Sports Injuries Specialist
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Innovative Pain and Spine Center
Board Certified in Pain Management & Physical Medicine located in Sherman Oaks, CA
Anyone can sustain a sports injury, whether they participate in competitive sports, turn into weekend warriors, or simply enjoy taking walks. Matthew Root, DO, at Innovative Pain and Spine Center in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, specializes in physical medicine and pain medicine, the two areas of expertise you need for exceptional treatment of sports injuries. If you need help with acute or chronic pain, or you need customized rehabilitation, call the Toluca Lake office or schedule an appointment online.
Sports Injuries Q & A
What are the most common sports injuries?
While many sports injuries occur due to an unforeseeable accident during the game, you’re more likely to develop an injury if you don’t warm up properly, you increase your activity too quickly, or you use improper technique.
Sprains are one of the most common acute sports injuries. A few specific problems that frequently develop include:
- Ankle sprains
- ACL tears
- Meniscus injuries
- Tennis or golf elbow
- Shoulder dislocation
- Rotator cuff tears
- Shin splints
- Achilles tendonitis
- Runners knee
Overuse injuries, which occur more often than acute injuries, develop gradually due to repetitive movement. When you engage in strenuous activities, your muscles normally develop micro-injuries.
If you don’t give these tiny tears enough time to heal between activities, they can slowly turn into a serious tear.
The same concept applies to bones, which can develop stress fractures. Stress fractures often occur in the foot or lower leg, because they bear the stress of walking, jumping, and running.
What symptoms develop due to sports injuries?
Musculoskeletal injuries cause symptoms such as:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Joint instability
- Limited movement
- Muscle weakness
- Tingling or numbness
- Inability to use the affected limb
If your symptoms are severe, or they don’t improve within a few days, call Innovative Pain and Spine Center so you can start treatment and get relief from your pain.
What treatment might I receive for a sports injury?
Treatment for a sports injury begins with conservative therapies such as temporary immobilization, activity modification, and physical therapy.
As a specialist in physical medicine, Dr. Root develops customized rehabilitation that restores strength, flexibility, and mobility, and typically includes sports-specific training.
Depending on the level of your pain, Dr. Root may recommend steroid injections to reduce inflammation. You may also be a good candidate for regenerative medicine therapies such as platelet-rich platelet (PRP) and bone marrow aspirate stem cell concentrate (BMAC).
PRP accelerates healing, making it a good option for slow-healing injuries. BMAC regenerates the new cells needed to repair damaged tissues. Dr. Root may use them alone or together, injecting them at the site of damaged tissue for optimal results.
If your pain doesn’t improve, Dr. Root may recommend advanced interventional treatments such as an epidural steroid injection, a nerve block, or radiofrequency ablation.
These treatments block the specific nerve that’s sending pain signals to your brain. As a result, your brain doesn’t get the message and your pain is significantly diminished.
If you need pain relief or treatment of a sports injury, call Innovative Pain and Spine Center or book an appointment online.
