Orthopaedic injuries occur when your body sustains an impact that’s strong enough to break bones or tear soft tissue.
You can also sustain stress injuries that start out small and progress to cause a significant problem. Age-related degenerative conditions also lead to orthopaedic injuries.
The team at Prolete Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in Milford, Connecticut, helps people recover from every type of orthopaedic injury. We specialize in advanced techniques that relieve your pain and customized physical therapy that rehabilitates your body and gets you back into action.
Here’s a quick rundown of orthopaedic injuries we frequently treat:
Wrist fractures
Wrist fractures occur when the large arm bone breaks just above your wrist. Sometimes the damage extends into the wrist joint.
A strong impact caused by falling, athletic activities, and playground accidents are the top causes of a wrist fracture.
Sprained ankles
You sprain your ankle when ligaments supporting the joint are stretched or torn. You can sprain your ankle when taking a leisurely walk and while playing sports that require quick turns, twists, or pivots.
Chronic ankle instability develops when you don’t fully rehabilitate from a sprain. We work with many patients who need to regain optimal strength and mobility following an ankle sprain.
ACL tears
Though you can tear any of the ligaments in your knee, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is injured more frequently than the others.
This ligament, which stabilizes your knee, takes a lot of stress during activities that involve quick stops and starts. Landing a jump incorrectly can also cause an ACL tear.
Meniscus tears
A meniscus tear typically occurs when you twist your knee. Though this orthopaedic injury often happens during sports like football, basketball, and soccer, age-related degenerative changes also increase your risk.
As the meniscus — the cartilage on top of your shin — deteriorates, it’s susceptible to injuries, even tears sustained during low-impact, everyday movements.
Shoulder dislocations
Shoulder dislocations occur when the arm bone comes out of the shoulder socket. Any activity that causes a blow to your shoulder can lead to a partial or complete dislocation.
Your risk is higher if you engage in activities requiring repetitive overhead movement, such as pitching or painting.
Rotator cuff tears
The rotator cuff refers to the group of muscles that hold your arm in the shoulder joint and support arm movement. These muscles get such extensive use that they often develop tears from years of daily movement.
You can also injure the rotator cuff from lifting a heavy object or during a fall or athletic activities.
Tennis elbow
Tennis elbow, also called lateral epicondylitis, is a common repetitive stress injury affecting the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to your elbow. These muscles, which extend and turn your wrist, are used extensively during tennis and other activities that mimic the same motion.
Repetitive stress injuries and stress fractures
When you’re active, your soft tissues naturally develop tiny tears. When you give your body time to rest and recover, the tears heal.
If you don’t take time to heal, you may develop a repetitive stress injury that leads to inflammation and progressive weakness that can cause a complete rupture.
You can also develop a similar injury in your bones. With extensive activity, your muscles become too fatigued to absorb shock. As a result, that stress is transferred to the bone, where it causes a small crack called a stress fracture.
Compression fractures
Compression fractures occur when osteoporosis makes your bones too weak to support your body. These fractures most often occur in the spine when a vertebra collapses.
Osteoporosis makes your bones so brittle and weak that they collapse without much force or pressure. For example, coughing can cause a vertebral compression fracture.
No matter what type of orthopaedic injury you sustain, we can develop a customized plan to relieve your pain and support your rehabilitation. Call or book an appointment online today.