What are common sports injuries?
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a fitness enthusiast, a sports injury can sabotage your performance goals and compromise your ability to stay healthy. Some of the most common types of sports injuries include:
- Sprains and strains: injuries to the ligaments, muscles, or tendons that produce swelling, weakness, and decreased mobility
- Inflammatory injuries: tendonitis, fasciitis, and bursitis; characterized by inflammation of the joints, tendons, or tissue
- Dislocations: when a bone moves out of its proper alignment in the joint
- Fractures: a small crack or break in the bone
- Muscle cramps: painful contractions or spasms, like a “charley horse”
- Contusions: injuries that cause bleeding into tissue, causing the skin to become black and blue
Regardless of the type, all sports injuries can cause pain and discomfort if not treated right away. Athletes with chronic pain or untreated injuries might be more at risk for further complications.
What are the symptoms of a sports injury?
If you’re an active, athletic person, you might be inclined to push through pain or dismiss your symptoms. However, an injury is different than muscle soreness or fatigue from overtraining. Some indications that you might have a sports injury are:
- Sudden pain that results from a fall, impact, or a forceful movement
- Swelling, redness, and inflammation
- Not being able to put weight on a foot or leg
- Extreme tenderness in your arm, elbow, wrist, or hand
- Pain during sports or exercise
A sports injury can also cause a dull ache when you’re resting, even if the pain is not extreme.
How are sports injuries treated?
At Interventional Pain Associates, Dr. Saleemi takes a comprehensive approach to pain management.
While the immediate goal is to relieve your pain and heal your injury, she concentrates your treatment program on holistic, long-term well-being. Your customized care might include:
- Physical therapy: stretching exercises, massage, or movement techniques to help repair damage and enable your recovery
- Interventional procedures: steroid therapy, spinal cord stimulation, anesthetic medicine injections, drug delivery systems to a specific area of the body, stem cells injections, PRP, steroid injections
- Medication management: medications as needed to reduce inflammation and manage pain
No matter how severe or painful your injury, Dr. Saleemi works with you to help you regain full mobility and return to the sports and activities you love. To get started, call the office to schedule a consultation or book online today.
