Put a Stop to Recurring Injuries
May 5, 2020
By Nick Parkinson, M.Ed., AT, ATC, TSAC-F
Henry Ford Health System
Recurring injuries happen — and they're especially common among single-sport athletes or people who focus on one type of exercise, like runners. The reason: You're working the same muscles repeatedly. The end result: Your joints, muscles and tissues get worn out.
Breaking Down Recurring Injuries
Overuse injuries are a big deal. Continuing to re-injure the same muscle groups can take you out of the game entirely and limit your ability to participate in other activities. Here's what you need to know about these all-to-common ailments:
What are Recurring Injuries?
Recurring injuries, also called repetitive and overuse injuries, are injuries that happen repeatedly in the same location. Think along the lines of tendinitis, stress fractures, shin splints and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Common sites include ankles, knees, hips and shoulders.
Who is at Risk for Repetitive Injuries?
Overuse injuries can happen to anyone, but they're more likely to occur among workers who do repetitive motions and single-sport athletes. The risk of these injuries also increases with age. They're more likely to occur if you don't recognize the impact aging can have on your muscles, joints and tissues and modify your activities accordingly.
Why Do Recurring Injuries Happen?
Recurring injuries happen when you overuse the same muscles without sufficient recovery. It's simple body mechanics: If you continue using compromised muscles, you're more likely to get reinjured. And once you get stuck in that same biomechanic loop, it's nearly impossible to recover without changing your routine and learning new techniques.
How Can You Prevent Recurring Injuries?
All sports have a risk of injury. The key is paying attention to your body and taking the appropriate steps to minimize your risk. Here's how:
• Use appropriate gear. Make sure you're wearing appropriate protective gear for the activity you're participating in and choose the right footwear.
• Alternate muscle groups. Instead of focusing on one type of exercise, switch things up. Incorporate low-impact activities, such as swimming, biking and water sports, and make sure you're not overloading any particular muscle group.
• Take rest days. It's important to give your muscles, joints and tissues time to recover. Two days of rest each week is best. If you play a sport, plan to have at least one off day per week and at least one month off per year.
• Strengthen muscles. Conditioning exercises can help strengthen the muscles you need to perform various activities.
• Use proper form. Overuse injuries are sometimes related to improper form during activity. Work with a professional to ensure you're using proper body mechanics and get back to your usual activities gradually.
Play it Safe
The best way to avoid recurrent injuries is to not get injured in the first place. Recover during the season — even if it means missing out on some play. It's better to show up to a game healthy but undertrained than to power through an injury and risk reinjury.
Talk to your doctor before starting a new activity or ramping up your current routine. If you're at risk of developing a recurrent injury, a professional can provide you with a workout regimen that can help prevent injury.
Most important: Don't let an overuse injury prevent you from being physically active. Instead, listen to your body, consult a professional and pace yourself. Treatment may involve avoiding a specific activity for a period of time, along with hot and cold therapy, massage and focused rehabilitation.
Nick Parkinson, M.Ed., AT, ATC, TSAC-F, is the Supervisor of Athletic Training with Henry Ford Sports Medicine and also leads Sports Performance training at the William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine. Learn more about Nick.
Want to learn more? Henry Ford Health System sports medicine experts are treating the whole athlete, in a whole new way. From nutrition to neurology, and from injury prevention to treatment of sports-related conditions, they can give your athlete a unique game plan.
Visit henryford.com/sports or call (313) 972-4216 for an appointment within 24 business hours.
Macomb Lutheran North Standout on Mend After Knee Injury
October 3, 2023
Macomb Lutheran North freshman Emiliana Manzo has already achieved a long list of accomplishments, including a 3.8 grade-point average while juggling two sports she loves.
As a point guard, she led her basketball team to an undefeated season in its division. She is also a center attacking midfielder, sometimes playing forward, on the 2009 Nationals Girls Academy Blue soccer team, ranked No. 1 in Michigan and 14th in the country.
