What are common sports injuries?
Whether you’re a professional athlete, student athlete, or a weekend warrior, you can injure yourself while training or competing in any types of sports. The combination of repetitive movements and increased force on your joints, bones, muscles, and connective tissue increases your risk of injury.
Some of the most common sports injuries include:
- Sprains
- Strains
- Ligament tears
- Joint inflammation
- Fractures
- Tendinitis
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Labrum tears
- Meniscus tears
Sports injuries can also increase your risk of arthritis and bone spurs.
It’s critical to get expert diagnosis and treatment for sports injuries. When left untreated, mild injuries can worsen, or interfere with your gait or musculoskeletal alignment, leading to more painful injuries.
How do you diagnose sports injuries?
Dr. Prager provides comprehensive exams to diagnose your sports injury. After reviewing your symptoms, medical history, and what you were doing when you sustained the injury, he examines your body and evaluates your range of motion, strength, flexibility, and balance.
Dr. Prager also uses state-of-the-art diagnostic studies, including X-rays, MRIs, ultrasound, CT scans, and DEXA (bone density) scans. In some cases, he uses arthroscopy to examine the inside of a damaged joint.
How are sports injuries treated?
Dr. Prager creates individualized treatment plans to heal sports injuries. Depending on your needs, your program might include:
- Rest
- Ice
- Medication
- Cortisone injections
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
- Orthotics
- Physical therapy
When necessary, Dr. Prager also offers orthopedic surgery to repair injuries that don’t respond to conservative treatment. He has years of experience as an orthopedic surgeon and can provide the expert treatment you need.
What are the benefits of seeing a sports medicine specialist?
In addition to helping you recover quickly and safely so you can return to your beloved sport, Dr. Prager can help you avoid future injuries.
His extensive knowledge of the musculoskeletal system allows him to identify imbalances, weaknesses, and points of inflexibility that increase your risk of injury.
He uses this information to recommend therapeutic stretches and exercises as well as customized training programs. In addition to helping you avoid future injuries, your training program can help you get faster, stronger, and more competitive than ever.
If you’re looking for a sports medicine expert or need treatment for a sports injury, call Orthopedic Center of Arlington or make an appointment online today.
