Sports Injuries: How to Heal Them

Regardless of the sport you play, you run the risk of injury. Soft tissue, connective tissue, bone–all may be damaged by impact, repetitive motion, and the strain posed by insufficient warm-ups and poor physical condition. Let’s talk about some common sports injuries and what you can do to heal them.

Prepare And Prevent

Orthopaedic doctors in Columbia, MD, and across the United States agree: the best way to deal with sports injuries is to prepare properly for training and to prevent injuries from ever happening. Unfortunately, in our exercise and sports-conscious society, people do get hurt during physical activities.

While no one should discourage regular exercise and its many health benefits, sports medicine physicians caution that injuries occur when the enthusiast is underprepared. Sports injuries can often lead to limited mobility and even disability if not handled properly. As such, sports medicine experts tout general principles of physical conditioning and injury prevention.

Steps you can take to prevent injury include:

  • Warming up and stretching to increase circulation and flexibility
  • Using proper sports equipment, including well-fitting shoes in good condition
  • Working out consistently, rather than being a weekend warrior
  • Staying adequately hydrated
  • Exercising to tolerance and not to the point of extreme fatigue or pain
  • Listening to your body (if you think you are injured, you probably are and should seek treatment by your orthopaedic doctor)

Healing After an Injury

Proper evaluation and diagnosis by your sports medicine specialist in Baltimore is key to healing. They will examine your injured joint, take X-rays and other imaging as needed, and note your symptoms. At Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland, our physicians and support staff provide state-of-the-art care plans for a wide range of sports injuries. Sometimes, surgery is necessary.

However, nonsurgical strategies are most common. They include things you can do at home to reduce pain and inflammation and to promote healing.

Frequent sports injuries include:

  • Sprains
  • Strains
  • Fractures
  • Dislocations
  • Tendonitis
  • Cramps
  • Bruising
  • Cuts and abrasions

Here’s what you can do to initiate and speed up healing. It’s called the PRICE protocol.

Protect the injury immediately. This means splinting, bandaging, slinging, and avoiding weight-bearing, as needed. For the longer term, you may need a cast for a fracture or other protective device.

Rest the impacted joint or limb. Get off your feet. Stop the motion involved in the injury. However, employ gentle exercise and range of motion movements as tolerated and directed by your physical therapist or sports medicine physician.

Ice the injury. Cold reduces inflammation. Put an ice pack or bag of frozen vegetables on the injury–15 minutes on and 15 minutes off.

Compression. Use an ACE bandage to wrap a sprained wrist, ankle, or knee. This supports the injury and limits swelling and pain. Remove it while you sleep. Be sure to check for changes in sensation in the toes or fingers, and loosen the wrap as needed.

Elevate the injured body part above heart level. This helps reduce swelling and pain.

Get the Treatment You Need From Professionals in Maryland

When pain, bruising, swelling or deformity persist, seek treatment from your orthopaedic doctor at Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland. Our team includes 17 board-certified specialists, along with physical therapists, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, and more. We focus on your total health and well-being.

We have five convenient locations in the Baltimore area, including our dedicated physical therapy facility in Jessup, MD. Call our office for a consultation with one of our sports medicine doctors: (410) 644-1880. You can also request an appointment through our website.