Summer brings an increase in sports activities, and as many of us find out, sports-related injuries often trail close behind. Injuries come in two basic types. The first type usually stems from a single traumatic event. (For instance, a sprained ankle, pulled muscle, or broken bone.) The other form is subtler, occurring over time, making the injuries harder to diagnose, and in turn, treat properly. These injuries are a result of repetitive micro-trauma to the tendons, bones, joints, and cartilage. These are the dreaded and often misunderstood “overuse” injuries.
These injuries are caused by either intrinsic (inherent in the body) or extrinsic (external to the body) factors (e.g. training surface, overly worn shoes, environment, etc.), or sometimes a combination of the two. Sometimes, the way each person’s body uniquely operates can be a contributing factor.
Overuse injuries generally follow four levels of severity:
- Pain only after exercise (often hours after stopping).
- Discomfort (not pain) during exercise, but not enough to reduce training or performance.
- More severe discomfort (now recognized as pain), which limits performance and training.
- Injury so severe that it prevents training altogether.
[aside id=”1″]Obviously, each progression of the injury requires more attention and more conservative treatment. Often, self-treatment (icing, cross-training, foam rolling, stretching, and strengthening) can keep the injuries at a manageable level until you’ve recovered. However, injuries indicate a breakdown, and often they progress and need to be evaluated by a sports medicine professional.
Every injury has a cause or multiple causes. Determining what’s behind the injury is important for proper treatment. If you treat the effects of the injury, and not the cause, you may not recover quickly. Ask yourself:
- Have I changed anything in my training?
- Are my shoes excessively worn?
- Did I do the “Terrible Toos?” (Too much, too soon, too often, too hard?)
Remember the 10-percent rule: never increase your workouts more than 10 percent week to week. Most often, the way you’re training is what causes an overuse injury. Overall, physical stress and exercise are beneficial to bones, muscles, and tendons. There is a normal breakdown of the tissues, but that will rebuild with ample recovery, and the muscles, tendons, and bones will become stronger. There is a fine balance between this process (called remodeling) and a breakdown causing injury.
Some of the common warning signs to look out for in overtraining include generalized fatigue, recurrent headaches, diarrhea, weight loss, and a decrease in appetite for food, work, or sex. If these symptoms occur, look to reduce training, try varied activities, or consider resting to limit the progression of the injury.
If you have an overuse injury that isn’t responding to conservative self-treatment, or if the discomfort is increasing, a professional specializing in sports medicine can usually provide a proper diagnosis.
Bill Borowski is director of Athletic Training Services at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. Borowski is an avid athlete and can attest to the side effects of overtraining.
