By Sharon Freeman.
Sporting Injuries can lead to serious bone and muscle damage that in turn may lead to possibly career ending injuries. Certain sports injuries and treatments are more prevalent among certain types of athletes. Tennis players have “tennis elbow”, baseball pitchers have “tommy john” surgery, football players suffer the gamut, but the most often seen injuries are to the knees and heads.
As recently as a couple of years ago, concussions in any sport ended an athlete’s career, but the injury has received considerable research grants and the results have helped doctors better diagnose the injury and work on a plan of recovery.
Elbow injuries once took pitchers off the mound for good and tennis players had to hang up their rackets. As sports science improves athletes’ mechanics and sports medicine develops better surgeries players can return faster than before and still fighting strong.
What are the most common sports injuries?
Tennis Elbow occurs when the outside of the elbow becomes painful and the joint becomes tender. The doctor will test the patient by asking the patient to grip either his hand or an object. He will note the mechanics of the patients arm as they do this and notice if there is painful reaction. He may have x-rays done to look for deep injury. Usually Medication and PT will help but if they don’t surgery is an option.
How does Tommy John surgery help pitchers? The procedure involved the grafting of a tendon that is harvested from either the same arm or the opposite arm to repair the torn or severely damaged medial tendon on the pitchers arm. The procedure has a very long recovery time, but it does appear to work for most pitchers, thus allowing them to continue their careers.
Head injuries are common injuries in football. The helmets help protect the heads for the most part, but head to head ( helmet to helmet) impacts are still very dangerous. The NFL has recently added to their requirements when a player suffers a concussion that they must have a certain recovery time and receive a full medical release before returning to the game.
Knee injuries involve the ACL and MCL tendons that move and protect the knee affect many athletes in any sport. When those tendons are torn, the recovery processes is long and arduous. Treatment includes medication and PT. If neither works for the patient, then surgery is required. The recovery is often painful and often results in the player never returning to the field of play.
Basketball players run constantly in their game, so their hips, knees and ankles tend to suffer a lot of injuries. They also suffer from injuries similar to tennis elbow due to the repetition of dribbling the ball and shooting baskets. They also tend to suffer from fractures to the face in the heat of the game. One of the most common treatments for facial injuries involved a plastic “cast” worn by the athlete while playing to prevent re-injury.
Sports are exciting to watch and even more exciting to play. The athletes play with full awareness that a severe injury is just one play away. Sports science has helped athletes improve the way they use their bodies, which helps prevent many injuries. Sports medicine has improved with new techniques that have improved the lives of athlete and allowed them to play longer more satisfying careers. Athletes are now able to recover from even the most drastic injuries with incredibly short recovery times.
Fans can enjoy the success of their favorite players as they watch them perform their skills all thanks to athletes’ grace, scientists’ knowledge and doctors’ skills.
Sharon Freeman is an Australian freelance writer who likes writing about health and injury trends and reviewing or critiquing new medical procedures.
Thank you, Sharon, for this interesting article. Athletes are fortunate to live in an era where more is known and studied about sports injuries. For those who enjoy following their particular team in the U.S., Texas America Safety Company features hardhats for NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, and other sports thems. These help companies ensure compliance while at the same time allowing them to show support for their favorite team. pat