Relief from Basketball, Baseball, and Soccer Injuries

Being physically active is very important in living a healthy lifestyle among many other factors like nutrition and non drug use.  However, when completing physical activities there is the risk of getting injured.  Injuries are preventable. In this blog post we will be covering injuries from playing Basketball, Baseball and Soccer.  Reducing your injury risk starts with a thorough warm up and cool down pre and post activity. Other ways to reduce injury risk include training in other activities to avoid overusing the muscles, taping or wrapping joints that have been injured in the past, and drinking water before, during, and post exercise. If the injury has already been done, Sports injury physiotherapy helps alleviate the damage from the injury and to achieve full recovery.

1. Common Injuries in Basketball

Osgood-Schlatter Disease

The tendon below the kneecap known as the patellar tendon becomes inflamed due to the overuse injury to the knee it is the constant pulling of this tendon it normally occurs in adolescents.  The inflamed tendon can sometimes pull a small piece of bone away from the shin.

Prevention – To lower the risk of this disease basketball player should modify their activities, stretch their legs and perform regular lower body strengthening exercises.  Our physiotherapist at Curezone Physiotherapy clinic is highly experienced in sports injury physiotherapy for over 14 years and would go through a full proper assessment to find out the  root cause of the problem and assist you with the stretching, flexibility, P.I.E.R principle and any type of wrapping along with stretches and exercises. 

Patellar Tendonitis

This is the repetitive eccentric knee extension activities that cause inflammation to the entire knee cap.  Athletes will enter three stages of pain; Pain after activity, Pain During and After activity and Pain during, after with an additional constant pain with the increasing risk of a ruptured tendon if not taken care of.

Prevention – Prevention includes the strengthening of the muscles of the upper and lower leg so the structure of the knee becomes stronger.  Our registered physiotherapist will prescribe you the appropriate exercises and stretches.  PIER after activity, taping and bracing are treatment and preventative options. 

Severs Disease

This disease commonly affects children and teens it occurs when the heel of the foot grows faster then the tendon that supports it.  Which causses heel pain, swelling and walking problems. 

Prevention – Your physical therapist will diagnose this by performing a heel squeeze test by squeezing the heel from both sides to see if it causes pain.   The physical therapist will prescribe light stretching exercises to loosen the tense muscles in the foot in addition to the stretches they will also ask you to perform exercises to strengthen the lower leg muscles. 

Other Sports Injuries

Other sports injuries that are very common in basketball include ankle sprains, Achilles’ tendonitis, muscle strains, ACL injuries and finger injuries.

How to Prevent Basketball Injuries

Pretraining is very important to reduce the risk of injury during the season that you will be playing in.  This is normally three weeks prior to the start of the season to condition the body and build a base of muscular strength and muscular endurance.  The team as well as the physical therapist will have their players focusing on strength training squats, plyometric exercises, jumping drills and other drills to increase flexibility and mobility on court.  Some of these drills the sports injury physiotherapist will assist you with are the Star Drill, Zigzag Drills and Medicine Ball shuffles.   

2. Common Injuries in Baseball

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff injuries are very common in throwing sports such as baseball it is commonly due to overuse of the muscles around the joint.  Tears will begin to form and more damage followed by pain will be felt if there is a significant tear the pitcher will lose their ROM. 

Prevention – If you have a history of shoulder injuries then it is wise to see a physiotherapist, they will provide you with the information and skills to strengthen the affected joint which muscles to exercise and the proper treatment to ensure rapid healing of the joint. 

 Labrum Tears

The labrum deepens the socket of the shoulder joint basically encapsulating the head of the humerus so it does not pop out easily.  This is also due to the repetitive shoulder motion these athletes experience.  The causes of this injury in baseball occur when players are running from base to base and diving to the plates (falling on outstretched arm) and violent overhead throwing motions or batting swings.  These types of tears can be superior or inferior. 

