Sports injuries come in two kinds: sudden ones from a fall, blow or twist, and slow ones from repeating a motion. A bone or joint out of place, or a head injury with danger signs, needs emergency care. Pain that will not settle can be checked during a comprehensive evaluation at our Towson clinic.
You Do Not Have to Play a Sport to Get One
The name is misleading. Anyone who stays active can get these injuries, whether the activity is a weekend league, a physical job or a garden.
The first decision is the same for all of them. Stop when a movement hurts, since pushing on can do more harm. After that, the job is to sort a minor injury from a serious one.
The National Institutes of Health's overview of sports injuries gives the examples: factory workers with tennis elbow, painters with shoulder injuries and gardeners with tendinitis.
Understanding Sports Injuries
A sports injury is damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones or other tissues during exercise or activity. Doctors divide these injuries into acute, which happen suddenly, and chronic, which build over time from overuse. Treatment depends on the type of injury and how severe it is.
An old overuse injury can also weaken tissue and joints enough to set up a sudden injury later.
Common injuries by body area
- Shoulder: rotator cuff injury or instability
- Elbow: tennis elbow or golfer's elbow
- Knee: runner's knee, an ACL injury or a meniscal tear
- Leg: hamstring strain, groin pull or shin splints
- Ankle: ankle sprain or Achilles tendinitis
Signs of a Sports Injury
- Sudden, severe pain
- Heavy swelling or bruising
- Trouble putting weight on a leg, knee, ankle or foot
- A joint that will not move normally
- A limb that feels very weak
- A bone or joint that looks out of place
- Pain when you play or exercise
- Swelling and a dull ache at rest
How These Injuries Happen
Sudden force
A fall, collision or awkward landing can put more force on a body part than it can take. Sprains, dislocations and many fractures happen this way.
Repeated motion
Throwing, swinging or running the same way, day after day, wears on one area. Tennis elbow and stress fractures are two examples.
Too much, too soon
Risk rises when you train too often or too long, or raise the intensity too quickly. Playing one sport all year adds to it.
Surfaces, shoes and gear
Hard surfaces, shoes without enough support and missing equipment all raise the odds of getting hurt.
An earlier injury
Having been hurt before is itself a risk factor, and so is poor flexibility.
How We Treat Sports Injuries in Towson
What happens first depends on whether the injury is new, how bad it looks and whether another specialist should see it. Chiropractic care may be recommended depending on your condition, based on our comprehensive evaluation.
Chiropractic
A chiropractor may use spinal adjustments as part of care for an athlete recovering from an injury. Strains, sprains and muscle pulls are among the problems a chiropractor may see.
The chiropractor carefully evaluates each condition to determine if you are a candidate for gentle chiropractic treatment.
Sprains and Strains
Our Towson clinic also sees sprains and strains. A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament, the tissue that joins one bone to another. Ankles, knees and wrists are most at risk. A strain is a stretched or torn muscle or tendon, often in the back, neck or hamstring.
How they feel
Both can hurt and swell. A sprain often bruises, while a strain can bring muscle spasm, weakness or cramping.
First care at home
For a minor injury, rest the area and use a cold pack wrapped in a towel. Wear an elastic bandage to limit swelling, without wrapping so tightly that it cuts off circulation. Keep the injured part raised above your heart when you can.
Care at this clinic
Services like these may be recommended depending on your condition, based on our comprehensive evaluation.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic visits may suit a muscle sprain, or a tendon or ligament strain in the back.
Class IV Laser Therapy
This clinic offers a Class IV cold laser, which is held by hand and emits light. It may be used on soft tissue injuries such as sprains, strains and tendonitis.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' guide to soft tissue injuries gives the same first treatment for a strain as for a sprain: rest, ice, compression and elevation.
Who Treats What After a Sports Injury
Many of these happen outside our clinic, and this is not a full list. A sports medicine specialist or your own doctor can tell you what else there is.
| Option | What it involves | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Rest, ice, compression and elevation | First care for a minor injury. | You at home |
| Over-the-counter medicine | Anti-inflammatory medicine for pain and swelling. | You, with advice from your doctor or pharmacist |
| Keeping it still | A cast, splint or brace that holds the injured part in place. | An athletic trainer or paramedic at first, then your doctor |
| A rehab program | Exercises that rebuild strength and range of motion before you return to the activity. | A physiatrist, or a therapist your doctor refers you to |
| Chiropractic adjustments | Hands-on work on the joints of the spine. | A chiropractor at this clinic, if recommended |
| Surgery | The National Institutes of Health says most of these injuries do not need it. It is used in some cases to repair torn tissue or realign broken bones. | An orthopaedic surgeon |
A National Institutes of Health page on who treats sports injuries starts with emergency physicians for serious injuries and primary care providers for others.
When a Sports Injury Needs Emergency Care
Go to the emergency room for a bone or joint that looks out of place, or a bone that breaks through the skin. Call 911 after a blow to the head with a seizure, confusion, repeated vomiting, slurred speech or trouble staying awake. Do not wait for a clinic appointment.
More head injury danger signs
- A headache that gets worse and does not go away
- One pupil larger than the other, or double vision
- Weakness, numbness or poor coordination
- Not recognizing people or places
See a health care provider for
- Severe pain, swelling or bruising
- Being unable to put any weight on the area
- Pain and swelling that last more than a few days
- Symptoms that get worse after home care
The CDC's concussion danger signs can mark a more life-threatening brain injury, and concussion symptoms may take hours or days to appear.
Getting Seen for an Injury at Our Clinic
A detailed intake may come first. If you already see a doctor or a sports medicine specialist, chiropractic care may be combined with that treatment. When the team cannot help with an injury, you may be referred to another provider.
LaSalle Rd, Ridgeleigh and Cromwell Valley Park
East of the clinic along E Joppa Rd, LaSalle Rd comes up in about 0.2 miles and Mylander Ln in about 0.3 miles. Ridgeleigh sits about a mile out in the same direction, with Cromwell Valley Park about 2 miles to the northeast.
Book a Sports Injury Evaluation
Write down what you were doing when it started, what makes it worse and any earlier injuries to the same area. For questions about cost or coverage, call the clinic first.