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Participating in sports is a great way to stay active, but sports can lead to injuries that range from mild to extremely devastating. When the head is injured, damage may be especially catastrophic. Contact sports such as boxing, hockey and football put players at high risk of head, neck and brain injuries. Sports with a high risk of falls such as gymnastics and cheerleading can also trigger head injuries.
A sports injury doctor is specially trained in evaluating injuries that occur from participating in sports. If you’re looking for a shese include:ports injury specialist in New York or New Jersey, Neuro Injury Specialists can help. Dr. Dvoskin specializes in pain management and physical medicine and rehabilitation and Dr. Reyfman specializes in anesthesiology and pain management. Both doctors have extensive experience in the field of sports injury treatment.
Sports injuries aren’t always predictable, but there are certain things that increase the risk of being injured while participating in athletics.
These include:
Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated when participating in sports or other strenuous activities. Rest when you’re tired and avoid overdoing it. If you’ve been injured, make sure the injury has healed before resuming participation. Your sports injury specialist monitors your progress after you’re injured and gives you the go-ahead when you can resume playing.
Sports injuries aren’t limited to professional athletes or athletes who participate regularly in sporting competitions. In fact, weekend warriors who go full steam after sitting at a desk all week are at high risk of needing sports injury treatment.
Minor injuries are common among people who play sports occasionally and periodically attempt to do more than their body is accustomed to. Children and adolescents are at high risk of sports injuries, often because they think they are invincible or don’t know about the inherent risks in many sporting activities.
Examples of the most common sports injuries include:
Sports injury treatment for minor injuries such as sprains and strains usually starts with rest after seeing a top neurologist to ensure there isn’t any major internal harm. Prop up the area that’s affected and use ice. Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen may reduce swelling and pain.
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common injuries that can be triggered by participation in sports. Some of these injuries are relatively minor, but others can cause massive damage to the brain and may result in death.
Damage to the brain can happen from accidents such as when:
A TBI may affect just one area of the brain or more than one area. When there’s no break in the skull, it’s known as a closed brain injury. A penetrating injury can cause a break in the skull.
Types of brain injury include:
Anyone who has an accident that affects the head should be closely watched. When you play a risky sport, know where you can find the best sports injury doctor near me. Symptoms may not appear for a few days. If any signs of a brain injury happen after your head has been injured, get a thorough examination and diagnostic testing.
What Are the Signs of a Concussion or Mild TBI?
Concussions are extremely common sports injuries. This type of mild TBI can also be caused by a fall or a cycling or car accident.
Signs of a concussion include:
As many as one in 10 athletes experience a concussion during a sports season. Signs of a concussion don’t always happen immediately after an injury. A mild TBI affects brain cells on a temporary basis. Repeated concussions may lead to complications, second impact syndrome or neurological problems later in life.
A more serious TBI may have the same symptoms as a mild TBI. As a mild concussion may cause you to lose consciousness for a few minutes, a severe TBI can cause you to be in a coma for days or longer.
And there may be additional symptoms, such as:
A person who has a severe TBI may fall asleep for several hours and it may be difficult to wake them up. Clear fluids may drain from the eyes or nose. Symptoms of a severe TBI can worsen quickly and may lead to very serious consequences and even death.
Sports injury treatment is customized to each individual based on the location of the injury and its severity. A mild to moderate TBI may be treated at home with rest and may require time off from work, school or sports.
Sports injury treatment of a more severe TBI may include:
If you have a mild TBI, you probably will be able to return to pre-injury functioning in a short amount of time. Talk to your NY and NJ physician to find out how long you should wait before resuming normal activities, including participating in your sport. It may take much longer to recover from more serious injuries, and the impact of severe TBIs and other sports injures may be permanent.
Don’t try to judge the severity of a concussion or other sports injury yourself. In the greater NYC area, contact the sports injury doctors at Neuro Injury Specialists for a thorough evaluation, accurate diagnosis and the most up-to-date sports injury treatment near me.