Happy Stay Fit

Elbow Injuries (sports injury) Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis): Because of the repetitive use of tendons in our elbows, the tendons can develop tears. It causes inflammation and pain in the outside of the elbow. Tennis players or people who use their forearms repetitively are at higher risk of getting tennis elbow. Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis): This tendinitis causes pain in the elbow’s inner part, spreading to the forearm and wrist. Athletes like golfers and others are prone to it as they repeatedly use their wrists or clench their fingers. Little league elbow: Repetitive throwing can cause growth plate injury to the elbow and result in pain in the inner part of the elbow. It is prevalent in the case of pitchers. Ulnar collateral ligament injury or UCL injury: Repetitive throwing can cause a UCL tear. The UCL ligament tear on the inner elbow causes pain and reduces the effectiveness of the elbow.

Sports Injury Shoulder Injuries Rotator cuff injury: This is one of the most common Sports injury. A rotator cuff consists of four muscles and tendons which stabilize our shoulder joints. This type of injury may happen due to inflammation of the bursae or tendon because of excessive use or sudden accidents. They are common for athletes, such as tennis players and swimmers, who make a lot of overhead motions. Impingement: During the lifting of the arm, when the top of the shoulder blade gives pressure to the soft tissues beneath it, impingement can happen. It may cause tendinitis and bursitis, which will cause pain and limit movements. Swimmers are at an increased impingement risk. Instability: The upper arm has a round end, and if that is forced out of its shallow socket Shoulder instability happens. The instability can be partial or complete. If the shoulder tendons, ligaments, and muscles over stretches or torn dislocations can occur.

Joints are very much susceptible to sports injury, and our joints are very complex in structure. A typical joint consists of the following parts. Parts of Joint: Bone: In a joint, two or more bones meet. Cartilage: Cartilage is a tissue that shields the bone surface at a joint and reduces the joint’s friction of movement. Synovial membrane: The synovial membrane or synovial stratum is a specialized connective tissue that lines the joint and seals it to form a joint capsule. It secretes a clear, sticky fluid called synovial fluid around the joint and lubricates it. Synovial fluid: Synovial fluid is a clear, sticky fluid secreted by the synovial membrane, which helps to lubricate the joints. Ligaments: Ligaments are tough, elastic bands of connective tissue which surround the joint. Ligaments give support and limit the joint’s movement, and they also connect the bones. Tendons: Tendons are a type of tough connective tissue that connects muscles to bones. They are found on each side of a joint and are attached to muscles, and they control the movement of the joints. Bursa: Bursa are tiny sacs filled with fluid and act as cushions between bone and muscles or tendons. Meniscus: It is a curved part of cartilage present in the knees and other joints. It provides stability and flexibility to our bodies. Different joint types: There are different types of joints, some are fixed joints, and some are movable joints. The suture joint in the skull is a fixed joint as it does not move in the case of adults, and joints such as vertebrae do move a little. Our primary concern related to sports injury is mobile joints, and let’s briefly know about them. Ball-and-socket joints: Shoulder and hip joints are ball-and-socket joints. They can move backwards, forward, and sideways, and they also can rotate. Hinge joints: Fingers, knees, elbows, and toes are hinge joints. Hinge joints allow bending and straightening movements only. Pivot joints: Neck joints are Pivot joints. Pivot joints can take part in limited rotating movements only. Ellipsoidal joints: Wrist joints are ellipsoidal joints. Except for pivotal movements, it can be all other types of movements. During sports, injury can happen to our body parts and especially to different joints. It can happen to the shoulder, elbow, knee, or ankles. Below each type of such possible injury is discussed in brief.