One of the biggest businesses in the world is the business of sport. Professional sports leagues are worth billions and the players often find multiple millions of dollars at stake. The difference between the greats and the bench players are surprisingly low all things considered. Because of this, they push themselves to the absolute limits of the human body. Naturally, when the body is pushed to the limit, it breaks down more easily.
This is why orthopedics and sports medicine are so important. The nature of athletic and sports injuries are distinct from many other ones. Specializing in orthopedics ensures that you are going to have more to do than you can handle as a doctor.
However, sports injuries aren’t just reserved for professional athletes. Sports are enjoyable and played by millions across the country. They do it for the fun, the competition and the sheer joy your body feels after it’s been used well. The casual athlete and weekend warriors are also susceptible to serious sports injuries as well.
Common Sports Injuries
There are many injuries that occur commonly during or because of sports actions. These aren’t necessarily as severe as those that commonly affect professional athletes, but they are still troublesome to those who suffer them. Here are some common injuries:
- Epicondylitis - This more commonly goes by the name tennis elbow. There are small tears in the tendons that connect your elbow to your arm. Tennis elbow features pain on the outside of the elbow just above it. There is also the lesser known golfer’s elbow which occurs on the inside of the arm.
- Shin Splints - This is a relatively minor injury that causes severe pain in the shins. This can come from a few different causes. Things like flat feet, stress fractures in the legs and swollen overused muscles can cause the splints.
- Knee Ligament Tears - The most common one is the anterior cruciate ligament. These ligament injuries inside the knee will often take between 6 and 18 months of intensive rehabilitation to regain full use of the knee.
Sports Injury Prevention
For common people looking to avoid having to hit the treatment table, prevention is the only option. Since the most common issue is sprains and strains, a lot of prevention should be focused on avoiding those. Many people believe the answer is stretching. However, one of the main causes of strains and sprains is over-stretching. Understanding a proper stretching regimen and not trying to do too much can really help with those injures.
Other injuries are considered overuse injuries. These are injuries caused by exceeding the bodies potential. This comes down to specific motions. People who haven’t used a bicycle for a long time and then try to enter a race know exactly what this entails.
Replacement Surgeries
One of the most serious treatments that may be required by an orthopedic surgeon is a full replacement surgery. These surgeries tend to occur more for amateurs and not professionals. These full replacements tend towards replacing huge joints.
The most common replacement surgeries are for the hip and for the knee. These are commonly damaged areas that can have mechanical metal replacements installed. They are never as good as the real thing, but they are certainly better than the alternative.