Sports traumatology is a sub-discipline of sports orthopaedics. It specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and degenerative diseases resulting from sporting activities. Sports traumatology not only helps professional athletes, but also recreational athletes. The aim of sports traumatology is to enable patients to continue practicing their sport at a high level.
Here you will find further information as well as selected sports traumatologists and centers.
Sport is an enrichment for life at any age. It keeps us fit and healthy and, at best, delays the signs of the ageing process.
Unfortunately, sport can also harbor a risk of sports injuries. These do not always have to be bruises or abrasions or even broken bones. Often, incorrect strain is placed on tendons, muscles and ligaments in the body. Over time, these can lead to increasingly severe physical complaints and pain.
Low-energy sports can also lead to permanent damage, particularly to joints, ligaments and bones.
The most common cases of sports injuries are actually joint injuries. Excessive joint wear and tear(osteoarthritis) is also often observed as a result of high loads and incorrect loading.
At 70%, the lower extremities are most frequently affected by injuries. However, the shoulder and arm area also causes pain in one in five people. Fortunately, accidents to the spine or head are much rarer.
These are the most common injuries in sports traumatology:
Every treatment always begins with a thorough diagnosis.
After a detailed doctor-patient consultation(anamnesis), an intensive physical examination is carried out by a specialist. Imaging procedures may also be used, such as
These procedures visualize various tissues and bones. They help the doctor to assess possible injuries.
In general, treatment in sports traumatology should be as gentle as possible and without further trauma. Conservative measures include, for example
If these measures are not sufficient, surgical intervention on the joint or tendons should be considered. Nowadays, such joint operations are usually performed as minimally invasive surgery.
The sports traumatology specialist uses an endoscope to make a small incision in the joint to be "repaired". Using a camera and special instruments, the sports doctor can operate on joint damage without large incisions.
Shock wave therapy is also used in many specialist sports traumatology centers for chronic injuries, overuse or pain. The ultrasound waves of this method improve blood circulation and stimulate cells to divide, which accelerates healing.
In this way, many sports traumas, such as
can be treated on an outpatient basis by a specialist in sports traumatology.
Thanks to minimally invasive surgical techniques for joint damage, sports injuries can be treated with gentle surgery. The complication rates are significantly lower than with conventional surgery and patients have a better chance of recovery.
However, sports traumatology only treats acute injuries. This is followed by rehabilitation. This is the only way to guarantee that the mobility of joints regenerates as quickly as possible. A combination of gentle exercise and physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles and tendons in the injured area has proven effective.
Depending on the origin of the injury and the time elapsed before adequate treatment is received, it usually takes several weeks to months for complete rehabilitation. After this, however, there is usually nothing to prevent you from resuming sporting activity.
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