ORTHOPEDICS/ SPORTS INJURIES
Day after day, people of all age tend to get active by exercising all kind of sports activities looking for health benefits; Therefore, most of the frequent sports damages occur following to overuse of sports activities, or training improperly or even bad warm up.
Luckily, most of these sports damages can be treated efficiently, and most people who suffer damages can return to an adequate level of physical activity after a damage.
Even more, several sports damages can be avoided if taken the right protections.
Note that some sports damages result by coincidences; others are due to: Meager training practices, or Improper tools, or Lack of training, or insufficient warm up and stretching
Sports Damages?
The term sports damage refers to the types of damages that most frequently occur during sports activities. It is commonly reserved for damages that involve the musculoskeletal that includes the muscles, the bones, and the related tissues like the tendons. (Traumatic brain and spinal cord damages being relatively rare during sports activities).
Kinds of Sports Damages
- Muscle strains and tensions
- Blubbering of the tendons that hold the joints together
- Blubbering of the ligaments that support joints and allow motion
- Disordered joints
- Cracked bones, including spines
- Knee Damages in Sports activities
- Man lying down on football court
Knee Damages
The knee is the most frequently damaged joint because of its complex structure and its weight-bearing capacity.
More than 5.5 million persons/year visit orthopedists for knee problems.
Knee damages slide from minor to severe although the less severe still painful and functionally restrictive.
Knee problems are:
- Runner’s knee (pain under the kneecap at the front or side of the knee)
- Iliotibial band disorder (pain on the outer side of the knee)
- Tendinitis, also called “Tendinosis” (a degeneration within a ligament, frequently where it joins the bone)
Severe Knee Damages
The four major tendons that support the knee are the:
Anterior cruciate tendon (ACL)
Posterior cruciate tendon (PCL)
Medial collateral tendon (MCL)
Lateral collateral tendon (LCL)
There are two types of tendon in the knee and more severe damages include bone damages to the tendon. It covers the ends of the bones where they meet, allowing them to glide against one another.
Reason of Knee Injury
Knee damages occur from a shock or a rotation of the knee from improper landing after a jump or from running hardly or without a proper warm up.
Discolorations, Strains and Tensions
A discoloration, or a muscle contusion occur from a fall or a contact with a hard surface, or with a piece of equipment, or another player while doing a sport exercice.
A discoloration results when the muscle fiber and the connective tissue are creased. In addition, torn blood vessels may cause a discoloration appearance.
Most discolorations are minor; however, some of them can cause more severe harm and complications.
Strains
A strain is a stretch or tear of a tendon.
Strains occur following a trauma such as a fall or shock of the body that knocks a joint out of position and, in the worst case, cut the supporting tendons.
Strains can range from first degree (minimally stretched tendon) to third degree (a complete slash).
Zones of the body most suitable to strains are: Ankles – knees – wrists
Signs of a strain include varying degrees of pain; yellowing, infection; swelling, incapability to move a limb or joint, or joint looseness, negligence, or unsteadiness.
Note that, while it is hard to tell the difference between mild and reasonable strains, severe strains not treated with a professional way can be subject of severe damage and even loss of function.
Disorders Body Section:
Serious vs. Chronic Exertional
Body section also named “Compartment” enclosed the parts of the body, the muscles, lengthwise with the nerves and blood vessels that run alongside and through them.
These body sections are formed of a tough membrane called fascia. Therefore, when the muscles are inflamed they become distended and they can fill the compartment to capacity, causing an interference with the nerves and the blood vessels most likely as damage to the muscles themselves.
This muscle inflammation causes a painful situation called Disorder Body Section or compartment disorder.
Serious Disorder Body Section
Disorder Body Section may occur by a one-time traumatic damage such as:
- Due to a fractured bone
- Due to a hard shock to the thigh
- Due to repeated hard shocks (depending upon the sport’s kind)
Chronic Exertional Disorder Body Section
This Disorder Body Section may also occur by abuses or ongoing overuse (chronic exertional disorder body section) that may happen as well, in long-distance running for example.
Shin Straps
Any kind of leg pain related to sport’s activity or any exercise is called “Shin Straps” or (shin splints), the term essentially refers to pain along the tibia or the large bone in the front of the lower leg (shinbone).
This pain can also occur at the front outside part of the lower leg, including the foot and the ankle known by (anterior shin straps); Therefore, pain at the inner edge of the bone where it meets the calf muscles is called (medial shin straps)
Risk Aspects for Shin Straps
Shin straps are predominantly seen with long distance runners, mainly with those starting a running schedule.
