Call 281-633-8600 for an appointment. This article was written by Dr. J. Michael Bennett for the Sienna Plantation newsletter. Dr. Bennett is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and a Fellowship Trained Sports Medicine Doctor. He serves patients from Katy, Sugar Land, Richmond, and throughout Metro Houston from offices in Sugar Land, TX.
Sports and athletics play a big part in our lives from developing coordination and social skills early in life to reliving our glory days on a muddy field every Thanksgiving later in life.
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| Right knee-joint, from the front, showing interior ligaments. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Sports and activity are also key elements in developing a healthy lifestyle but just like everything else in life success follows preparedness and practice in addition to avoidance of injury. Knowing about common injuries in sports can help you prevent, identify, and treat problems before they get worse. We will focus on some common sports that most of us are familiar with followed by the most common injury and how to prevent it:
Soccer and basketball are quick sports with lots of cutting, twisting, turning, and pivoting maneuvers. These moves require fast responses that employ the fast twitch muscle fibers of the body and if the athlete has not practiced these movements or strengthened those particular muscles, the ligaments of the knee can get overloaded and torn leading to an anterior cruciate ligament injury or a cartilage tear in the knee. These injuries will present themselves as a painful “pop” in the knee followed by swelling, locking, and instability. Strength conditioning and practicing fast movements teach the body’s muscles to react quicker which in essence protects the deep structures in the knee. This process is called plyometrics and has been proven to decrease knee injuries when incorporated in an athletic program.
Football and lacrosse also involve quick footwork and outmaneuvering your opponent however they also involve full contact which can introduce a whole host of new injuries such as concussions, collarbone fractures, shoulder dislocations, and fractures of the hand and wrist. Most of these injuries occur due to direct contact with an opponent or a direct hit to the ground. Dislocations of the shoulder can be identified after a hit if the shoulder is extremely painful, immobile, and it looks abnormal or drooping downward. Immediate reduction by a physician or a trainer is indicated. Oftentimes surgery is an option if the athlete wants to return to contact sports therefore it is important to be evaluated immediately. Prevention can include a strengthening program focusing on the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint which can help stabilize the joint. Fractures of the collarbone, hand, and wrist can also occur since many times the athlete falls onto one of these structures. Younger players can injure their growth plates and sometimes these fractures need to be put back into alignment by a physician therefore immediate evaluation is required. If an athlete has a swollen extremity it is important to stabilize it with a splint or sling, keep it elevated, use ice for swelling, and have a physician evaluate the patient as soon as possible to confirm that there is a fracture. Concussions are a serious injury that has recently gained more attention due to media coverage. These can be very serious therefore if an athlete has had an episode of loss of consciousness, headache, nausea, blurry vision, or memory loss, immediate workup is indicated which can be done at a local emergency room or with a neurologist. Sometimes a CT scan is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Appropriate helmet gear and modifying tackling techniques can help prevent the risk of concussion.
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| Elbow Joint — Image via Wikipedia |
Baseball and Volleyball are two sports that involve repetitive high velocity motions of the upper extremity putting the shoulder and elbow at risk. Pitching or spiking a volleyball creates excessive torque across the shoulder and elbow which can lead to superior labral tears, bursitis, and tendonitis of the shoulder as well as sprains, strains and tears of the stabilizing collateral ligaments of the elbow. These injuries usually present with painful popping, catching or clicking of the shoulder/elbow with a significant loss of velocity during the actual maneuver. Physical exam and diagnostic tests such as an MRI are indicated to rule these injuries out. Workup is especially important in children due to the fact that the growth plate can be involved and early diagnosis can be key in preventing further damage to the growth plate. Oftentimes physical therapy and modification of activities can address the issue early on however in cases where the symptoms are chronic and do not improve with conservative measures, surgery is indicated. Shoulder and elbow strengthening focusing on the rotator cuff and scapula stabilizers in addition to modifying the aggravating activity with a throwing or a hitting coach can help prevent further injury.
Tennis and golf are both sports that rely on the type of swing that the athlete employs. Injuries of the elbow are so common in these sports that they each have their own names like “tennis elbow” or “golfers elbow”. Both types of
injuries involve pain at the inside (golfers) or outside (tennis) of the elbow joint due to chronic stress across the insertion site of the wrist extensors or flexors. Sometimes swelling and bruising can be seen as well. The tendon injuries can lead to degeneration and chronic pain if it is not treated appropriately. The majority of these injuries can be treated without surgery however sometimes physical therapy, bracing and injection can be helpful therefore a physician’s evaluation is necessary. Elbow and wrist strengthening as well adjusting your swing or changing the grip size of the club/racket can help prevent these injuries from occurring.
With every sport a common goal is to maintain your health and avoid injury therefore always listen to your body and get an evaluation if your symptoms persist, worsen, or fail to improve after a period of rest and modification of activity.
