What is sports medicine?
Sports medicine can be defined as the treatment of acute forms of damage that occur when you're playing sports. Sports medicine also cover trauma you might suffer when training, exercising, or taking part in any kind of vigorous physical activity.
Anyone can incur a sports injury, but several risk factors make these types of injuries more likely. If you don't exercise during the week and then do too much over the weekend, for example, your risk of a sports injury is higher. Other risk factors include:
- Not warming up and cooling down properly
- Exceeding your current fitness levels
- Using poor technique
- Having inappropriate or low-quality equipment
Overenthusiasm also accounts for many sports injuries — it's easy to get caught up in the moment and stretch too far, stop or turn too quickly, or throw yourself into an unwise tackle.
Dr. Smith specializes in diagnosing and treating sports injuries. As a sports medicine expert, Dr. Smith has considerable experience in helping patients avoid sports injuries.
What kinds of sports injuries might I get?
Sports injuries typically involve damage to the tendons, ligaments, muscles, cartilage, and bones that make up your musculoskeletal system. Sprains (damaged ligaments) and strains (damaged tendons) are among the most widespread types of injuries.
Conditions that are common among athletes include:
ACL and MCL tears
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) enable your knee to move and help provide joint stability. ACL and MCL tears are common in sports where you have to run quickly, turn at speed, or stop suddenly.
Ankle injuries
Ankle sprains and strains typically occur when you bend your ankle joint too far, which overstretches the tendons and ligaments.
Overuse injuries
Overuse injuries often cause tendinitis — an inflammation of the tendon that comes on gradually. Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis), and Achilles tendinitis are common overuse injuries.
How are sports injuries treated?
The treatment Dr. Smith recommends for your sports injury depends on the cause and factors such as your age and activity levels. The main approaches that could feature in your treatment plan include:
- Rest and activity modification
- Exercise
- Physical therapy
- Immobilization
- Steroid injections
- Regenerative medicine
In some cases, you might require surgery; for example, to regain full function of your knee, you might need to undergo an ACL reconstruction procedure.
Where possible, Dr. Smith uses arthroscopic surgical techniques. Arthroscopy is minimally invasive and causes far less tissue damage than open surgery does, which reduces postoperative pain and speeds up your recovery.
For exceptional treatment of your sports injuries, call Regenerative Orthopedics Institute today or book an appointment online.
