When you’re running, sweating, and pouring your heart into a sport or physical activity, it’s easy to make one bad move and experience a sports-related injury. It’s also possible to overuse your soft tissues and develop an injury over time. Certain symptoms may occur that signify you experienced a sports injury. You need to understand them, so you know if an injury warrants a trip to an orthopedic urgent care.
Signs of a Sports Injury
After you fall, stumble, move your arm in an unusual way, or whatever possibly led to your sports injury, you might have pain that ranges from mild to severe. You may also visibly see swelling or bruising or notice you can’t bear weight on your injured foot, leg, knee, or ankle. If you injured your arm, you might notice that you can’t lift any weight using it. You may notice pain increasing when you move the affected body part or have difficulty moving it to its full potential. Sometimes, you’ll even experience a dull pain when you rest. Pain and other symptoms are a sign that an injury has occurred and may need treatment. Mild injuries may heal on their own, but moderate and severe injuries need immediate treatment. If you have significant pain, swelling, weakness, or immobility, it is best to see a doctor right away.
Types of Sports Injuries
You can develop either a chronic or acute sports injury. An acute injury is one that happens suddenly or abruptly. Sports that incorporate a great deal of running or changing direction are known for causing acute sports injuries. Sports that could lead to you falling and may involve you running into another player are ones that could result in an acute injury.
Sometimes, a sports injury is chronic, meaning it stems from repetitive use of your muscles, tendons, and other soft tissue. This type of injury is from overuse and may occur if you repeat the same motion repeatedly when you’re participating in the sport.
Specific Sports Injuries
Sprain
A sprain is an acute injury that occurs when you tear or stretch a ligament, which are bands of tissue that join your bones together. Although you may sprain any ligament, an ankle sprain is the most common. Wrist sprains are common, as well.
Strain
A strain can either be an acute or chronic injury. It occurs when you tear or stretch a tendon or muscle. Your tendons are tissues that join bone to muscle. You can pull or twist either a muscle or tendon and cause a strain.
Your back muscles and hamstring muscles – the ones in the back of your thigh – are ones that experience a strain most often, but you can strain any other muscle or tendon, as well.
Dislocations
A joint is an area in your body where two or more bones meet. When you have a dislocation, one of the bones is no longer in its proper position. It may even look like it’s out of alignment with the rest of your joint.
Tendonitis and Tendonosis
Tendonitis is swelling or irritation in a tendon. It may occur in any tendon of your body. Generally, this injury is a repetitive use injury but can also occur suddenly.
Tendonosis occurs when the collagen of your tendon begins to break down. It stems from overusing your tendon.
Urgent Care for Sports Injuries in Fairless Hills, PA
Patient Care Now Urgent Care offers treatments for sprains, tendonitis, dislocations, strains, and other similar injuries. Our staff understands you just want to get back to your game, so we treat you with the most effective approach possible. We have imaging services available at our facility and can even offer you slings, crutches, and other similar tools.
Schedule an appointment with Patient Care Now Urgent Care, serving Fairless Hills and the surrounding Pennsylvania area, if you suspect you have a sports injury. Since we accept walk-ins, you may also use our online check-in option or arrive without an appointment.
