Common Overuse Sports Injuries

When you get injured, generally it either happens as the result of a specific event like a fall or a blow, or it is an injury caused over a longer period of time from overuse. Overuse injuries are very common among athletes due to the nature of challenging training regimens and sports competition. Frequently overuse injuries start out slowly so you do not realize what is happening until it is too late.

Overuse injuries are caused by strain from repetitive twisting, jumping, and pounding that happens over weeks, months, or even years. Ongoing wear and tear on your joints, tendons, muscles, and bones leads to trauma which causes injury. Different sports tend to have different overuse injuries that commonly plague athletes, depending on the muscles and motions required for a given activity. Certain overuse injuries happen in many different sports and they may also be common for people engaged in certain types of work.

If you are an athlete engaged in certain types of sports, or a parent of an athlete interested in preventing common sports injuries caused by overuse, it is helpful to learn more about common overuse injuries. Here are 6 overuse injuries you should know about:

Tennis Elbow - Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow is a painful injury caused by inflammation from overuse. The pain of tennis elbow may start to happen during daily activities including things as simple as picking up a cup. Tennis players may suffer from tennis elbow due to a variety of factors including tennis technique or racquet strings. A crack in a tennis racquet can even cause vibrations that trigger lateral epicondylitis. Treatment for tennis elbow often includes wearing an elbow band for a period of time. If left untreated, tennis elbow can become increasingly severe leading to tendinosis.

Swimmer's Shoulder - This common overuse injury is used to describe the shoulder pain that a lot of swimmers experience after they swim. Swimmer's shoulder can happen only in one shoulder or it may occur in both shoulders. Often times certain swimming strokes like the crawl stroke is associated with swimmer's shoulder. The biomechanics used for the freestyle stroke is also associated with swimmer's shoulder. After completing thousands and thousands of shoulder rotations each week, it is not surprising that competitive swimmers are at risk of swimmer's shoulder. While treating swimmer's shoulder depends on the severity of the condition, rest is often recommended.

Runner's Knee - As the name suggests, runner's knee is a common overuse injury for athletes that engage in a considerable amount of running. It can also be aggravated by biking and walking. People suffering from runner's knee tend to feel knee pain that can become progressively more severe with increased activity. Runner's knee is often more painful while running downhill. Overuse and increasing mileage too quickly are common causes of runner's knee and it can also be triggered by certain foot problems. Depending on the specific causes of runner's knee, a variety of treatment recommendations may be made including compression, elevation, ice, and rest. Sometimes custom shoe inserts like orthotics are also beneficial.

Shin Splints - Medial tibial stress syndrome or shin splints happen when the muscles and tendons around your shin (or tibia) become inflamed. Shin splints often become more severe during activity like jogging, especially when increases in training happen too quickly. Certain stretches can help to prevent shin splints while rest and ice are often used to alleviate symptoms. People with extremely high arches or no arches may also be more prone to experiencing shin splints.

Golfer's Elbow - Also referred to as medial epicondylitis, golfer's elbow is often characterized by pain on the inside of the arm and around the inside of the elbow joint. The pain sometimes radiates down the arm and can become more intense during gripping motions, like when you hold onto a golf club or baseball bat. Golfer's elbow is generally caused from overuse although it is possible to also suffer from it as a result of an accident. There are certain stretching exercises that are sometimes recommended as a way to prevent golfer's elbow. Rest is also commonly recommended.

Stress Fractures - Dancers, runners, basketball players, gymnasts, and many other athletes engaged in high impact sports experience stress fractures. Stress fractures are tiny cracks in a person's bone often caused by too much activity or increasing the level of intensity too fast. Stress fractures tend to be more common among women, and they often happen in the bones in the feet and legs.