We all know exercise and playing sports are good for you. However, sometimes you can injure yourself when playing your favorite game through a simple accident, poor technique, improper warm-up, and a lack of cross-training. While injury can strike anyone at any time, age is definitely a factor in flexibility and your ability to recover.
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Sports Injuries That Lead To Acute or Chronic Pain
If you get injured please stop playing or exercising immediately and seek qualified medical attention to begin your recovery. Unique Pain Medicine offers a variety of treatments for athletes of all kinds. We are here to help assist you in your journey back to your peak fitness and health. Conventional minimally invasive treatments for sports injuries include injections, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication.
Achilles Tendonitis
As one of the most common ankle and foot over-use injuries, Achilles tendinitis or tendinopathy is a syndrome that is characterized by a combination of pain, swelling and sub-optimal performance. Achilles tendinitis arises from a failed healing response, resulting in degenerative changes within the tendon itself. This failed healing response has 3 stages – reactive tendinitis, tendon disrepair and finally, degenerative tendinitis.
ACL Injury
An ACL injury is the tearing of one of the four ligaments that connect your shinbone to your thighbone. An ACL injury is particularly common in people who play sports that change direction quickly such as football, basketball, and soccer.
Hamstring Trains
Both common and very painful, hamstring strains are frequently seen in athletes who participate in any sport that requires running. The three muscles that run along the back of your thigh get overloaded and result in sudden and sharp pain during exercise.
Hip Bursitis
Bursitis is a painful condition that involves the cushion sacs that are connected to the bones in the hips, as well as shoulders and elbows. Bursitis happens due to overuse or overtraining in certain activities or repetitive motions.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome (IT)
Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) is a widely prevalent condition amongst sportsmen and professional athletes. It is caused by an inflammation of the distal iliotibial band that causes pain in the lateral aspect of the knee joint. The incidence of ITBS varies from 5 to 14% and is more prevalent in men than in women. Apart from recreational and professional runners, ITBS affects cyclists, football players, basketballers, rowers and hockey players alike. The primary risk factors for ITBS are those that cause biomechanical alterations in the anatomy of the lower limbs. These include weak hip abductors, a tight iliotibial band, an obtuse angle of flexion at the knee joint, and eversion of the rearfoot.
Knee Pain
Many bones and ligaments intersect or interact with your knees. Knee pain can be caused by a variety of sports injuries including IT band, torn meniscus, ACL, MCL, and other injuries tied to overtraining and sports activity.
MCL Injury
An MCL tear is a specific injury to the medial collateral ligament which is in the inner part of your knee, on the outside of the joint. Ligaments are designed to add stability, and the MCL connects a variety of bones together and is frequently the source of a sprain or injury.
Osteoarthritis
Knee Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. This condition gets worse as time goes on because it’s a wear and tear nature. The cartilage in your knee deteriorates with use and time.
Overtraining Injuries
Overtraining injuries happen when we go past our limits on a specific activity. Common overtraining injuries include a sprained ankle, tendonitis, IT band injuries and many more.
Patellar Tendonitis
Tendinitis or tendonitis is an irritation and inflammation of one or more tendons. Athletes such as runners and cyclists are prone to develop inflammation of the patellar tendon.
Pulled Muscle
Muscle strains or pulled muscles happen when they are overstretched due to overuse, fatigue, improper technique and more. Muscle strains can happen in your lower back, neck, and legs.
Runner Injuries
Runners are encouraged to strength train or cross train to prevent “wear and tear” injuries such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, runner’s knee, IT band injuries, patella tendonitis, and more.
Torn Meniscus
The meniscus is formed of rubbery cartilage and acts as a shock absorber between the shin and thigh bones. A tear in the meniscus occurs when an athlete suddenly twists their knee.
Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow is a very common injury with athletes, ironically very few get it through playing tennis. Tennis Elbow describes a pain on the outside of the arm where the forearm meets the elbow.
Weightlifting Injuries
Weightlifting injuries are very common and include severe injuries such as Degenerative Disc Disease, along with hamstring pulls, sprains, tennis elbow, IT band injuries, patellar tendonitis, and more.
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Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most widely prevalent causes of heel pain, and has been approximated to adversely impact on about 2 million people in the United States alone. It affects not just sportsmen and athletes – in fact, plantar fasciitis affects people who adopt sedentary lifestyles as well. It is thought to be due to a stress overload from either lifestyle, exercise or both. Risk factors for the development of plantar fasciitis include obesity, pes planus (flat foot), pes cavus (high-arched foot), poor biomechanics, prolonged weight-bearing, barefoot walking and poor footwear.
If you are suffering from acute or chronic pain due to a sports injury, we invite you to talk with our team of talented pain management specialists at Unique Pain Medicine. You can learn more about different types of pain and pain management as well as schedule an appointment by calling 929-363-0303.
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