One of the best ways to stay healthy and have a high quality of life is to stay active, whether you’re walking every day, participating in a fitness program, or playing a sport.
Unfortunately, being active can take its toll on the body. Injuries and health problems in general can happen, and when they do, you may need care from a sports medicine speci.alist
What Is Sports Medicine?
Sports medicine focuses on both preventing and treating any health-related issues – such as injuries – that happen as a result of being active.
These issues can range from mild to severe, and can include:
- Sprains
- Joint damage
- Tissue/ligament tears
- Stress fractures
- Muscle pulls
- Shin splints
- Dislocations
Many of these injuries are common enough to have names of their own. For example, lateral epicondylitis – an inflammation of the tendons that join your forearm muscles to your arm bones via the outside of your elbow – is more popularly known as tennis elbow and results from overuse. Golfer’s elbow is very similar, except that it occurs on the inside of your elbow.
Common Symptoms of Sports Injuries
When should you see a sports medicine specialist? What symptoms are good indicators that you need to talk to a physician?
Generally, you should see a doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms after being active:
- Sharp, stabbing pain in your bones
- A burning sensation in your muscles
- Pain, stiffness, and swelling in your muscles and joints
- Difficulty walking or moving
- Loss of range of motion in a limb or extremity
- Having a hard time putting all your weight on your leg, knee, or foot
- Significant tenderness in an extremity
How Sports Medicine Specialists Help
When you have a sports-related injury, you need care from a physician who understands the unique nature of these types of injuries.
Sports medicine physicians can help by diagnosing the injury and outlining a course of treatment. This could range from temporary orthotics and physical therapy to more significant measures like surgery and rehabilitation. What is needed will be determined by what the doctor finds during the examination.
Many common ailments and injuries can be helped with treating the symptoms and ensuring that you give the affected body part enough rest. Sometimes injured bones, tendons, and muscles will heal on their own, given enough time. Your doctor will give you recommendations about how you can let your body heal and take care of your injury, and approximately how long that will take.
If you need more options, your doctor will help you determine the best, safest course of action. For more serious injuries, surgery is the recommended step.
Northeast Orthopedics has sports medicine specialists in Gadsden, Centre, and Boaz available to help you recover and get back out there being active and doing what you love. Contact us to learn more and schedule an appointment.