Overuse Injuries

There are essentially two types of sports injuries: acute injuries and overuse injuries. Acute injuries are usually the result of a single traumatic event, such as a sprained ankle during a soccer game. Overuse injuries are the result of repetitive micro-trauma. Activities like running or swimming, where you repeat the same motion over and over often cause an overuse injury. Some common overuse injuries are:

• Achilles tendonitis
• Swimmer’s shoulder
• Tennis elbow
• Stress fractures
• Shin splints
• Runner’s knee

What causes overuse injuries?

In many cases, simply performing repetitive movements over time can lead to overuse injuries. They also come about as a result of faulty mechanisms of movement, muscle imbalance, genetics, poor core strength, or body alignment.

How are overuse injuries treated?

Our Northern Utah sports medicine physicians have many options when it comes to overuse injuries and will create a customized treatment plan for yours. Ultrasound-guided injections can help patients manage debilitating pain (depending on the nature of the pain). Our sports medicine physician also uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections (similar to a cortisone shot) for some injuries to help stubborn tissue begin to heal. Soft tissue mobilization techniques are often employed for overuse injuries to reduce the amount of scar tissue surrounding the injury site.

With any treatment plan, patients should expect to scale back activity and allow their body time to repair itself. This can mean cutting back the duration, frequency, or intensity of their activity and learning proper training techniques from an Ogden Clinic physical therapist. Tried-and-true methods are also prescribed for overuse injuries like rest, ice, proper stretching, and anti-inflammatory medication when needed.

View our Orthopedic clinics here.