While Pain Is Common With Sports Injuries, Some Causes Are Odd

27 Apr While Pain Is Common With Sports Injuries, Some Causes Are Odd

When we think of sports injuries, we tend to think of pain as well. And why not? How many of us have seen horrific TV images of an athlete writhing in pain on the field? Some of the most painful injuries of all are experienced during athletic pursuits.

While pain is common with sports injuries, some injury causes are not. Some injuries are caused by unusual circumstances. Others are outright odd. Yet regardless of the cause, nearly every injury can be treated. Even the number one symptom of most sports injuries, pain, is treatable.

How Sports Injuries Occur

Most sports injuries occur as a result of the terrific abuse athlete bodies take. Everything from strained muscles to tendon ruptures and broken bones can occur when you are pushing your body past its limits. We understand that much just by watching pro sports on TV. But not all athlete injuries are directly related to competition itself.

Here’s an example: Gladbach (Germany) soccer player Nathan Ngoumou recently experienced a devastating Achilles tendon injury following a match. After the final whistle, Ngoumou joined his teammates in jogging off the field. That effortless jog between field and locker room did the trick. A season was halted and a career potentially ended because of an Achilles tear.

Ngoumou’s treatment will likely be identical to that of any other Achilles’ tear. How he sustained his injury will have very little impact on how he is treated. Nonetheless, that’s little consolation to a soccer player who was just trying to get off the field when he hurt himself.

Some Injuries Are Very Odd

Some athlete injuries are experienced in very odd ways. Sticking with soccer players, consider another European player by the name of Leon Andresen. The Dane missed the 2015 European Championship playoffs after cutting his hand with a kitchen knife. He was merely opening a package when he mishandled the knife and sliced himself. Technically, it’s not a sports injury. But it is an injury that kept him from playing.

Irishman Robbie Keane was sidelined for several weeks after injuring his foot while watching TV. It turns out that he wanted to change the channel but could not reach the remote control without getting up. Instead of doing so, he attempted to retrieve the remote control with this foot. The result? A significant ligament tear.

Moving on, Wolfsburg’s Charles Akonnor managed to miss some time in 2001 after ramming his nose into a car antenna. Exactly how he managed to do this is not clear. Unfortunately, the medication he was advised to take, in hopes of helping the wound heal faster, ended up sidelining him for three games because it was on the anti-doping list.

Perhaps the most bizarre of all is the 1975 injury experienced by Franz Michelberger. He was minding his own business, standing in front of the team bus at training camp, when a camel came up from behind and kicked him. The kick slammed him into the bus and led to a knee injury.

Come See Us, Regardless

If you have experienced a sports injury, we invite you to come see us at Lone Star Pain Medicine regardless of its cause. We offer treatments ranging from prolotherapy to regenerative medicine to pain-relieving nerve blocks.

Most sports injuries occur in the field of play. Others, not so much. But cause doesn’t matter as much as the treatment, so don’t let a sports injury keep you from competing. Let us work on helping you get healthy again so that you can get back to it.