Over Use Injury: Treatment & Prevention

Athletes of all levels who are involved in a variety of sports are aware of the potential for injury. There are two basic types of injuries: acute injuries and over use injuries.

Acute injuries are usually the result of a single, traumatic event such as a fall, tackle, hit or rapid twist. This type of injury will often result in fractures, contusion and sprain/strains.

Overuse injuries are more common, and occur subtly over time as a result of repetitive micro-trauma to tendons, bones, and joints. Common examples include tennis elbow, knee pain associated with long distance running or rotator cuff issues from overuse with pitching.

There are basically two causes of overuse injuries: over-training and poor technique errors. Training errors are the most common and involve increased intensity, duration, or frequency over a period of time. Fundamentally, overuse injuries result from overdoing a particular activity. Technique errors occur when an athlete repetitively performs an action using improper body mechanics (biomechanics) thus putting excessive stress on the joints or soft tissue structure. To prevent technique errors, there should be proper supervision by qualified coaches or teachers and should chronic soreness or pain persist, a proper evaluation by a health practitioner skilled in biomechanics should occur.

Some people are prone to overuse injuries. Muscular or biomechanical imbalances around certain joints predispose certain individuals to injury. Body alignment issues, such as knock-knees, bowlegs, unequal leg lengths, and flat or high arched feet will also impact overuse injuries. Many people have weakened areas physically due to old injuries, incompletely rehabilitated injuries, or other anatomic factors.

The best treatment of overuse injuries is prevention. Proper technique, a solid training schedule and good body mechanics (biomechanics) will go a long way towards warding off injuries. Should persistent pain or soreness or a lack of mobility persist, a chiropractic biomechanical exam is warranted.

Call our office today at (314) 731-4383 or CLICK HERE to schedule and evaluation.
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Dr. Martin Schmaltz provides comprehensive non-surgical care for all levels of athletes. Dr. Schmaltz has extensive post-graduate training in sports injury from Los Angeles Chiropractic College.

Our focus is performance enhancement by optimizing biomechanics as well as the treatment of sports related injuries to the neck, back, shoulders and extremities.

Our goal is to treat patients with compassion, respect, professionalism and understanding while administering the highest quality care possible. Our friendly and professional staff is committed to providing each patient with personalized, effective healthcare. We offer gentle, safe chiropractic care centered on the needs of each patient. We accept most insurance plans.