In the world of athletics there are numerous injuries an athlete may face in their participation in athletic activities. Injuries can hinder an athlete’s participation in practices or games. For example, there are sprained ankles, pulled hamstrings, broken backs, concussions, and foot injuries can prevent an athlete from competing. While all of these injuries and the areas they are located in can greatly affect an athlete’s ability to participate in athletic activity, there is one area of the body that stand out greater than the rest. This area is an injury to the knee. Knee injuries are devastating to an athlete’s participation. Some knee injuries depending on the severity of the injury, can keep an athlete out of participation from their …show more content…
The area of the pain the athlete will automatically force their hand to go will be along the line of the ligament of their knee. Within a few minutes of the sprain or tear, swelling will start to form around the knee area. This will cause suspicion that there is a knee injury and will help athletic trainers or doctors on the scene examining the athlete in discomfort. If the athlete tries to immediately move after the injury occurs they will be limping to help prevent the physical pain which is upon them. There are three grades of a medial collateral sprain. If the injury is evaluated as a grade one sprain then the athlete will feel a little bit of tenderness on the medial side of the knee along the ligament that is injured. In grade one sprains there is little to no swelling because it is not a high impact sprain. When an athlete’s knee is bent at a thirty-degree angle and force is being applied from the outward part of the knee to the inner part there will be pain but there is little no joint laxity. Only ten percent of the fibers in the MCL ligament are torn do to the injury. Grade two sprains will have notable tenderness in the same location as the tenderness in grade one sprains. There will be swelling in grade two sprains but it will not be at extreme measures. As the knee gets tested for joint laxity, the pain we be noticeable and will have a defined end point where the
In spite of this the rate of ACL injury is almost equal through all levels of sports, from beginner, to recreational, to professional athletes. The most widely publicized incident of ACL damage has come from Theresa Edwards who was a top female athlete. She was a basketball player who went to the limit with sports. She went beyond her capability and her ligament couldn’t withstand the pressure and snapped. She is not the only but just one example of many who have suffered this same problem. As female athletes continue to become more competitive and aggressive, ACL damage continues to rise.
The most common knee injury in sports is damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) through tears or sprains. “They occur in high demand sports that involve planting and cutting, jumping with a poor landing, and stopping immediately or changing directions” (University of Colorado Hospital). The ACL is a ligament that runs diagonally in the middle of the knee and found at the front of the patellar bone. Its function involves controlling the back and forth motion of the knee, preventing the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur, and providing rational stability to the knee. Interestingly, women are more prone to ACL injuries than men. The occurrence is four to six times greater in female athletes.
The anatomy of the knee contains the femur, tibia and the patella. There are four main ligaments within the knee. Those ligaments are called medial collateral (mcl), lateral collateral (lcl), anterior cruciate (acl) and posterior cruciate (pcl). The anterior cruciate ligament (acl) is in the middle of the knee and prevents the shin from sliding. An anterior cruciate ligament tear is the most common harmed ligament, undergoing an estimate of 200,000 happenings yearly. Typically individuals who play sports such as football, basketball, skiing or soccer experience this injury.
In November of 2010, I was playing basketball in the fifth game of my senior season. It was just like any other game. However, I would soon find out otherwise. It was late in the game; I drove into the lane and got fouled hard. I was knocked so off-balance that I speared the floor with my knee. As soon as my knee hit the floor I heard a “snap” that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Little did I know at the time, that would be the last shot of my high school basketball career. Not long after my injury, I consulted a doctor. After getting an x-ray and an MRI, the doctor informed me that I had completely torn my ACL and would need to have surgery. An ACL tear can be a very devastating injury. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the four major ligaments within the knee. The ACL is one of the most commonly injured ligaments, injured by an estimated 200,000 patients each year. Of the 200,000 annual ACL injuries, surgery is performed in approximately 100,000 cases. There are many types of reconstructive surgery on the ACL. However, there is an alternative to surgery in the form of physical therapy.
Although in many cases what really holds the athlete back is not the knee, but instead fear of further injury. Many athletes find themselves almost completely back to normal, but they cannot perform because they are afraid of getting hit. It is understandable then to see tears well up in the eyes of an athlete when he/she realizes that the injury is to the knee. A torn ACL is the first thought that comes to mind.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, it affects millions of people around the world. It is also known as Degenerative Joint Disease or Degenerative Arthritis or Wear & Tear Arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage in the joints wear down over time. While osteoarthritis can affect any joint in your body, it more often is seen in the knees, hips, hands, neck, and lower back it worsens as you grow older and has no known cure.
You badly want to get your body in shape so you decided to run every morning. However, after each run, your lower leg suffers from pain and the pain seems to occur from the inner side of your lower leg. This might be a case of shin splints.
There are many injuries in general, but sports injuries? Sprains and Strains are the most common injuries in sports. “Sprains are injuries to ligaments, the tough bands connecting in a joint. Suddenly stretching ligaments past their limits deforms or tears them” (Hoffman 1). Ligaments are like springs in a sense that when you stretch a spring, it will return to it’s normal state unless they are
These types of injuries could take upwards to eighteen months to return to playing condition, and in this time an athlete will often fall behind in the sport that they love. This often causes the athlete to quit the sport they once loved because they can no longer truly compete amongst their peers. I know that there has to be a way to accelerate this process of recovery and get those athletes back on the field. This is where my passion for orthopaedics
The most common musculoskeletal disorder and a major cause of disability in people over 65 years is osteoarthritis (OA) (Felson DT et al, 1987) (1). According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, OA of knee is more likely to become the fourth most important cause of disability in women, and the eighth most important cause in men (Murray CJL, Lopez AD, 1997)(2) . Primary prevention of knee OA has become a major health care aim and a clear understanding of the risk factors is required to design preventive strategies. Many investigations reported obesity, previous history of knee injury, sedentary life style, hand OA (Heberden’s nodes), and a familial history of the disease are major risk factors for OA of knee (Cyrus Cooper et al, 2000) (3). In spite of recent advancements the causes and pathogenesis of knee OA remains largely unknown (A Teichtahl, A Wluka, F M Cicuttini, 2003) (4) but however there is increasing research interest in the contribution of biomechanical variables on progression and management of the disease (Andriacchi TP, 1991) (5).
