Sports Injuries Specialist

What are the most common sports injuries?

Though competitive athletes deal with constant stress on their bodies, weekend warriors and anyone who enjoys athletic activities can sustain a sports injury. The most common injuries include:

• Sprained ankle
• ACL and other ligament tears
• Tendon inflammation and tears
• Meniscus injury
• Joint dislocation
• Rotator cuff tear
• Shoulder labral tear
• Achilles tendinitis
• Tennis elbow
• Jumper’s knee
• Stress fractures
• Concussion
• Back strain

Taking a direct hit and sudden movements like pivoting cause many acute sports injuries. However, overuse injuries are more common. An overuse injury occurs from overtraining and repeating the same movements without giving your body time to heal.

What symptoms occur following a sports injury?

Musculoskeletal injuries cause symptoms such as:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Difficulty moving
• Joint instability
• Muscle weakness
• Tingling or electric-shock pain
• Numbness or loss of feeling
• Inability to bear weight on or use the affected limb

If you have a concussion, you may experience headaches, confusion, dizziness, and memory loss. Unlike a more serious traumatic brain injury, concussions seldom cause loss of consciousness. 

How are sports injuries treated?

SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER ORTHOPEDICS AND SPORTS MEDICINE creates a customized treatment plan based on the type and extent of your injury. They design your treatment to accelerate healing, restore optimal strength, and get you back in the game as quickly as possible.

Your treatment plan may include: 

Nonsurgical therapies

Whenever possible, your treatment begins with conservative therapies such as immobilization, temporarily changing your activities, and medications to reduce inflammation, relax muscles, and ease pain. 

Physical therapy and rehabilitation

Physical therapy begins as soon as possible. Your regimen begins with passive exercise and gentle movements that maintain a level of mobility and ensure healthy circulation for injury healing.

As your therapy progresses, the team creates a sport-specific recovery program that rebuilds the strength, movement, and skills needed for your sport. In addition to preparing you to return to play, your rehabilitation reduces your risk of reinjury. 

Arthroscopy

You may need minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery if you suffer a joint injury. Your surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a scope into the joint. The scope sends magnified images to a monitor, allowing them to examine the joint, determine the extent of tissue damage, and perform surgery to repair the problem if needed.

Some injuries, such as a complex fracture, torn ligaments and in some cases, a torn meniscus, need surgical repair as the first line of treatment.

To get expert care for sports injuries, call SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER ORTHOPEDICS AND SPORTS MEDICINE or book an appointment online today.