Common Sport Related Injuries

As the summer kicks off, our kids become involved with sports, camps, and playing with friends. Summer fun and competition often leaves our young ones prone to injury.

This month physician assistant, Brock Ebbing, PA-C will talk about some common sport/ competition related injuries.

Let’s discuss the three common types of injuries in sports: sprains, strains, and fractures.

What is a Sprain? 

A sprain is an injury to a ligament. Ligaments help support our joints (e.g. knee, wrist, shoulder) and connect adjacent bones involved in the joints. Stretching a ligament too far, or stretching it far enough that it ruptures is known as a sprain. This process causes pain due to damage of the ligament and which then produces swelling as inflammation settles in around the trauma. A common sprain occurs at the outside of the ankle joint when someone “rolls” their ankle. Some signs to look for are swelling, pain when moving that joint, and possibly bruising. Treatment includes rest from strenuous activity, ice application the first few days after sprain, compression of the area of sprain to help move swelling out of the area (with elastic wrap), and elevation of the injured body part when resting at home. In addition, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) can be taken to help alleviate pain and swelling.

What is a Strain? 

Strains are very similar to sprains but this type of injury includes damage to tendons or muscle tissue (and sometimes both). Whereas ligaments connect bone to bone at a joint, tendons connect muscle to bone across a joint. One of the most well known tendons in the body is the Achilles tendon. This muscle allows us to “press the gas/ brake pedal” in our cars. In otherwards, it helps our dancers and ballerinas dance on their toes. You would expect the same finds from a tendon injury as from a ligament injury. If the tendon were to rupture/ disconnect, your muscle would contract but the body part on the other side of the joint wouldn’t move because the tendon is no longer connected to the bone. Let’s use the Achilles tendon from earlier. If your Achilles tendon was ruptured, ballerinas would not be able to dance on their toes, and drivers would not be able to slam on the brakes during rush hour.

If you damage the calf muscle which is also a strain (“muscle pull”), you would still likely be able to use the calf muscle to press on the gas pedal, but it may hurt a little bit. Commonly strained muscles include the chest muscle (pec), hip flexors (quads), and hamstrings. These usually occur with forceful muscle contraction such as with sprinting (for hip flexors, and hamstrings) and pushing off of something with the upper body (pec; such as in bench pressing heavy weight). Usually if these types of injuries occur, it’s best to rest.

What is a Fracture?

Probably the most common reason parents bring their kids in: “I just wanted to make sure nothing was broken”. Why do we care about “broken bones”? 1) Fractures hurt, 2) they need adequate time to heal, and 3) you need to be seen by an orthopedic specialist usually for casting. Signs of fracture include swelling, bruising, and not using the affected limb or body part. We order X-rays on all suspected fractures. If there is a fracture on X-ray you are then sent to orthopedics who specialize in the skeletal system for evaluation, casting/ splinting, and in worse cases; surgery.

Brock Ebbing, PA-C, is a certified Physician Assistant specializing in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Advanced Pediatrics. Brock was born and raised in midwestern Illinois. He completed his Master's degree in Medical Sciences at the Saint Louis University Physician Assistant Program in December 2018. Before becoming a Physician Assistant, he was an EMT for three years. Brock also pursued an education in sports science while in undergraduate studies. Prior to coming on board with Advanced Pediatrics, he had a year and a half of hands-on experience in Adult and Pediatric Urgent Care in Stone Ridge, Virginia. He then transitioned into pediatric-only urgent care, practicing in Manassas, Virginia, for an additional year and a half. Brock enjoys hiking, country music, the Indianapolis Colts, and spending time with his family and friends.