What Must You Know About Tennis Elbow? Causes, Symptoms, and More

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, could be defined as the swelling of the elbow joint caused due to repetitive stress. The pain originates on the outer portion of the elbow but can radiate down the arm. You are most likely to experience discomfort when you straighten your hands. Well, to know more about this sports injury, please check out the given discussion right now.

Causes

Forearm tendons join the forearm muscles to the external bone of the elbow. Tennis elbow occurs when a certain muscle strand (extensor carpi radialis brevis or ECRB) present in the forearm is damaged. The ECRM is responsible for the wrist movement.

Constant stress weakens ECRB muscle by developing tiny tears throughout it. These tears cause excruciating inflammation. Besides tennis and other types of racquet sports, swimming, golf, abrupt turn of the key, and frequent usage of hammer or screwdriver also lead to tennis elbow.

Symptoms

According to a highly competent musculoskeletal doctor, mild elbow pain that gradually worsens is the main symptom of tennis elbow. Others include:

·         Weak grip.

·         Pain outside the elbow and in the wrist and the forearm.

·         Discomfort when lifting weights, opening jars, shaking hands, squeezing objects, or using tools.

Diagnosis

Tennis elbow is diagnosed during a comprehensive physical examination. If you are experiencing pain in the elbow, your doctor will try to detect what it is by asking about your job, what kind of sports you play, your workout regimen, etc. To confirm, he or she will carry out an MRI scan or X-ray.

Treatment

·         The foremost step is to limit movement as much as possible. Do not move the affected hand for several weeks and take rest. A doctor gives braces for immobilising the muscles.

·         Ice packs are placed on the elbow to decrease swelling and soothe the pain. Do not hold the ice for a prolonged period or else you will end up suffering from frostbites.

·         Physical therapy involves a series of exercises for reinforcing the muscles of the forearm and promoting healing. It includes massages and muscle stimulating techniques.

·         In ultrasound therapy, a probe is placed on the injured elbow. It emits sound waves at a high frequency to repair the tissues. This treatment speeds up the recovery to a great extent.

·         Injecting corticosteroid medication directly into the tendons attached to the bone of the elbow or the muscle largely cuts down inflammation.

Surgery becomes mandatory when the symptoms do not alleviate even after a year. Arthroscopy is used for removing the dead tissues from inside the elbow and reattaching healthy muscles to the bone.

According to a renowned sports physician, wearing the right type of equipment and adhering to the rules of activity prevents tennis elbow to a great extent. Other safety measures include performing exercises to maintain the flexibility as well as the strength of arms, and resting the elbow or applying ice cubes to it. Also, take breaks. Otherwise, you pave the way for unnecessary complications.

5 Common Sports Injury Myths You Should Never Believe

Dealing with sports injuries is not that easy as it sounds, especially when you do not seek help from highly professional doctors. Whether it is about treating mild or severe injuries, sports medicine physicians have the ability to help patients in the best possible ways. 

In the below section, some of the common myths and factors regarding sports injuries are discussed. Please keep on reading now.

1. ACL Tear Will End Your Career
ACL tear is a serious injury that needs special care and treatment. But the good thing is, it is treatable, and it is not career-ending. As long as you see a highly qualified sports injury doctor and take proper care of yourself, it will not affect your career.

Surgeries, medications, and exercise work excellently when it comes to treating this injury. As per studies, a large share of international and national athletes has come back stronger from this injury and joins sports again.

2. Rest Is the Only Option

Athletes, who have minor strains or sprains, do not need to take complete rest. Activity modification instead of complete rest is usually recommended to patients who have mild injuries. Athletes who have major injuries often become able to reduce or eliminate symptoms by doing some exercise.

3. Heat Therapy Is the Best Option for Treating Acute Injuries
Acute injuries usually cause inflammation and pain. Athletes usually go for cold therapy in order to reduce swelling. Heat therapy also helps relieve pain sometimes, but this will increase swelling. This is why heat therapy cannot always be considered as the best option.

4. No Pain No Gain
A large number of athletes believe that they need to endure pain in order to get stronger. But, this is not true in all cases. Exercise should be challenging and stimulating, but it does not mean that you should do something which is beyond your ability. Make sure you consult a doctor of sports medicine if you feel pain during training or exercise.