In June of 2022, Emiliana hit a detour on her sports journey when she was participating in a club soccer national championship in Oceanside, Calif. With a few seconds left in the game and her team up 2-1, she ran 20 yards full speed to get to the ball. Hyperextending her left knee, she felt two pops. It was the first time she experienced an injury.
“I was screaming and crying and got taken off the field on a golf cart,” explains Emiliana. The trainer felt she was OK. Fortunately, she had the next day off and her knee was feeling better. The following day she played again, and 20 minutes into the game she knew there was an issue.
“Someone hit me from behind and I heard the pop again. I knew there was a problem.”
Emiliana’s father Vince Manzo said she experienced swelling, and the athletic trainer thought she may have a meniscus injury; however, she was able to continue to walk around during the championship in California before heading home.
Finding the Right Provider
Back in Michigan, Emiliana saw a few surgeons during her evaluation to seek treatment. When she met with Vasilios Bill Moutzouros, MD, chief of Sports Medicine at Henry Ford Health, she felt she met the right match.
“He treated me like an athlete and made me feel really comfortable,” she says.
Vince adds that both he and Emiliana were also appreciative of something Dr. Moutzouros said during her evaluation: “He emphasized to Emiliana that she was an athlete before this injury, and she would be an athlete after the injury.”
A detailed evaluation by Dr. Moutzouros revealed Emiliana had a complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and medial and lateral meniscal tears. The meniscus, a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage, acts as a shock absorber between the shinbone and the thighbone. It is one of the most common knee injuries. The ACL, one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect the thigh bone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia), is also prone to injury during sports when there are sudden stops or changes in direction.
Emiliana required physical therapy to get the swelling down and increase mobility before surgical repair.
Dr. Moutzouros reconstructed her ACL with her own patellar tendon graft and repaired her medial meniscus.
“She handled the surgery well and has been working very hard in her rehabilitation,” he says. “Her high-level soccer experience likely helped in her recovery as her range of motion and strengthening advanced so quickly.”
Understandably, Emiliana was nervous and scared when she went into surgery but expressed appreciation for the little things from Henry Ford like hearing “great music” as she was entering surgery, which gave her a sense of calm.
“That’s when I knew I picked the right doctor,” she said.
The Road to Recovery
As part of her recovery, after surgery which took place in July of 2022, Emiliana has undergone six months of physical therapy to increase mobility and strength training to get her leg strong again.
She also participated in the Return to Sport Program at the Henry Ford Center for Athletic Medicine to optimize recovery.
“We loved it,” says Vince. “It gave us peace of mind.”
Dr. Moutzouros explains that ACL prevention and rehabilitation programs are critical, especially for women because they have a four times greater risk of ACL tear than men. He says performance training post-surgery, along with an injury prevention program for those playing cutting sports, can markedly reduce the likelihood of future ACL injury.
“At Henry Ford, we work with physical therapists across the Midwest as well as our own. They do a great job in following our Henry Ford specific post-ACL reconstruction protocol,” he says. “After therapy runs its course, we strongly encourage our athletes to undergo performance training to allow a smooth transition back to sport.”
Nick Parkinson, supervisor of Athletic Training and Sports Performance at Henry Ford Health, emphasizes that the return to sport program is designed to bridge the gap between rehabilitation and returning to full activity in your chosen sport.
“Many times, insurance limits rehabilitation to regaining activities of daily living and not necessarily rebuilding the skills needed to play a sport or return to activity,” Nick says. “This program provides an affordable option to fill this need and return athletes to competition at the highest level.”
As for Emiliana, who hopes to play soccer in college and pursue a career in the medical field, she says this experience has taught her to not be afraid of injuries and treatment. She has also used the experience to volunteer for a program through the Girls Academy which serves as an advisory board to come up with ideas to help with mental and physical issues girls her age may be facing.
“For other kids who experience injuries, I’ve learned that this does not define you,” she said. “You can push through it, recover from it and be way better than you even were before.”
To find a sports medicine doctor or athletic trainer at Henry Ford, visit henryford.com/athletes.