Becoming more active and encouraging young people to participate in group sports offers benefits to our health and social growth. Unfortunately, accompanying these gains, there are also some pains along the way.
While most of these conditions might develop from many different activities, some sports do increase the likelihood of certain injuries. Monroe NY sports medicine doctors help athletes get back in the game with the most innovative treatments. Let’s review the most common problems a sports injury doctor treats.
Common Sports Injuries
- Lower back injury is associated with running, golf, gymnastics, and weightlifting. Over half of all sports injuries are back and spine related.1
- Neck injuries such as acute cervical spine sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations are often seen in football and martial arts.
- Nerve problems including sciatica can occur with cycling, golf, and tennis.
- Stress fractures can occur in the spine and elsewhere, and are found in runners, gymnasts, and football players.
- Spinal disc injuries may cause nerve pain as well and are associated with contact sports or falling.
- Concussion is an injury to the brain caused by a blow to the head, often seen in football, boxing, and horseback riding.
- Shoulder injuries encompass rotator cuff and labral tears, chronic dislocation, and fracture. These occur in many different sports including rowing, tennis, and martial arts.
- Knee injuries including meniscal tears and dislocation can happen in football, golf, tennis, and almost any vigorous activity.
Treating Sports Injuries
For most muscle strains and minor injuries ice, pain relievers, and rest will provide relief. When an injury is severe or lingers, sports medicine is the answer.
Physical Therapy
While a variety of treatment options exist, most sports injuries are treated with comprehensive physical therapy. Therapy may also cover how to modify the sports-specific movements to improve technique, minimize pain, and prevent future injuries.
- Passive physical therapy decreases pain using methods such as ice packs, heating pads, and electrical nerve stimulation.
- Active physical therapy uses daily stretching and specialized exercises to increase stability and build muscle to prevent and heal injury.
- Other PT methods include spinal decompression therapy which helps treat the pain of herniated disks, usually after surgery.
Surgical Treatments
Sometimes an injury causes damage that can only be repaired by surgery. Cervical fractures or spinal disc injuries are usually treated surgically, along with ruptured tendons, and shoulder or knee replacements.
Other Treatment Options
Other treatment approaches include:
- Neurosurgery, both minimally invasive and endoscopic
- Regenerative medicine which enhances natural healing and improves range of motion, strength, and vitality
- Acupuncture referrals, hip and trigger point injections, and other pain management treatments
Restore Your Peak Performance
Finding yourself out of the game and in pain can put your enjoyment of your favorite sport at risk. A sports medicine doctor will be familiar with most common sports injuries, and will locate the problem and develop an individualized treatment plan to get you back where you belong – participating in your favorite sport and achieving your performance and fitness goals.
