MAKING WISE CHOICES ¦ Strains, Sprains, Pains and More - Blog

[Guest Prosoft Admin]

A few weeks ago I was at one of my daughter’s summer league volleyball games and a friend, let’s call her Mary, went down with what looked like a twisted ankle. The parents were there and gave the ok for me to go out and take a look at her.

It’s a tough thing when an athlete gets hurt. If a skilled professional isn’t there to assess things – how do you know if it’s a minor or a severe injury. How do you know if Mary needs to have films taken to rule out a fracture? Should she move it or keep it still? Can Mary just get it wrapped up and go back in?

Some parents were able to help Mary off the court and I was able to take a look at her. She was definitely done for the night. No “shaking it off” and going back in with her sneaker tied up a bit tighter. Based on her tenderness and pain, along with her description of what happened, and her past history of a prior sprain it was looking like a sprained ankle. In her case though it made sense to verify no fracture before starting any exercises or weight bearing. The next day Mary went to an orthopedic urgent care center and saw a Orthopedic Physician Assistant (P.A.), they took films which were (-) for a fracture and she was able to start Physical Therapy quickly. Mary’s doing great now and looking forward to a successful season.

FIGURING OUT WHAT EXACTLY IS INJURED

AND

MAKING GOOD DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED

IS KEY WHAT AN ATHLETE GETS HURT.

Young athletes of all ages are back in their school colors, running around on fields, jumping on courts, and gliding across the roads and off-roads in the community. Sooner or later for a select few, that’ll mean an unexpected injury.

Do you ever feel confused by all the different terms out there?

Aren’t these all just “MINOR” injuries that will heal and you can play through?”

“Aren’t strains and sprains the same thing?”

“What’s the growth plate I keep hearing about?”

Just a quick review so you’re a little more comfortable understanding injury jargon. Confusion frequently can lead to misunderstandings, unnecessary worry and stress for the athlete and their parent or coach, and is sometimes the source of those detective-like ventures into the abyss called the internet. That vast expanse of often useful but all too often inaccurate or misleading, and sometimes just plain wrong information.

Let’s keep it simple.

Sprains involve the ligaments. That means the connective, fibrous tissue that holds the bones together has been stretched out. Common ones are the ACL or the ankle sprain. Sprains can range from a mild stretch, or Grade I all the way to a Grade III or fully torn ligament (bad news!)

Strains refer to muscle-tendon tissues. These typically involve a muscle on stretch and contracting quickly, maybe in an odd position, with extra loads from another player’s contact, or can be occur just “on your own”. Common strains or “pulls” are a calf/achilles, hamstring strain (back of thigh), or Rotator Cuff Strain.

Contusions are essentially a bruise. They typically involve some type of blunt trauma from excessive direct contact. They may happen from a fall, or from a collision with another player.

Probably the most obvious is a fracture.

WHILE THE VERY FIRST QUESTION YOU NEED TO ASK IS….”WHAT WAS INJURED?”

A really close second question needs to be….

“HOW DO WE TREAT THIS INJURY?”

If your school has an Athletic Trainer then they’re oftentimes the first person you see or should tell about the injury to get looked at. But many athletes don’t have an ATC there or have easy access. ATC’s do an awesome job in the schools but let’s face it – they’ve got literally sometimes hundreds of athletes they’re responsible for during a season between all the boys and girls teams at all levels. It’s difficult for them to give quality time to every single athlete.

If your injury isn’t subsiding quickly in the first few days then taking the next step to seeing a professional is the smart thing to do. Not always the easy choice…but definitely the smart one. We’ve talked a number of times before about how challenging it can be for a young athlete (and for us older athletes too) to be honest about the fact they’re hurting and know something isn’t right. There seems this honorable “take one for the team” mentality that some feel. Others worry about giving the coach an impression of being soft or weak. Others fear they won’t make the team or will lose a starting spot. Some worry their mom or dad will be upset. Still others feel their team is counting on them and will be disappointed.

In many cases these may be legitimate concerns or fears…but they’re temporary. Even if that worst imagined thing comes true, most often, once you’re healed and healthy you can compete again. How well will you play if you’re hurting? Will you be happy with your performances? Will you cause an even worse injury?

Mary and her parents were smart. They didn’t let her ankle wait for days to be addressed. They didn’t brush it off as “just a sprain” and push her back to play early. Her coach was respectful of her injury and responsible with taking things slow once she was ready.

If you or your young athlete have an injury that just happened and needs to be looked at and cared for, or if there’s a nagging injury that just hasn’t recovered properly GIVE THE PHYSICAL THERAPISTS AT PEAK PERFORMANCE Physical Therapy & Sports Training a call at 218-0240 to see how we might help you get back to your Peak Performance!