5. No Need to See a Sports Doctor
Not all injuries can be treated through home remedies. In order to treat mild injuries, athletes may use RICE treatment and other natural ways. But, when it comes to treating severe injuries, it is better to seek help from highly qualified and trained sports medicine physicians. They know the best ways of how to deal with unbearable pain and other sports injury symptoms.

When choosing a doctor, do not forget to check his or her track records and experience. By doing so, you will be able to make the correct choice. Researching can also help you find the right sports injury doctor. Although it may take some time to find the right one, it is better to invest some time rather than making the wrong choice.

Common Musculoskeletal Injuries Athletes May Have

Almost all professional athletes suffer from injuries at some point in their life.  None can claim that they played sports for years and never got hurt. Preventing injuries is a difficult endeavor, especially for those who hit the field on a daily basis. Still, by not committing mistakes such as purchasing poor quality equipment, training incorrectly, not warming up enough, etc. can help to a great extent. One may finally bid goodbye to musculoskeletal injuries.

To know about the common musculoskeletal injuries and also about their treatments, please check out the following write up now.

Ligament Sprain 

A ligament sprain is considered one of the most common sports injuries that happen when one stretches their ligaments abnormally. The tear can either be complete or partial, and the severity usually depends on the number of ligaments affected.

Ligament sprain often affects the following body parts of patients- wrists, ankles and knees. Football, volleyball and tennis players and cyclists are more prone to have the symptoms of a ligament sprain.  Some of the common symptoms include, swelling, pain and bruising. Overlooking the symptoms is not the right way to choose. Rather, the patients should treat this injury with the help of a musculoskeletal doctor as soon as possible.

Tendonitis

Tendinitis or Tendonitis could be defined as a sports injury that affects more than one body part, including Achilles tendon, knee, shoulder, hip, and the base of the elbow and thumb, at the same time. If you experience tendonitis, you will have symptoms like pain, swelling, and a general sense of irritation.

Golf players, runners and tennis players are at high risk of this injury. Athletes who experience tendonitis feel severe pain in the affected area and the surrounding parts. In order to get rid of unbearable pain, the patients should consult highly experienced doctors who specialise in treating musculoskeletal injuries.

Tendon or Muscle Strain 

A tendon or muscle strain is an injury which is caused by stretching, overuse and force. Boxers, wrestlers and football, hockey and soccer players are at high risk of this injury. Some of the common symptoms of tendon or muscle strain include, bruising, redness, inflammation, weakness in the affected areas, pain, and so on.

One of the best ways to eliminate or alleviate the symptoms is by scheduling an appointment with a proficient, experienced, and reliable musculoskeletal doctor. He or she is trained enough to treat almost all kinds of injuries within a short period. Now isn’t that great?

When choosing a sports medicine or musculoskeletal specialist, it is necessary to check his or her track records and experience. By doing so, you will be able to make the right choice. It is also important to do some research. All these steps will help you select highly professional and experienced doctors with excellent track records.

See a Trained Doctor to Reduce Occurrence of Sports Injury

Athletes often get injured, and this has now become part and parcel for athletes. Sports injuries happen when you do some exercise or participate in sports without following the proper measures and guidelines. As an athlete, preventing certain injuries is beyond your ability. It is not in your grip.


Fortunately, most injuries are treatable. When you notice any symptom, you need to see a professional doctor of sports medicine to reduce or eliminate the symptoms. The physicians are highly trained to provide you with the proper treatment at the right time.

Common Types of Sports Injuries
Different types of injuries come with different symptoms. Some of the common types include,

1. Knee Injuries
This is the most common type. It ranges from a tear to overstretch in the tissues or muscle in the knees. This injury can prevent you from sitting or standing properly.

2. Sprains
Tearing or overstretching the ligaments leads to a sprain. Ligaments are the tissues which connect your bones. When this happens, you will notice symptoms like unbearable pain, bruising, and swelling.

3. Swollen Muscles
Swelling is a common symptom that comes with almost all type of sports injuries. If you notice this symptom, you should not ignore it. Professional sports medicine physicians know how to treat it.

