Hamstring Strains

(conquestchronicles.com)

Hamstring Strains are usually due to an overload of the muscle or trying to move the muscle too suddenly. They are easily preventable but can be quite serious, sometimes requiring surgery. There are 3 "grades" of injury that all have varying levels of symptoms and treatment.

GRADE 1 Symptoms: tightness in the thigh but still able to walk properly, not much swelling, bending of the knee against resistance does not cause significant pain

An Athlete Can: use compression bandage and heat
A Sports Injury Specialist Can: use sports massage techniques, ultrasound or electrical stimulation, and prescribe a rehab program

GRADE 2 Symptoms: cannot walk properly, twinges of pain during activity, may swell, pressure causes pain, might not be able to fully straighten knee

An Athlete Can: apply ice, compression, elevate, use crutches for 3-5 days
A Sports Injury Specialist Can: use sports massage techniques, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and prescribe a rehab program with stretching and strengthening

GRADE 3 Symptoms: unable to walk without crutches, sever pain, bad swelling will appear immediately, static contraction will be painful and might produce a bulge in the muscle, and you will be out of competition for 3-12 weeks

An Athlete Can: seek medical attention immediately, RICE
A Sports Injury Specialist Can: use sports massage, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, prescribe and monitor a rehab program, and operate if necessary

Anatomy: Hamstrings; semitendonosis, semimembrinosis, biceps femoris

Prevention: a consistent stretching and strengthening program will help, good flexibility also reduces the risk of strains, as well as warming up properly.


Surgery: the goal of the operation is to reattach the hamstring origin to the ischium
~ neurolysis of the sciatic nerve is necessary
~ There is an extremely high success rate, over 95%

Patellofemoral Syndrome

(sportlink.co.uk)

Ugh, another knee problem to deal with! Yes the knee is the largest joint in your body and is very susceptible to injury. The patella is connected to the quads, femur, and tibia by the patella tendon and femoral condyle. Patellofemoral Syndrome, technically known as Chondromalacia Patella, is caused by excessive jumping or running (isn't everything?), which makes the patella shift around and start to grind on the femoral condyle.

Symptoms: Vague pain in the knee, becoming more pronounced with activity or when standing up after sitting for awhile, "tightness" or "fullness" in the knee, if chronic symptoms are ignored then a loss of quadriceps muscle will occur as well as swelling.

Anatomy: Patella (obviously), quadriceps, femoral condyle, tibia, and patella tendon

Treatment: Ice for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days or until the pain goes away :) and elevate your knee
~ A sports injury specialist might prescribe medication, instruct on recommend exercises, prescribe orthotics, use an infrapatellar strap (placed below kneecaps on patella tendon), and/or use a neoprene knee sleeve to provide support

Prevention: Strengthen your thigh muscles (quads and hams), and wear fitting shoes that have good arch support

(Tennis Elbow)?

(64.143.176.9/library/healthguide)

Yes tennis elbow, medically known as lateral epicondylitis, is one of the top 10 most common volleyball injuries. Who would have thought? It simply comes from overuse of the arm and repeated impact, as well as poor arm strength, poor technique, and a longer than normal duration of play or higher than usual intensity. Usually hitters suffer from this due to the repeated impact of swinging at the ball... go figure.

Symptoms: Pain and tenderness of the elbow increasing with wrist movement, forearm pain especially on the inner-side of the arm

Anatomy: the extensor carpi radialis brevis muscles, extensor carpi radialis longus, annular and collateral ligaments (basically the muscles and ligaments on either side of your elbow)

Treatment: RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), ice for 10-15 minutes at a time, wrap the forearm near the elbow to alleviate pressure
~ A sports injury specialist could use ultrasound, prescribe flexibility and strengthening exercises, and prescribe anti-inflammatories

Prevention: Strength training of the wrist muscles and the extensor carpi muscles, stretch
~ Re-occurrence is common so don't return to your full workout or level of play too soon, preventative exercises and stretching should be done on a consistent basis

Plantar Fasciitis

(www.nlm.nih.gov)

Ugh, plantar fasciitis, that horrible pain in your feet that never seems to go away. Plantar Fasciitis a rupture of the ligament in your foot caused by excessive jumping. Many volleyball players have to deal with this all the time. Here is some of the basic know-how that will help you alleviate that pain... :)


Symptoms: A sharp pain inside the bottom of your heel, heel pain that worsens in the morning, while walking stairs, and while standing on tiptoe, heel pain after standing for awhile or after suddenly standing, heel pain after exercise, and mild swelling in your heel

Anatomy: Plantar Fascia - the ligament from the heel to the front of the foot

Treatment: Rest, a proper tape job really helps lessen the pressure
~ A Sports Injury Specialist can prescribe anti-inflammatory medications, prescribe orthotics, tape the foot (best way to allow rest), X-ray, and/or operate if there is calcification


Prevention: Wear supportive shoes (wow seems to prevent a lot!), stretch, alternate your routine exercises, avoid being overweight


Surgery:
~ The surgeon cuts certain sections of the plantar fascia to release tension and relieve chronic pain
~ success rate is 70-80%
~ Your surgeon should only release 30-50% of the fascia because if more is released, the arch of your foot could collapse
Risks:
~ A tiny percent of patients suffer from pain or numbness in the foot after surgery because the surgeon accidentally cut a nerve...
~ Pain in the heel might not always be due to Plantar Fasciitis and some patients don't find relief from surgery because they don't even have plantar fasciitis
~ Patients should experience symptoms for at least 9 months while participating in daily exercises and stretches before they consult a surgeon.

