Sports Injury

Sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations are all common when playing sports. If you have pain that’s affecting your performance or function, visit Mohamed Hablas, DPT, and the expert team at Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood in New York City. They use their exceptional skills to encourage healing, restore strength, and get you back in action on the sports field. Call the office to schedule an appointment or book a sports injury consultation online today.

What is a sports injury?

A sports injury can happen when you participate in recreational or professional physical pursuits. That’s anything from playing football, baseball, or basketball to running, tennis, cycling, golf, and many other sports.

You can also sustain the same injuries during other physical activities, such as DIY, gardening, sightseeing, and camping.

A sports injury can be either acute or chronic. An acute injury happens when part of your musculoskeletal system gives way without warning. For example, you might tear a ligament or dislocate a joint.

Chronic conditions develop more slowly. They result from repetitive movements you make multiple times over long periods, causing tissue irritation, tiny tears, and inflammation. Bursitis is an overuse injury affecting the cushioning fluid sacs (bursae) in your joints. Tendinitis is tendon inflammation resulting from overuse.

What common sports injuries might affect me?

Common sports injuries include:

• Muscle strains
• Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow)
• Medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow)
• Sciatica
• Hamstring strains
• Patellofemoral pain syndrome
• Rotator cuff tears
• Achilles tendinitis
• Labral and meniscal cartilage injuries
• Plantar fasciitis (heel pain)
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears

The ACL is one of the ligaments connecting the bones in your knees. ACL injuries are especially common, but the lateral collateral, medial collateral, or posterior cruciate ligaments (the LCL, MCL, and PCL) could also stretch or tear.

What treatments does a sports injury require?

Initial sports injury treatment involves resting the injured area, applying ice and a compression bandage, and raising an affected limb above heart level. This first aid protocol (RICE) helps reduce pain and swelling and prevents further damage.

Sports injury approaches vary depending on the severity and factors like your age and normal activity levels. For example, if you’re a keen sports participant, you might benefit from surgery to repair a badly torn meniscus or ligament.

Other approaches include anti-inflammatory medication, braces, splints, and physical therapy. 

Why do I need physical therapy after a sports injury? 

Physical therapy is critical to sports injury recovery. It’s the best way to return to training and competing quickly and helps you regain the abilities you had before your injury. The Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC team offers multiple therapies to reduce pain and help your injury heal, including:

• Manual therapy 
• Electric muscle stimulation
• Trigger point injections
• Thermotherapy (heat therapy)
• Laser therapy
• Stretching and strengthening exercises
• Myofascial release
• Therapeutic massage
• Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM)
• Kinesiology taping

Patients with severe or treatment-resistant pain might benefit from image-guided steroid injections. These numb the area short term and have long-term anti-inflammatory properties.

Call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC to learn more about benefiting from expert sports injury treatment, or book an appointment online today.