There are many injuries that forced athletes out of training or competition, some injuries more than others. An injury that can become problematic over time are meniscus tears. It is well known that the knees are a common site of injury in all sports, and overall the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons estimate that they perform 850,000 meniscectomies per year (1).
Not sure what a meniscus tear is? Want to know more about outcomes to treatment?
As running become more popular as a form of exercise, the risk for developing musculoskeletal injuries goes up as well. Stress fractures are one of the most serious injuries, it account for 6-20% of injuries in track and field athletes and long distance runners (4) . In runners, stress fracture are most commonly seen in the tibia, which requires an average of 8 weeks of recovery (2).
This post is about tibial stress fractures, what they are, how they occur, and some things your patients can do to help keep them at bay.
In Part I of the ankle sprain blog, we went over some basic anatomy, types of ankle sprains, causes, and acute treatment. Now in Part II we will focus on the post acute phase. Research has shown that exercise therapy is an essential element to treatment ankle sprains. Therefore, my goal is to illustrate to you some components to focus after you have surpassed the acute phase of your injury. The focal point will be centered on working towards getting you back to running!
Football player and Cross Country runner with grade III ankle sprains
The infamous ankle sprain! In general, ankle injuries make up about 17% of all running injuries, half of these account for lateral ankle sprains. For the most part a large number of people experience them, and aside from icing and resting the first few days, many of your future patients will not know what to expect or do.
This Part 1 post will help provide some acute guidance on what an ankle sprain is, its different categories, symptoms, and phase 1 of rehab.
Ever experience knee pain, and have been told it is IT-Band Syndrome?
Did you know what that meant? Or how that came about?
Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) is another overuse injury experienced by some athletes, more so runners and cyclists. According to Ferber et al it is the second leading cause of lateral knee pain in runners (2). It is most commonly described as a friction injury at which the tendon “rubs” over the lateral femoral condyle of the knee creating pain (1) that can present as sharpness, burning, and sometimes swelling.
This short post goes into explaining what ITBS is, what researchers have found the culprit to be to developing this injury, and some things to think about it in order to feel better.
