KNEE SPORTS INJURIES

ABOUT KNEE SPORTS INJURIES

Injuring your knee whilst playing sport is common and some sports increase the risk of hurting your knees such as football, skiing, hockey, netball and squash. Injuries can also occur from bad technique or not giving yourself sufficient recovery time in between matches or training sessions. We can treat knee sports injuries in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Worksop.

The types of knee sporting injuries include:

• Sprains are where a ligament has been overstretched and has become damaged, usually from a fall or impact.

• Strains are like sprains except a muscle is pulled or damaged.

• Ligament tears are when the ligaments have been partially or fully severed often through a load-bearing or twisting action.

• Tendon damage includes tears and inflammation from overuse or poor technique.

• Damage to any of the bones in the knee joint such as fractures and dislocations.

Sports injuries can be acute where the damage occurs immediately from a fall, collision or badly-landed jump. Or they can occur over time where a repetitive action leads to wearing damage or irritation.

Common sporting knee injuries include tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, jumper’s knee where the patella tendon becomes inflamed and painful, or meniscus tears where the cartilage in the knee becomes damaged.

RECOVERING FROM A KNEE SPORTS INJURY

For sportspeople, being sidelined from an injury is frustrating but giving yourself time to recover is important. It’s easy to return to your sport too soon and then risk reinjury.

But, if you are a keen sportsperson, your treatment may differ for several reasons:

• Physiotherapy may assess whether poor technique or compensation for a muscle weakness may have contributed to the injury.

• The treatment may need to focus on preventing an injury from reoccurring.

• Surgery is more likely to help speed up recovery or to help prevent re-injury.

• Your age or activity levels as a sportsperson will also be taken into account.

It’s important to work with your surgeon or physio and listen to their advice, including recovery timescales and expectations. Exercise is important following an injury but it must be taken under the guidance of your consultant, particularly following surgery. Book an appointment to treat knee sports injuries in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster or Worksop. You can also follow us on social media.