Sports Injuries

After a sedentary work week, end-zone catches and 36-hole weekends can take their toll in common sports injuries. The seven most common sports injuries are:

Ankle sprain
Groin pull
Hamstring strain
Shin splints
Knee injury: ACL tear
Knee injury: Patellofemoral syndrome — injury resulting from the repetitive movement of your kneecap against your thigh bone
Tennis elbow (epicondylitis)

The most common sports injuries are strains and sprains.

Sprains are injuries to ligaments, the tough bands connecting bones in a joint. Suddenly stretching ligaments past their limits deforms or tears them.

Strains are injuries to muscle fibers or tendons, which anchor muscles to bones. Strains are called “pulled muscles” for a reason: Over-stretching or overusing a muscle causes tears in the muscle fibers or tendons.

Tendon Repair

Tendon repair is surgery done to treat a torn or otherwise damaged tendon. Tendons are the soft, band-like tissues that connect muscles to bone. When the muscles contract, the tendons pull the bones and cause the joints to move. When tendon damage occurs, movement may be seriously limited. The damaged area may feel weak and/or painful. Tendon repair surgery may be helpful for people who have tendon injuries that are making it difficult for them to move a joint or are very painful.

Meniscal Repair

A meniscus tear is a common injury to the cartilage that stabilizes and cushions the knee joint. The type of the tear camera.gif can determine whether your tear can be repaired. Radial tears sometimes can be repaired, depending on where they are located. Horizontal, flap, long-standing, and degenerative tears-those caused by years of wear and tear-generally cannot be repaired.

Your doctor will likely suggest the treatment that he or she thinks will work best for you based on the zone where the tear is camera.gif, the pattern of the tear, and how big it is. Your age, your health, and your activity level may also affect your treatment options. In some cases, the surgeon makes the final decision during surgery, when he or she can see the how strong the meniscus is, where the tear is, and how big the tear is.

If you have a small tear at the outer edge of the meniscus (in what doctors call the red zone), you may want to try home treatment. These tears often heal with rest.
If you have a moderate to large tear at the outer edge of the meniscus (red zone), you may want to think about surgery. These kinds of tears tend to heal well after surgery.
If you have a tear that spreads from the red zone into the inner two-thirds of the meniscus (called the white zone), your decision is harder. Surgery to repair these kinds of tears may not work.
If you have a tear in the white zone of the meniscus, repair surgery usually isn’t done, because the meniscus may not heal. But partial meniscectomy may be done if torn pieces of meniscus are causing pain and swelling.

Treatment of Knee Fractures

A patellar fracture is a break in the patella, or kneecap, the small bone that sits at the front of your knee. Because the patella acts as a shield for your knee joint, it is vulnerable to fracture if you fall directly onto your knee or hit it against the dashboard in a vehicle collision. A patellar fracture is a serious injury that can make it difficult or even impossible to straighten your knee or walk.

Nonsurgical Treatment

If the pieces of bone are not out of place (displaced), you may not need surgery. Your doctor may apply a cast or splint to keep your knee straight and help prevent motion in your leg. This will keep the broken ends of bone in proper position while they heal. Depending upon your specific fracture, you may be allowed to bear weight on your leg while wearing a cast or brace. With some fractures, however, weight bearing is not allowed for 6 to 8 weeks. Your doctor will talk with you about restrictions on weight bearing.

Surgical Treatment

If the pieces of bone are out of place (displaced), you will most likely need surgery. Fractured patellar bones that are not close together often have difficulty healing or may not heal. The thigh muscles that attach to the top of the patella are very strong and can pull the broken pieces out of place during healing.

Sports Injuries

Tendon Repair

Meniscal Repair

Treatment of Knee Fractures

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