A 16 year old, female high school soccer player, Lindsey Robinson tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) from a soccer game. Interestingly, she was not the only one in her team who injured her ACL, but also several of her teammates have torn the same ligament as well during the soccer season. Lephart (2002) found that women involved in physical activity are more susceptible to acquire the ACL injuries than men who are involved in the same physical activity (as cited in Ogden, 2002). According to “ACL Injury Prevention” (2004), the numbers on female ACL ruptures have been increased for the past ten year. Over 1.4 million women have been suffered from the ACL rupture which is twice the rate of the previous decade. Therefore, female ACL injuries are now a growing problem in the nation (Anonymous, 2004). Back in 1950s and 1960s, female participation in sports was rare; therefore, the rate of injuries was very low. However, according to “ACL Injuries and Female Athletes” (n.d), as Title IX was implemented in 1972, female participation in numerous sports has dramatically increased. Moreover, the rate of acquiring injuries to the ACL also has dramatically increased (Anonymous, n.d). In terms of comparing the rate of acquiring ACL injuries between two genders, females have higher rate than males do. According to the “Physical Therapy Corner” (2007), “women suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries more often than men, nearly 4 times as often in basketball, 3 times as often in gymnastics, and nearly 2 and a half times as often in soccer” (Knee Injuries section, para.1). There are various risk factors that contribute to the high rate of acquiring injuries to the ACL for female athletes. External factors such as improper sh...
Virtual reality simulation to train Surgeons in Knee Arthroplasty Abstract—Virtual reality (VR) in medical field is rising in the advancement of technology efficiency. Orthopedics play an important role in VR medical field. Surgeons are trained base on VR that helps in evaluating their performance. Moreover, less supervision of human is required in the presence of VR simulation. Knee arthroplasty is discussed deeper in the work of VR simulation by volumetric modelling using OpenGL libraries in orthopedic surgical training.
Anterior knee pain plagues the athletic community, the most common being runner’s knee or patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). One point or another in an athlete’s career they have experienced this kind of pain. When comparing between male and female athletes and who has the higher chance of knee pain, female athletes have a higher prevalence than male athletes (Dolak KL). There are several different mechanisms of patellofemoral pain a few being: pes planus,an increased Q angle, weak, tight or an imbalance in the quadriceps or hip muscles. Recently in my clinic site as the spring sports such as, baseball, soccer and track and field the athlete’s perform a lot of squatting, running, and kneeling which load the patellofemoral joint. We are now starting to see several and treat several athletes with patellofemoral knee pain. Each of them experiencing the pain from a different mechanism. As an athletic trainer we want to treat not only the symptoms, but the mechanism of injury to prevent further injuries down the road. If patellofemoral pain syndrome is not properly treated it can develop into chronic diseases such as chondromalacia or arthritis, maybe eventually leading to a total knee plan. (Lee SE) Treatment while the athletes are young and symptoms aren’t severe is key to preventing further injury.
Traumatic injuries seem to occur a lot in the sport of football. Knee injuries seem to be one of the most occurring traumatic injuries in football (Become an Advocate for Sports Safety). The main types of traumatic knee injuries are: tearing/spraining of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the meniscus, which is the cartilage that is in the knee (Become an Advocate for Sports Safety). The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a very vital ligament in the knee. It is the main stabilizer of the knee. Surprisingly usually the anterior cruciate ligament is torn from a non-contact twisting of the knee (5 Most Common Football injuries (and How to Prevent Them)). The knee normally pops and it will begin to swell and it may feel unstable (5 Most Common Football injuries (and How to Prevent Them)). Swelling depends on the severity in the tear of the ligament. The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the four main ligaments that provide stability to the knee joint (Common Football Injuries). It is the most important out of the four. Injuries to any of the cruciate ligaments in the knee are most of the time sprains (Common Football Injuries). The anterior cruciate ligament being the most often stretched, strained, sprained or either tore (Common Football Injuries). Most of the knee injuries that occur in footbal...
An inversion sprained ankle is one of the most common injuries caused by sports and can be very frustrating for a coach and the athlete. The ankle is the most common joint injured in athletics especially basketball, football and cross country running. You don't have to be an athlete or even a "weekend warrior" to twist your ankle and hurt it. Something as simple as walking on an uneven surface can cause a painful, unbearable sprain. A sprained ankle refers to soft tissue damage (mainly ligaments) around the ankle, usually caused by an inversion injury (where the ankle is twisted inwards) or an eversion injury (where the ankle is twisted outwards). Often said it is better to fracture an ankle rather than to sprain an ankle. A fractured ankle will completely heal itself with proper care and rehabilitation the athlete can return to 100% playing capacity. Unfortunately once an ankle has been sprained the ligaments will never fully heal. With proper exercise and rehabilitation ankle sprains can be treated effectively.