previous activity levels with an emphasis on preventing future injuries.
Ross Budacki, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Newport Hospital. Health Matters appears monthly in The Newport Daily News and on newportri.com.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport Hospital expert advice on sport injury treatment, prevention
