If you’re an athlete, nothing is worse than being confined to the sidelines on game day because of a sports injury! Fast Track Urgent Care, located in Kensington, Maryland, has experience working with athletes of all ages and offers fast, reliable sports injury treatment. We can get you back in the game in no time!

Although some sports injuries (such as a pulled muscle) can be treated pretty easily, others are more serious and may leave you permanently injured if you don’t receive proper treatment. That’s the beauty of our walk-in clinic – sometimes sports injury treatment can’t wait. And at Fast Track Urgent Care, you’ll receive fast, quality care!

Common Sports Injuries & Treatment

Sports injuries are common across the board, no matter the sport nor the age and gender of the athlete. Many times, the injury is beyond your control, but some sports injuries can be prevented!

  • Muscle sprains and strains/pulls – the most common sports injuries, muscle sprains and strains are common to many different sports, from soccer and baseball to football, tennis and track. Sprains are ligament injuries, and injury to your muscle fibers or tendons are called strains, also referred to as pulled muscles. Overusing or overstretching a muscle can cause the tendons or fibers to tear.

Muscle sprain and strain treatment includes RICE – Rest, Ice, Elevation, Compression. If you can, avoid putting weight on the injured muscle, and things like crutches or   braces can also help with the healing process. The old days of treating muscle pulls with heat is not recommended. Use ice for the first 48 hours to prevent unwanted swelling.

How can you prevent this sports injury? Muscle sprains and strains can sometimes be avoided – most of the time. Make sure you warm up properly and stretch beforehand, as it increases blood flow to the muscles and allows for more flexibility, lowering your risk of pulling or spraining your muscle. And it’s always best to get your blood moving before stretching, so jog a little or cycle a little ways before starting your muscle stretching routines. It’s important to stretch well after your workout as well.

  • Shin Splints – these are some of the most common sports injuries, especially among track athletes and avid runners. Shin splints consist of pain in the front of your lower legs (shins). Shin splints are usually caused by running or jumping on hard surfaces, especially if you’re running long distance.

Treatment for shin splints includes the RICE procedure, and you can even use over-the-counter medicine to help reduce the pain. However, if the pain becomes constant and you can feel it even when you aren’t running, more serious treatment is called for.

How can you prevent this sports injury? Shin splints are difficult to prevent, but it may help if you run on the road instead of the sidewalk, since asphalt is softer than cement.

  • Knee injuries – two common ones include runner’s knee and an ACL tear. Runner’s knee is caused by misalignment of the kneecap, and pain usually occurs in the back of the kneecap or the back of the knee after running. An ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear is caused by sudden stops or getting hit from the side, which happens frequently in sports such as soccer, baseball and football.

Knee injury treatment goes beyond just resting and icing. If you hear the infamous “pop” sound after getting hit in the knee and suspect it may be a torn ACL, you MUST get treatment.

How can you prevent this sports injury? Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to prevent knee injuries. It’s hard to avoid suddenly stopping or getting hit in the side of the knee when playing sports.

  • Frozen shoulder – frozen shoulder consists of pain in the shoulder and loss of motion due to inflammation. This sports injury is common when the joints and muscles are stressed with the arm in an overhead position, which occurs frequently in tennis, volleyball, swimming and baseball.

Frozen shoulder treatment usually consists of seeing a physical therapist or doctor who can provide proper exercises to help strengthen the rotator cuff muscles.

What can you do to prevent this sports injury? You can’t really do a whole lot to prevent frozen shoulder, so your best bet is seeking proper treatment if you get it. One thing you should do is to work on strengthening your shoulder assembly at the gym. Some of the shoulder muscles are very small, and it’s important that they be strengthened using proper techniques and exercises.

Whether you play college sports, participate in recreational games or like to run often, sports injuries can occur, especially if you don’t stretch and warm up properly. For more information on sports injury prevention, contact Fast Track Urgent Care today. And if you need sports injury treatment in Maryland, visit our Kensington walk-in clinic today!