Shin Splints

(www.beginnertriathlete.com)

Shin Splints are also very common injuries for many athletes. Shin splints are simply inflammation caused by running on hard surfaces, running on tiptoes, and excessive jumping. They can be very painful but are usually not difficult to treat. Prevention is also quite easy so you should have no problem staying away from this unnecessary pain. :)


Symptoms: Pain on the front of the leg below the knee (basically your shin, go figure), the area of discomfort usually spans 4-6 inches and the pain is most noticable during the beginning and last stages of a workout. This pain usually begins as a dull ache but with increasing stress over time can become severe enough to completely halt workouts

Anatomy: the periostium of the tibia

Treatment: Rest (the sooner the better), ice during the acute stages of pain, apply heat after the more acute pain has subsided (& esp. before you exercise), wear shock absorbing insoles, maintain fitness with several non-weight bearing exercises
~ A sports injury specialist can prescribe anti-inflammatory medication, tape your ankle for support, evaluate your running tendencies to check for over pronation, use massage techniques on posterior deep muscle (avoiding periostium)


Prevention: Wear properly fitting shoes with sufficient arch support, keep your legs well strengthened, cross train with an activity that reduces impact of your legs such as swimming or biking instead of running

Sprained Ankle! ugh

(64.143.177.232/library/healthguide)

A Sprained Ankle is one of the absolute most common injuries in almost all sports. A sprained ankle can range from a small strain to a complete rupture but hopefully shouldn't keep you out of action for too long. Here's how to speed up your recovery though :)


Symptoms: The symptoms of a sprained ankle depend on what "degree" of injury you have suffered. There are 3 different degrees... so here they are

1st Degree ~ is a stretching or tearing of the ligament, characterized by little or no instability, little pain, little swelling, and only some joint stiffness

2nd Degree ~ involves some tearing of ligament fibers, characterized by moderate instability, moderate to severe pain, and swelling and stiffness

3rd Degree ~ is a total rupture of the ligament, characterized by gross instability, sever pain followed by no pain, and severe swelling


Anatomy: Your talo-fibula ligament, sometimes the calcanao-fibula ligament too, depending on the degree of your injury


Treatment: Try to reduce the swelling ASAP with RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), protect the ankle with tape and support such as a brace (don't rely on support for too long though because that is counter-productive for the rehab of your ankle), extra rest, use crutches if necessary
~ A sports injury specialist can prescribe anti-inflammatory medications, use compression devices, use ultrasound/laser therapy, use cross-friction massage techniques, and give you a full rehab program.


Prevention: Wear stable shoes, stretch so that any tight muscles in your calf don't put extra stress on the Achilles, strengthen your ankles, walking on your heals for 3-5 minutes is a good exercise, avoid shoes that throw your foot off balance, make sure you have a healthy diet

The Dreaded Patella Tendonitis

(www.beliefnet.com/healthandhealing)

Patella Tendonitis, also known as Jumpers' Knee, is very common with volleyball players. It is usually caused by extreme stress such as repetitive jumping, which could create partial ruptures and lead to inflammation and degeneration. It is mostly the result of overuse. It can get pretty ugly here is what you need to know, hopefully to keep you from an advanced stage of the dreaded patella tendonitis.


Symptoms: Go figure, the only symptom is pain just below your knew during or after a workout, usually becoming more acute when you place direct weight on your knee while running or jumping etc.


Anatomy: Patella tendon, connecting kneecap to tibia


Treatment: *Depends on the extent of the injury. There are 4 "grades" of injury, getting progressively worse. Each one requires a little more proactive treatment.

Grade 1 ~ Characterized by pain after exercise. Continue training but apply ice after each session, wear a heat retainer/support, a sports injury specialist can use sports massage techniques

Grade 2 ~ Characterized by pain before and after exercise. Modify your training sessions (shorten them or try an exercise that puts less stress on the knee. Try swimming or biking instead of running and jumping), stop jumping, a sports injury specialist can apply sports massage techniques and give you uniques exercises for rehab.

Grade 3 ~ Characterized by pain before, during, and after exercise. Rest completely from aggravating activity, a sports injury specialist can use sports massage techniques and give you a complete rehab program.

Grade 4 ~ Characterized by constant pain even during everyday activities. Rest (for at least 3 months!), a sports injury specialist can still use sports massage techniques and get you a rehab program, as well as prescribe medication, use ultrasound/laser treatment, use cross friction massage techniques. If need does not respond adequately to these treatments, you need to see an orthopedic surgeon who could operate.

Surgery ~ techniques include detachment of the patella tendon from the inferior pole, excision of the degenerative nodule, drilling, or excision of the inferior pole
~Successful 60%-90%
~patient must usually wear a straight brace for 2-4 weeks
~Risks include infection (as with all surgeries), stiffness of the knee, suture reaction, failure of satisfactory healing, all normal risks of anesthesia, phlebitis (inflammation of a vein), pulmonary embolus (blood clot in the lungs), and persistent pain or weakness even after surgery and repair.


Prevention: Strengthen legs and keep muscles balances so that your upper leg muscles aren't pulling harding on your tendon than your lower leg muscles, stretch, and give your body enough recovery time between workouts, practices, games, etc.