Does a Sports Injury like an ACL Tear Mean the End of Competitive Play for Pro Athletes?

Posted July 23, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

acl tear and acl injury during competitive sports

ACL Tear and Other Sports Injuries Play Key Role in Ending Sports Career for Some Athletes

Researchers in Finland published interesting findings in the European Journal of Sports Science (2012) led by Ristolainen and colleagues that sports injuries like an ACL tear may radically alter the direction of an athlete’s career.

In a study specifically aimed at understanding the link between sports career termination and sports injury, researchers looked at 574 male and female athletes in Finland. These included swimmers, runners, soccer players and skiers. Approximately 5% of the participants reported ending their athletic career because of a sports injury like an ACL tear. (more…)

Baseball Injury and Softball Injuries include Ball-Related Facial Fractures

Posted July 22, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

$baseball injury includes ball-related facial fractures$ Baseballs and Softballs Linked to Facial Fractures – Sometimes kids suffer from a sports injury like a baseball injury or injuries from softball involving a facial fracture.

A study published in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery led by Dr. Lorelei Grunwaldt and colleagues in Pittsburgh at the Children’s Hospital looked at around 167 kids treated for a fracture due to a sports injury.

About 11% of the fractures to the face were due to some type of sports injury. About four out of five kids treated for a facial fracture were boys. The majority of patients were between the age of 12 and 15 years. Many of these facial injuries which included:

Broken noses
Fractures to the eye area
Fractures to the skull, happened as a result of a ball-related trauma.

Typically baseballs or softballs caused this type of dramatic trauma. Most commonly the kids experienced a baseball injury or one from softball while fielding some type of line drive. Other sports leading to facial fractures included basketball, football and soccer. (more…)

Labral Hip Injury among Rowers

Posted July 20, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

Dr. Robert Boykin and colleages (2013) published research in Clinical Orthopedics on hip injuries including labral hip injury among rowers.

Recognized as one of the first sports to be included in the Olympics, rowing is a rigorous sport where a team of racers in boats competes against other teams on rivers, lakes and even sometimes the ocean, using oars to propel the boats forward.

Analyzing data from 2003 through 2010, the analysis for this research included 21 hips. The average age of study participants was 18 ½ years old. The majority of the sample (around 85%) was comprised of females. Many of the patients (over 70%) experienced some type of pain in their groin area.

Approximately 18 patients had arthroscopic surgery for this painful hip injury. Following surgery, 10 out of 18 returned to competitive rowing while the rest did not. Rowing requires a lot of repetitive motion in the hip. This repetitive motion can lead to an overuse injury like a labral hip injury.

Other athletes that may be vulnerable to labral tears in the hip area leading to labral hip injury include soccer, golf, ballet dancers and hockey players. (more…)

Youth Sports Injuries: An Examination of Overuse Injuries and Trauma

Posted July 17, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

As published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, E. Jesperson and colleagues (2013) conducted a cohort study to understand youth sports injuries. Researchers specifically looked at the incidence of traumatic and overuse injuries in kids ages 6 to 12 years.

The research on youth sports injuries was conducted over a 2 ½ year period. Traumatic injuries tended to be more common than overuse. Over a one week period, injury incidence in the sample was 1.2% (overuse) and 4.6% (traumatic).

Researchers found some interesting differences between overuse and traumatic youth sports injuries. Overuse injuries were 2.5 times more likely to affect lower extremities than traumatic injuries (for example, this includes legs, ankles, feet, and knees). (more…)

Golf Injury and the Upper Body

Posted July 15, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

With an estimated 60 million people participating in golf world wide, researchers led by Dr. Michael Cohen and colleagues looked at golf related injuries to understand common golf injury patterns and prevention.

