With great athletic performance, comes great sporting requirements, energy expenditure, and of course, injury risk.
Whether you're a professional athlete or the recreational "weekend warrior," injuries don't choose a competitive standing or activity level. Anyone can get hurt by the lack of preparation, wrong mechanics, or physical overexertion. One way to prevent this from happening is to have a better understanding of each medical condition, particularly its cause and remedy.
Dr. Phillip Aristotle R. Hermida (Orthopedics) of the ManilaMed Sports and Exercise Medicine Center discussed the most common sports injuries during a recent press briefing, and cleared a few things up about the sensitive matter.
Ankle sprain
Perhaps the one we're most familiar with, the ankle injury is caused by an unnnatural twisting motion from the awkward planting of the foot.
A sprain — which is characterized by swelling, ecchymosis or bruising, inability to bear weight, and overall pain — usually occurs when the landing spot is uneven or too much force is exerted on the joint that connects the foot with the lower leg.
Hermida says, "You can treat this conservatively, unless you have a fracture. We could ice, rest, and immobilize it."
Groin pull
The orthopedic doctor blames the lack of stretching for the prevalence of groin pulls (also called strain) among runners and basketball players. Groin and thigh muscles are prone to overstretching and tearing when tensed too forcefully or suddenly.
Basically, an athlete "overabducts the hips, so much so that the groin is pulled from its insertion in the pubis," and just like the ankle sprain, this results in pain, ecchymosis, and, inability to bear weight.
Good thing a groin pull can be addressed by conservative management: rehab, rest, and other pain modalities.
Hamstring strain
One of the injuries that cost Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors a championship and three-peat, the hamstring issue is the result of the muscles at the back the thigh getting overloaded.
A strain, which has three grades of severity, can be sustained through continuous running and jumping, as well as starting and stopping all of a sudden. Walking could prove difficult with a torn hamstring.
Shin splints
The stress on the shinbone and connective tissues is also known as medial tibial stress syndrome and tibialis anterior muscle injury. The said parts get inflamed when runners strike their heels during a lap.
According to Hermida, "There's a proper way of landing and pushing off your foot when running. Stop striking your heel first, rather hit it with the forefoot."
To prevent shin splints, one should stretch the calves and Achilles tendons; strengthen the core, glutes, calves, and shin muscles; and use proper footwear.
ACL tear
The increasing cases of ACL tears not only in the modern NBA, but also local basketball begs these still unanswered questions: "Is it a matter of conditioning, or too much load on players and athletes?"
For the ortho, who also does bone and cartilage transplant and joint surgery, there are two ways to address the career-changing injury. He clarifies, "If you, a weekend warrior, have an ACL tear, it doesn't mean that you have to undergo surgery. It can be managed conservatively — you can live and walk normally even with an ACL tear."
On the other hand, injured pros that hope to get back to the game will require ACL reconstuction.
Patellofemoral syndrome
That pain when you go up a flight of stairs, especially going down? This is the broad term fo such condition, which is also called "runner's knee" or "tracking" problem.
Hermida explains, "This means that the two bones, the kneecap and thighbone, are rubbing against each other. This indicates a weakness of one of your muscles in the thigh, the vastus medialis oblique muscle."
Two weeks of isometric exercises and straight leg raises, among other strength-building routines, can help in recovery.
Tennis elbow
Lateral epicondylitis got its alternate name from players of the eponymous sport that are fond of backhand motions. Caused by overuse, the tennis elbow usually needs minor treatment and long rest periods to heal.
Hermida also made mention the golfer's elbow, "whose pain is inside or in the medial side of the elbow, whereas tennis elbow is outside or on the lateral side."
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