Sports Injuries

If you love sports, nothing is as tough as a traumatic injury that takes you out of the game. The same holds true for people who enjoy being active and need to take time out to let an injury heal. At Acute Care Orthopedics, board-certified Orthopedic Surgeons and Sports Medicine Specialists Umesh Bhagia, MD, and Nicolas Vardiabasis, DO, understand the challenges of sports injuries. They provide you with the care needed to heal. Same-day appointments are available so that you can skip the ER. Call the West Hills, California office or use the online booking feature today to schedule an appointment. 

What are the most common sports injuries?

People participating in high-impact activities have the highest chance of sustaining a traumatic injury. However, anyone can tear a tendon or twist an ankle during daily activities.

The top sports injuries include:

• Sprains
• Strains
• Meniscus tear
• ACL tear
• Bruising from blunt force trauma
• Joint dislocation
• Rotator cuff tear
• Fractures
• Groin pull
• Concussion
• Contusions
• Tendon and ligament ruptures

The cause of these injuries is often a direct blow or force, like falling off a skateboard or getting tackled. Or you may make a sudden movement that tears the tissues, such as stopping while running or pivoting.

Sports injuries from repetitive movements slowly damage soft tissues and can cause mild symptoms that gradually worsen. By comparison, traumatic injuries occur suddenly, resulting in immediate and sometimes severe symptoms, requiring you to seek urgent care.

What symptoms develop due to sports injuries?

Sports injuries cause one or more of the following symptoms:

• Pain
• Bruising
• Swelling
• Difficulty moving
• Muscle weakness
• Joint instability
• Tingling
• Electric-shock pain
• Loss of feeling or numbness
• Inability to bear weight on or use the affected limb

If you have a concussion, you usually don’t lose consciousness. However, you have symptoms such as confusion, dizziness, headaches, memory loss, nausea, and loss of balance.

How are sports injuries treated in urgent care?

Acute Care Orthopedics begins with the most conservative treatment appropriate for your sports injuries. For example, you might need immobilization of the injured limb, rest, steroid injections, or physical therapy. They may also recommend:

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

PRP accelerates healing and tissue regeneration in sports injuries, but it’s most beneficial if you have a severe wound or an injury in an area lacking blood supply. In some cases, you may be able to avoid surgery if you get PRP first.

Surgery

Traumatic sports injuries have a higher chance of needing surgical intervention. For example, a complex fracture needs surgery to clean the wound and align and stabilize the bones so they heal correctly.

Ruptured ligaments seldom regain optimal strength without surgery to reconstruct the ligament. Additionally, injuries in tissues with a poor blood supply often need surgery. For example, some meniscus tears won’t heal because they lack blood.

Joint replacement surgery

A severe crush injury or joint fracture may need joint replacement surgery. Acute Care Orthopedics has extensive experience performing joint replacements using robotic surgery and minimally invasive surgery.

When you need rapid treatment for sports injuries, call Acute Care Orthopedics, or book an appointment online. Same-day appointments are also available.