4. Fractures
The common example of bone fractures are rib fractures, hip fractures, stress fractures skull fractures and more. A fracture is a medical term for the broken bone. Fractures happen when you apply force to your bone. When this happens, you will notice the following symptoms- intolerable pain in your injured area, bruising or swelling, deformity of leg or arm and more.

5. Shoulder Injury:
Your shoulder is one of the weakest joints in your body. Shoulder injuries may happen because of a lack of flexibility. In order to get relief from the pain, you may apply ice on the injured area and take rest. If this fails to work, you may seek help from an experienced doctor of sports medicine.

Apart from the mentioned, there are several other injuries which may happen to athletes. Whenever you have any symptom, it is better to see a doctor who has years of experience in treating athletes.

Treatment Options
RICE treatment is a common one for treating sports injuries. RICE which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation is effective mainly for certain type of injuries which are mild. For severe injuries, you should seek help from physicians.

Signs that indicate high time to see a doctor are –

• swelling and unbearable pain
• visible bumps and lumps
• instability

Your doctor may prescribe you specific medications to give you relief from the pain and treat the symptoms.  Have you noticed any symptom of sports injuries? If yes, then you should not take them lightly. Seeing a sports medicine doctor is the best solutions to treat the injuries.

A Brief Discussion on Eight Major Football Injuries

Sports are capable of awakening passion in every individual but diverse aspects such as simplicity, competitive nature, international acknowledgment, brief duration, enriching history, and affordability make football or soccer different from as well as more popular than others. Let us now explore few injuries, which are intrinsically associated with it.

1.       Strain-Strain could be loosely defined as a muscle pull. Tendons or fibres present inside muscular tissue either tear or deform. This condition happens when a person slips footing, jumps, runs in a haphazard manner, or lifts something in an obstinate position. Consult doctor if pain fails to subside even after a week.

2.       Sprain- Sprain is tearing or stretching of fibrous tissues connecting two bones in a joint. Most common location is ankle but other areas that might get affected are knee, back, hip, pelvis, etc. Avoid activities that can aggravate pain. If things seem going out of control, contact an expert right away.

3.       Fracture-Reputed exercise medicine doctor defined fracture as a condition in which a major portion of bone breaks because of excessively intense impact. Few symptoms to look out for include inflammation, excruciating pain, skin discolouration, angulation or affected area bent in an unusual manner, nausea, etc.

4.       Achilles Tendonitis-Achilles tendonitis is basically an injury of tissue bands connecting heel bone to calf muscles present right at back of leg. In order to prevent the problem altogether, footballers often invest in high quality footwear, warm up before hitting field, take frequent breaks, etc.

5.       ACL Tear-ACL or anterior crucial ligament is believed to be most significant part of knee. When twisted suddenly, people unfortunately cannot move. Generic medications bring down discomfort to a great extent but only surgery or several months of physiotherapy can cure the condition permanently.

6.       Hip Pointer-Hip pointer is an excessively deep bruise to bone present in outside portion of hip, and known as iliac crest. Localised swelling is perhaps the only definite symptom. If not treated immediately, the concerned person loses range of motion, and strength to pull their body upwards.

7.       Concussion-Concussions are serious injuries that should never be taken lightly. A professional athlete who goes through the said disorder must schedule appointment from a certified physician. Common symptoms are headache, nausea, dizziness, slurry speech, sensitivity to sound and light, delayed response, etc.

8.       Stinger- Stinger, also known as burner, is quite common in contact sports. They happen due to sudden compression or stretching of brachial plexus. Stinger cause immense pain down arm. Physicians recommend several motion exercises, thus, prevent stiffness of hand limbs, shoulder, neck, etc.

If any footballer has experienced any injury stated above, he or she must undertake RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) treatment. In severe cases, please seek professional assistance. From among various options readily available, choose a competent exercise medicine doctor, who has satisfied a wider base of clientele until now.

Understanding Nine Most Common Sports Injuries

Indulging in a rigorous workout session and participating in a sport can effectually enhance overall wellbeing. Doing so with utter diligence controls body weight, alleviates depression, strengthens bones, escalates stamina, etc. Now isn’t that simply great? But a person must also be prepared to endure pain, or in other words, to suffer from a wide range of injuries. Major ones among the lot are as follows:

• Sprain- Sprain occurs when ligaments or tissues connecting one bone with another turn in an incorrect way and tear. Usually affecting ankle, knee, wrist, fingers, and toes, they are exceptionally painful, and require complete immobilisation. 

