Joint and Sports Injury Treatment Near You in New Jersey
Most athletes or active people have been injured at least once. If they are lucky, the injury is mild enough to heal at home. More serious sports or joint injuries can be debilitating. Fortunately, even serious injuries do not need to end your active lifestyle. Bergen Medical Associates is a medical practice with a multidisciplinary team of practitioners, including sports medicine specialists, who provide joint injury treatment for northern New Jersey patients. Learn more about our joint and sports injury treatments and how they can help you get back to pain-free living.
What Are Joint and Sports Injuries?
Joints are where two or more bones meet, allowing for smooth movement and range of motion. Joint injuries occur when these areas are damaged. Sports injuries refer to a broad category of orthopedic conditions that often occur during sports. They can affect any part of the musculoskeletal system but are most common in joints. They can affect a variety of tissues, including bone, muscle, and connective tissues, and include both acute injuries and repetitive stress injuries. Common types of joint and sports injury include:
- Sprains: Ligaments are tough bands of connective tissue that stabilize joints. Sprains occur when one or more ligaments become stretched or torn.
- Strains: Strains result from stress to tendons or muscles, causing them to tear or pull away from the bone. Common strains include tennis elbow and runner’s knee.
- Tendonitis: In some cases, tendons become stretched but do not tear. This light damage can cause tendons to become swollen or inflamed.
- Bursitis: Bursae are small fluid-filled sacs that act as cushions for joints. Bursitis occurs when these sacs become inflamed, often due to prolonged pressure or a direct blow.
- Fractures: A fracture is the medical term for a broken bone. It includes both traumatic fractures and stress fractures, which occur over time due to overuse.
- Dislocation: Dislocation occurs when a joint is pulled out of its place. It is often accompanied by a sprain or strain, but not always.
Sports and joint injuries are usually acute, meaning that they affect a person only temporarily and have a clear cause. Some injuries, however, may become chronic. This is most often true for repetitive stress injuries or acute injuries that do not heal properly. Chronic joint pain is pain that persists for more than three months. Prompt treatment for joint injuries is necessary to prevent chronic discomfort.
What Are Joint Injury Symptoms?
Joint injury symptoms depend on the type of injury sustained. For traumatic injuries, the pain typically appears all at once, often after a sudden popping or snapping sensation in the joint. For repetitive stress injuries, the pain builds up over a long period of time. Symptoms of a joint injury include:
- Mild or severe pain
- Swelling, redness, or bruising in the joint
- Looseness or instability
- Stiffness or inability to move the joint
- Inability to put weight on the joint
- Lost range of motion
- A bone or joint that is visibly deformed
If a person is experiencing any of the above signs, they should seek treatment from an orthopedic, sports medicine or pain management specialist. Professional medical attention is crucial to relieve symptoms and ensure that injuries heal properly, avoiding complications such as chronic joint pain.
What Causes Sports and Joint Injuries?
Though joint injuries are common in athletes, they are not only caused by sports. They can arise from any type of strenuous physical activity. Many joint injuries, called traumatic injuries, occur when a joint suddenly takes a large amount of stress. Other types, called repetitive stress injuries, build up over time because of accumulated wear and tear. While anybody can get hurt during sports or exercise, certain factors increase an individual’s risk of injury:
- Using incorrect exercise techniques
- Using improper or poorly maintained equipment
- Wearing shoes that fit badly or have too little support
- Training too intensely, too long, or too often
- Increasing the level of physical activity too quickly
- Performing the same physical activity year-round
- Having had a previous sports-related injury
To prevent sports or exercise-related injuries, you should properly warm up and cool down before and after workouts, use proper equipment and form, and slowly increase your activity level.
How Are Sports and Joint Injuries Diagnosed?
When a patient visits Bergen Medical Associates for a sports or joint injury, the physician must first determine the location and extent of the damage. This information is necessary to help us provide a successful treatment plan. Physicians use the following tests to diagnose a joint injury:
- Physical examination: The physician examines the injury for swelling, tenderness, and points of pain. They may also ask the patient to perform certain movements to test mobility.
- Medical history evaluation: The physician may also check the patient’s medical history for evidence of past injuries that might have contributed to the current one.
- Imaging: X-ray imaging is used to look at the insides of joints. The images tell physicians which structures are damaged, where, and how severely, while ruling out other possibilities.
What Are Sports and Joint Injury Treatment Options?
Once the type of injury has been determined, physicians can plan treatment. Bergen Medical Associates employs a full range of non-surgical and surgical treatments for sports and joint injuries. Physicians inform their patients of the options available, which may include:
- RICE method: The RICE method refers to rest, ice, compression, and elevation. This conservative approach may relieve pain from mild injuries.
- Medication: Over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication may be recommended to manage pain and inflammation while an injury heals.
- Physical therapy: Physical rehabilitation rebuilds strength, flexibility, and stability around an injured joint to facilitate a smooth return to activities.
- Braces: A wearable orthotic or brace can provide external support to an injured joint, reducing pressure on it to encourage healing or prevent reinjury.
- Surgery: Severe sports or joint injuries require surgical repair. Physicians will help patients understand what to expect from the procedure and recovery.
Find Joint Injury Care Near You in New Jersey
A sports or joint injury should not keep you from doing the activities you love. Bergen Medical Associates offers state-of-the-art sports and joint injury treatment for patients throughout northern New Jersey, helping them get back to their active lifestyles. We are a multidisciplinary team of over 40 board-certified medical professionals committed to delivering a high level of patient care. To learn more, request an appointment today. We have locations in Emerson, Montvale, Northvale, Paramus, and Ridgewood, NJ, making it easy to find treatment near you.