Prevention – Once an x-ray has been completed and there is the sign of a labrum tear two options of treatment can occur one of them being non-surgical and the other being surgical depending on if the non-surgical treatments are insufficient.  Post surgery you will be in cast but once that is off the physical therapist will prescribe passive pain-free ROM exercises along with flexibility and strengthening exercises.  After about 12 weeks of therapy your physical therapist will start adding sport specific exercises to your rehab regime so you can return to play with a stronger shoulder.   

Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) Injuries

This is noted as pain on the inner side of the elbow some will hear a pop followed by intense pain. UCL tears are normally due to the overuse for example in baseball swinging motions with the bat and once again throwing motions.  This pain will be felt on the inner side of the elbow when accelerating the arm forward prior to releasing the ball. 

Prevention – The physical therapist will perform a valgus stress test to assess instability of the elbow.  Recovery with a physical therapist can take up to 9 months to a year to get the ROM you desire.  Sports injury physiotherapists will proceed with wrist ROM, shoulder isometrics and biceps isometrics.  Then will complete grip exercises, external rotation exercises of the shoulder then once ROM gets better more exercises with elbow flexion and extension will be introduced along with strengthening and flexibility exercises.

How to Prevent Baseball Injuries

Preventing baseball injuries starts with warming up your arms before throwing or swinging the baseball bat.  As said before preseason training and conditioning programs.  Letting the body rest and recover is very important to give the muscles a chance for recovery.  If there are persistent pains athletes should ice the area complete gentle stretches and use anti inflammatory drugs. 

3. Common Injuries in Soccer

 Ankle Sprains

Ankle sprains occur when there is a tear in the ligament of the ankle players will notice swelling and pain, loss of ROM of the ankle and a reduction in weight bearing on the ankle.  There are two types of ankle sprains inversion (foot rolls inward) and eversion (rolls outwards and tears deltoid ligament).  Lateral ankle sprains are the most common, Medial ankle sprains less common and High ankle sprains which affect the two lower leg bones.  Ankle sprains are caused by wearing the improper shoes or placing your foot on an uneven surface or jamming your foot into the ground when kicking the ball. 

Prevention – When being assessed by the physical therapist they will determine what the proper treatment methods are based on the x-rays.  The PIER principle is useful, so is bracing and crutches to reduce the amount of weight placed on the foot.  To prevent ankle sprains from occurring again check the floor or field as well as wear the proper footwear to reduce ankle sprains.  The sports injury physical therapist will work with you to strengthen, stretch and bring back flexibility and balance with their rehab regime. 

Meniscal Tear

The causes of meniscus tears are traumatic injuries to the knee by twisting or turning while the knee is flexed which can also tear the Medial and Lateral Collateral ligaments.  If left untreated it can cause more damage to the structure of the knee which can make the knee lock, slip or pop.  Soccer players will feel pain, swelling tenderness and clicking in the knee. 

Prevention – Your physical therapist will provide you with exercises to strengthen the quad muscles, prescribe you with warm up and light activities to complete prior to playing, proper rest periods, recommend shoes with better support and help maintain knee flexibility. 

Calf Strains

Calf Strains are very common in soccer players because a lot of force and load is being put on the legs and it is being stretched beyond its normal range of motion.  The muscle fibers will begin to tear.  The motions of this high-impact sport put practically all lower body muscles at risk of strains. 

Prevention – Warming up before games or practices is very important because it helps with muscle flexibility and strength.  Physical therapists will use heat and allow you to begin stretching and limiting movements.  Then they will increase your flexibility and finally add in strength exercises if there is any pain or discomfort stops the exercises and rest. 

How to Prevent Soccer Injuries

The sports injury physiotherapist at Curezone Physiotherapy Mississauga location will recommend starting with cardio to increase your heart rate, then stretching focusing on the lower body and stretching your neck gently, passing drills, shooting drills and sprinting drills in that order.  If you are tired, you are more prone to injury if fatigued stop exercising and rest to avoid this hydration and nutrition are key to reducing fatigue.  If you are interested to know more about your condition and discuss to find out if there is a solution meet our specially trained Sports Injury Physiotherapist and Chiropractor standing by to help you. Call today to get started on your recovery from common sports injuries.