Risk aspects for shin straps comprise:
- Improper use or Overuse of the lower leg
- Incorrect stretching, warm-up, or technical exercise
- Overtraining with running or jumping on hard surfaces
- Running with improper shoes
These damages are frequently related to level (over-pronated) feet.
Achilles Tendon Damages
The tendon connecting the calf muscle to the back of the heel is called Achilles, any irritation, stretch or tear to the Achilles tendon may cause a damage that can be so sudden and agonizing and especially occurring to professional football player.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis is a deteriorating situation caused by aging or overuse. It is the most frequent problem of Achilles tendon tears. (Note that when a tendon is declining, trauma can cause to rupture).
Achilles tendon damage anticipation
Achilles tendon damages are frequent with middle-aged “weekend sport’s passionate” who may exercise improperly an activity.
Most Achilles damages seem to happen in quick-acceleration, jumping, football, basketball, and commonly at end the season’s competition.
Bone Cracks
Severe Cracks vs. Stress Cracks
A crack (or fracture) is a break in the bone that can be the result of a quick one-time damage to the bone (severe fracture) or through a repetitive stress to the bone over the time (stress crack).
Severe Cracks
Severe cracks can be simple or compound. While a Simple crack is a clean break with little damage to the surrounding tissue, the compound crack is a break in which the bone pierces the skin with little damage to the surrounding tissue.
Most severe cracks are emergency cases since there is a high risk of inflammation.
Stress Cracks
Stress cracks arise fundamentally in the feet and legs and are frequent in sports that necessitate tedious impact, mainly running and jumping sports.
Running requires forces two to three times a person’s body weight on the lower members. The most frequent disorder of a stress crack is pain at the site and that worsens with weight-bearing activity. Generally, inflammation follows the pain.
Disarticulations:
Frequent Joint Disarticulations
The articulation is when two bones come together to constitute a joint. So, when these two bones are separated, the joint is described being disrupted.
Any contact sport (such as football or basketball), as well as high-impact sports or sports that can cause extreme stretching or falling, are the main reason to the majority of disarticulations.
Disarticulations that need Medical Behavior
A disrupted joint is an emergency condition that need medical behavior. The hand joints are the most expected to be dislocated. the joint most frequently disrupted is the shoulder; therefore, Disarticulations of the knees, the hips, and the jostles are usually rare.
Spinal Cord Damages and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens when a sudden physical attack on the head causes damage to the brain. A closed damage happens when the head unexpectedly and aggressively hits a solid object.
A strong damage happens when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue. Several types of these traumatic damages can affect the head and brain and requires immediate medical assistance.
A skull crack happens when the bone of the skull cracks or breaks.
A depressed skull crack happens when pieces of the broken skull press into the brain tissue. This can cause staining of the brain tissue, called a contusion.
A contusion can happen as well following to brain shaking within the skull borders.
Injury to a major blood vessel within the head can cause a hematoma or heavy bleeding into or around the brain. The harshness of a TBI can range from a mild situation to the extremes, reaching coma or even death.
Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)
Spinal cord injury (SCI) happens when a traumatic event results in injury to cells in the spinal cord or separates the nerve tracts that relay signals up and down the spinal cord.
The most frequent kinds of spinal cord injury comprise:
- Contusion (staining of the spinal cord)
- Compression (caused by pressure on the spinal cord)
Other kinds of spinal cord injury comprise lacerations (severing or tearing of nerve fibers) and central cord disorder (specific damage to the cervical zone of the spinal cord).
Difference between Acute and Chronic Damages
Severe damages, such as a sprained ankle, strained back or cracked hand, happen unexpectedly during an activity. The signs of a severe damage embrace: unexpected, severe pain, inflammation, incapability to put weight on a lower member, extreme sensitivity in an upper member, incapability to move a joint through full range of motion, extreme member dimness, and visible displacement (bone break)
Chronic Damage
Chronic damages frequently come from overusing an area of the body while playing a sport or exercising an activity over a long period.
Signs of a chronic damage comprise:
- Pain when executing activities
- A dull ache when at relaxation
- Inflammation
What to do when suffering a Harm?
Whether harm is severe or chronic, “working through” is not advised; when pain and suffering occur, the harmed person should STOP Continuing the activity looking to good recovery either self treated or through medical assistance.
When to Seek Medical Behavior
Seeking medical care if:
- The damage is causing severe pain, inflammation, or coldness
- Unsupportable weight on the area
- Old damage is accompanied by amplified inflammation or joint anomaly or unsteadiness
Far from these above symptoms, it is possibly safe to proceed by self-treatment, but if pain or other disorders worsen, it is advised to check with your surgeon.