Typical Injuries Caused by Playing Sports

Sports Medicine

Sports Medicine at North Carolina Specialty Hospital involves surgical intervention for injuries sustained as an athlete at any level, from recreational and school sports all the way to collegiate and professional athletics.

Whether you want to return to playing sports or just get back to doing everyday activities, the cutting-edge technology used by our sports medicine physicians will get you back on track, all in a safe and respectful environment.

In orthopedics we specialize in athletic injuries involving bones, muscles, cartilage, joints, and ligaments in the knees, shoulders, elbows, hips, feet, and ankles. We use a variety of advanced techniques, including arthroscopic surgery, to treat a wide range of injuries and conditions:

Shoulder, Hip, and Arm Injuries

  • AC joint injury
  • Clavicle fracture
  • Labral tears of the shoulder and hip
  • Rotator cuff tear
  • Rotator cuff tendinitis
  • Shoulder and hip bursitis
  • Shoulder instability
  • Tennis elbow
  • Ulnar collateral ligament tear (elbow)

Knee Injuries

  • ACL tear
  • Meniscus tear
  • Patellar dislocation
  • Patellar tendon rupture
  • Knee cartilage injury
AC Joint and Clavicle

The AC (acromioclavicular) joint is where the shoulder blade (scapula) meets the collarbone (clavicle). The highest point of the shoulder blade is called the acromion. Strong tissues called ligaments connect the acromion to the collarbone, forming the AC joint. An AC joint sprain occurs when an injury damages the ligaments in the AC joint.
Hip Labral Tear

Labrum: In medicine, a ring of fibrocartilage (fibrous cartilage) around the edge of the articular (joint) surface of a bone. The term labrum is used in anatomy to designate a lip, edge, or brim.

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff: A group of four tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint. Each of these tendons attaches to a muscle that moves the shoulder in a specific direction. The four muscles whose tendons form the rotator cuff are the subscapularis muscle, which moves the arm by turning it inward (internal rotation); the supraspinatus muscle, which is responsible for elevating the arm and moving it away from the body; the infraspinatus muscle, which assists the lifting of the arm during outward turning (external rotation) of the arm; and the teres minor muscle, which also helps in the outward turning (external rotation) of the arm. Damage to the rotator cuff is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain.

Knee Injuries

Anterior Crucuate Ligament = ACL

Knee joint: The knee joint has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap (the patella) joins the femur to form a third joint, called the patellofemoral joint. The patella protects the front of the knee joint.

To learn more about common injuries and how to treat them, schedule a consultation with our orthopedic and joint specialist partners at Emerge Ortho.

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