Understanding the different types of sports injuries and what they mean is a corner stone to treating, managing, rehabilitating and returning to play form those respective setbacks. In today’s blog we will explore the difference between acute, chronic and overuse types of injuries.
Let’s get started with some basics, Acute injuries are sudden and typically result from a specific traumatic event. Chronic and Overuse Injures are often thought to be one of the same however there is an important distinction. Typically Chronic Injuries develop over an extended period of time, often due to stress or strain on a specific area of the body, while Overuse injuries also develop gradually, but they specifically stem from repetitive movements or activities without adequate rest or recovery. The differences in how these injuries occur directly relate to how you treat them.
Acute injuries occur suddenly, often causing immediate pain, swelling, and limited function, and can involve various tissues, including muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints. Examples of acute injuries include sprains, strains, fractures, dislocations, and contusions (bruises). In general, treatment for acute injuries requires prompt and appropriate management to minimize damage and promote optimal recovery. We will go into types of acute injures down the road, but a good example of this is rolling your ankle after stepping on someone’s foot, leading to a lateral ankle sprain.
Chronic injuries are long-term conditions that develop gradually over time and persist for an extended period. Unlike acute injuries, chronic injuries often stem from overuse, repetitive stress, or underlying biomechanical issues. They may involve tissues such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, or bones and can lead to persistent pain, inflammation, and functional limitations. Common chronic injuries include tendinopathies, stress fractures, osteoarthritis, and chronic back pain. Treatment for chronic injuries typically focuses on managing symptoms, improving function, and addressing underlying factors contributing to the injury, such as biomechanical imbalances or training errors. Again, we will discuss more on this at a later date but a good example of a chronic injury, sticking with the ankle sprain, would be someone who has chronic ankle instability, they suffer from loose tissues and are some who “rolls” their ankle often and typically can bounce back quickly as they do not experience a acute injury, due to the chronic nature of repetitively stressing it. These injuries are super common in young athletes however.
Overuse injuries occur when the body is subjected to repetitive stress or strain without adequate time for rest and recovery. These injuries develop gradually over time due to the cumulative effect of repeated microtrauma to tissues such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Overuse injuries are common in athletes and individuals who engage in repetitive activities or sports with high training volumes and intensities. Examples of overuse injuries include stress fractures, tendinitis, bursitis, runner’s knee, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis. Treatment for overuse injuries often involves rest, activity modification, stretching and strengthening exercises, biomechanical corrections, and gradual return to activity to allow affected tissues to heal and prevent recurrence. These injuries can be very common in young athletes, and we will discuss many of them at length as we move forward, but these can typically happen with kids who either play to many sports and never rest or who play one sport to often and never cross train their bodies.
This wraps up the 3 types of injuries that may occur with your child or athlete, please let us know if you have any questions, and we will continue to expand on all these topics in this blog, stay tuned for more relevant information, and continue to empower yourself!
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