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Orthopedists specialize in hard tissue problems (bones, meniscus), while rehabilitation doctors specialize in soft tissue problems (muscles, tendons, ligaments).
The general recognition is orthopedics (surgery) and rehabilitation (injection therapy, exercise therapy). Rehabilitation doctors are more skilled in less invasive injection treatments because they cannot perform surgery. The sports injury department in most hospitals is handled by the Department of Orthopedics, which focuses more on the surgical part, such as ligament reconstruction, arthroscopic surgery, etc. However, most recreational athletes’ injuries are minor and rarely require surgery. This is where people are more likely to get confused.
Common sports injuries among runners
According to the location of pain and injury, I will break it down as follows.
Orthopedists specialize in hard tissue problems (bones, meniscus), while rehabilitation doctors specialize in soft tissue problems (muscles, tendons, ligaments).
The general recognition is orthopedics (surgery) and rehabilitation (injection therapy, exercise therapy). Rehabilitation doctors are more skilled in less invasive injection treatments because they cannot perform surgery. The sports injury department in most hospitals is handled by the Department of Orthopedics, which focuses more on the surgical part, such as ligament reconstruction, arthroscopic surgery, etc. However, most recreational athletes’ injuries are minor and rarely require surgery. This is where people are more likely to get confused.
Common sports injuries among runners
The breakdown according to pain and injury location is as follows.
Ankle joint: Common ankle sprains, high ankle sprains, ankle hydrops, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendon inflammation, heel bursitis, etc. These injuries are likely to occur in flat feet or high arches, or even in excessive wear or inappropriate selection of running shoes. The amount of running is increased too much in a short period of time, causing the muscles and bones to be unable to adapt.
Calf: medial tibial stress syndrome (including tibialis posterior muscle overuse, tibialis posterior tendinitis, fatigue fracture), calf muscle overuse (common in forefoot runners and gluteal muscle incompetent people).
Knee: Common iliotibial band syndrome (runner’s knee, gluteal muscle incompetence), ancillary tendonitis (overuse of hamstring muscles), patellar tendinitis (jumper’s knee), degenerative arthritis, patellar bursitis, patella Femoral pain syndrome, etc.
Thigh: Common quadriceps strains, groin strains and hamstring muscle strains (high-intensity runners), ischial avulsion fractures (hurdlers), excessive thigh muscle tightness, etc. Often results in injuries to the tendon junctions in the knee.
Buttocks and lower back: Common piriformis syndrome (causing sciatica), gluteal muscle incompetence, greater trochanteric bursitis, lower back pain and stiffness, etc.
Myofascial pain syndrome and transfer pain: This type of pain often challenges the diagnostic ability of doctors. The biggest characteristic is pain in part A, but it turns out to be a problem in part B. It takes an experienced physician to identify the exact problem.
Which professional medical institution should I seek help from?
As far as hardware equipment is concerned
Complete equipment for sports injury assessment should include a “digital X-ray machine” and “musculoskeletal ultrasound”.
“Digital X-ray machine” can diagnose fractures, measure the displacement after fracture, and determine whether surgical treatment is needed. The importance of “high-resolution ultrasound” can even be called the stethoscope of sports medicine doctors.
High-resolution ultrasound can observe 0.1cm of subcutaneous tissue in the superficial layer, and the bursa 7cm below the buttocks in the deep layer, to determine the degree of muscle tears and tendon injuries. The most important thing is that it can help perform ultrasound-guided injection treatment and accurately deliver drugs to injured areas that are difficult to reach during rehabilitation.
As far as software equipment is concerned
Software is more important and refers to the physician’s knowledge and concepts. Sports specialists must be familiar with the “exercise patterns” of each activity, conduct a comprehensive assessment, and examine from the bottom up.
For patients with sports injuries, evaluation will begin with the feet and shoes. Because many patients with poor rehabilitation results or recurrent relapses have foot problems, they need to make overall biomechanical adjustments. Foot problems often lead to lower back pain, and in more serious cases can cause difficult-to-treat shoulder and neck pain and headaches.
After examining the main injured area, the doctor will further conduct a complete assessment of the muscle groups involved in the movement pattern. Most of the time patients complain of knee problems, but upon examination, it is discovered that treatment is more needed in the hips or lower back. Only through such a holistic assessment and treatment can the recovery from the injury be accelerated.
The sports injury department in most hospitals is handled by the Department of Orthopedics, which focuses more on the surgical part, such as ligament reconstruction, arthroscopic surgery, etc. However, most recreational athletes’ injuries are minor and rarely require surgery. This is where people are more likely to get confused.
The diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries still require doctors to be interested in sports and further study, or even to be “physician-athletes” themselves. Only then can the rehabilitation prescriptions they prescribe have a better chance of meeting the needs of players and sports enthusiasts, rather than just requiring players to passively for months.
Unless there is a serious injury, it is best for athletes to rest for no more than 1 week. Instead, they should not give up their previous exercise results easily; and do not interrupt the habit of exercise, because the body will return to its previous unexercised state as long as there is no exercise for 2 weeks. Recently, medicine has also developed many treatments to accelerate injury recovery, such as shock wave therapy, prolotherapy, PRP injection, ultrasound-guided injection, myofascial acupuncture therapy, Redcord suspension treatment, etc., which can accelerate the recovery of sports injuries.