• Strain-A top-notch doctor of sports medicine said strains can rip muscles and tendons apart. Owing to being minor, they generally heal without professional intervention, but to reduce further damage, you must try limiting movement altogether. 

• Fracture-High impact activities often break fragile bones of legs and arms. Depending on level of severity, you must choose any of the stated treatment- splint, traction, brace, and plaster cast. 

• Concussion-Concussion can be loosely defined as a condition in which your head receives a heavy blow, and your brain is shaken or jarred. Common symptoms include dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to loud sound or intense light, slurred speech, confusion, etc. 

• Tennis Elbow-Tennis elbow, also known as golfer’s elbow, is seen in athletes performing different gripping activities. Because of repetitive action, tendons present in upper arm inflame. Strengthening exercises and stretches might alleviate stiffness gradually. 

• Shin Splint-Shin splint is excruciating pain in tibia or bone of lower leg. This particular injury is common in people who run miles or play soccer. Some preventive measures you can implement are as follows:

1. Stretch hamstrings and calves daily.
2. Avoid increasing duration of exercises or practice suddenly.
3. Adhere to a balanced diet, and thus maintain a proper body weight.
4. Purchase proper footwear.
5. Learn the correct technique of jumping, landing, and running. 

• Groin Pull-Groin muscles starting from inner-upper thigh to knee often get injured when a person performs side-to-side movements quite quickly. He or she may notice tenderness, swelling, and bruising.

• Sciatica-Sciatica is shooting backache which spreads to leg or feet. Numbness and tingling or burning sensation are two other distinct symptoms. Athletes remaining in a bent posture for long often experience it.

• Patellofemoral Syndrome-Finally, yet importantly, any type of knee injury fall under the category of patellofemoral syndrome. A professional physical therapist uses different bracing strategies to speed up recovery. 

PRICE (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) therapy, and diverse other home-based tricks can help but if reactions usually associated with an injury persists for prolonged period or continues getting worse, please contact a reliable doctor of sports medicine. Before scheduling an appointment, see if he or she has qualities like strong principles, compassion, confidence, knowledge, humility, etc.   

3 Habits of Pro Athletes - Tips and Techniques to Stay Fit

Staying fit and healthy is important for all. Especially when it comes to professional athletes, it becomes a part of their job. As an unfit athlete, you can't give your best in the field. So you have to step up your overall fitness level. In order to achieve your fitness goal, you need to follow some tips and techniques. In this post, we will discuss about the three habits that will help you to achieve your fitness goals. 

1. Warm-up 

1. Before you start a high-intensity workout, you need to spend some time to warm up your body. You need to spend around half an hour for the warm-up session. After that, you can enter your core game or workout session. After that, you also have to spend a few minutes in cooling down. If you don’t follow this technique then chances are very high you might get injured. In that case, you have to see a professional musculoskeletal doctor to treat your condition. You can also opt for PRICE therapy to treat minor injuries.
2. 2. Dietary Habits
3. Proper diet is very important for athletes. Due to this reason you need to eat healthily. It will give you the power and stamina that you will need to stay ahead from your opponents. When playing a sport, you need a lot of energy. You will get that from your diet. Apart from that, it will also help you with recovering faster.

3. Rest and Recovery

When it comes to recovery, your diet is not the only thing that does the hard part. You need to take proper rest to give your body the chance to recover faster. Due to this reason, we always recommend individuals to sleep at least for 8 hours to stay fit and healthy. 

So, these are the three habits that can boost the performance of an athlete. Meanwhile they can also opt for taking supplements. By consuming the right supplement at the right time you can boost your health and fitness level. It will help you to gain muscle mass, cut calories and improve your energy level & efficiency. When taking supplements, you have to ensure that it is not banned.

Products like whey protein, carbohydrates powder are completely safe to consume. So, overall it is fair to conclude that the right supplement can help you to stay fit and healthy but if you still get injured then visit a professional musculoskeletal doctor. This is all for now. Hope you have enjoyed reading the post.