Some causes of injuries in golfers include the following:

Overplaying the game
Problems with the golf swing
Hitting the ground
Golf Injury from Over-swinging
Not warming up enough before competitive play
Twisting while hitting the golf ball
Falling on the course
Bending while putting
Cart related injuries
Injuries from getting hit by the ball

While the game of golf is sometimes viewed as less physically rigorous, the fact is that golfers may experience a wide range of sports related injuries. Sports injuries associated with golf may include shoulder injuries, acromioclavicular joint injuries, impingement (more…)

Sports Injuries – Comparing Children and Teens with Sports Injuries

Posted July 9, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

Sports Injuries in Kids – Researchers Compare Young Children with Teens – Sports injuries are very common among children, and a concern to parents, coaches and doctors.

Sometimes when we talk about sports injuries and kids, we refer to kids as a group as though they are all the same. New research is looking more closely at sports injuries for specific age ranges among youth and finding notable differences.

Researchers led by Stracciolini (2013) and colleagues compared sports injuries that young children experience with those experienced by older kids. Teens between 13 and 17 were more likely to experience an injury to the spine, chest and hip or pelvis area. Older children also comprised a greater proportion of those experiencing injuries caused by overuse.

Compared to younger kids, older children were also more likely to be diagnosed with soft tissue injuries. Other sports injuries more likely to affect older kids than younger included: ACL injuries, torn meniscus, and spondylolysis.

In comparison, younger kids were more likely to experience certain sports injuries like fractures including physeal fractures, apophysitis, and osteochondritis dissecans, compared to older kids. (more…)

Triathlon Training and Swimming Injuries – Learn more from Sports Medicine Doctor

Posted July 8, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

Triathlon Training? Be Aware of Overuse Injuries and Swimming Injuries including Shoulder Injury during Triathlon Training.

Researchers Bales and Bales (2012) looked at swimming injuries caused by overuse among those engaged in triathlon training. Their research on swimming injuries caused by overuse was published in the Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review.

Noting that many researchers focus on triathlon training injuries from biking and running, this focus on swimming is also significant. (more…)

Hip Surgery and Knee Replacement Surgery for Osteoarthritis Treatment

Posted July 6, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

Knee Replacement Surgery or Hip Surgery for Osteoarthritis Treatment. Researchers led by Sankar (2013) and colleagues and published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage look at return to work after knee or hip replacement surgery to treat osteoarthritis.

Noting that hip and knee replacement surgeries are increasingly common among younger people, researchers looked at data to examine return to work rates following surgery as part of osteoarthritis treatment.

Researchers found that individuals with total hip replacement surgery tended to return to work earlier than that undergoing total knee replacement surgery. Workplace activity (more…)

What Causes Osteoarthritis? Research on Predictors of Osteoarthritis

Posted July 3, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

In order to understand what causes osteoarthritis, researchers consider different predictors of this painful medical condition.

Researchers led by Richmond (2013) and published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy look at joint injury, sports participation, physical activity, occupational activities and obesity to gain insight into what causes osteoarthritis.

Based on the research, study findings identified obesity, occupational activities and joint injury as being associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis, and this included both knee osteoarthritis and hip osteoarthritis.

Researchers found that sports involvement and overall physical activity produced less clear results in terms of osteoarthritis. (more…)

What is Arthroscopy? Three Benefits of Arthroscopic Surgery

Posted July 1, 2013 by Orthopaedic Specialists

What is Arthroscopy? and Benefits of Arthroscopic Surgery – Arthroscopic surgery is a common surgical procedure offered by orthopedic surgeons.

For those wondering “What is Arthroscopy?” – arthroscopy is a very common orthopedic procedure performed on a number of different body parts. Most commonly arthroscopy is performed by an orthopedic surgeon on the knees, followed by the shoulders, hips, ankles and other joint areas including elbows and wrists.

According to data from the National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery, as reported by Kim (2011) and colleagues published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, the use of arthroscopy on the knee increased by nearly 50% between 1996 and 2006.

During arthroscopy, a small high deviation camera is placed into a joint in order to visualize the pathology and allow the orthopedic surgeon to correct the problem or injury. (more…)