How to optimize recovery time after a sports injury – Mayo Clinic Press

I ran track my freshman year of high school — and it definitely wasn’t love at first jog. I was sweaty and out of shape and I struggled to keep up with kids who’d been running competitively throughout high school and even middle school. No one would ever call me fast, but that season did kick-start my decade-long love affair with running.

As an adult, I started focusing my attention more on endurance and longer-distance running. But a few months in, I noticed a consistent, aching pain running down the front of both my shins. The pain was annoying at first but slowly became severe enough to hurt during normal, day-to-day activities. I was experiencing shin splints — also known as medial tibial stress syndrome — a common sports injury in runners caused by repetitive stress on the shin bones.

“A sports injury is any type of injury incurred during sport-related activities, such as competition, strength training activities or conditioning-related activities,” says Andrew R. Jagim, Ph.D., director of sports medicine research at Mayo Clinic Health System. Some sports injuries are chronic — meaning, as in my case, they develop gradually from repetitive use or overuse of certain body parts — while other injuries are sudden. Acute sports injuries include a sprain, fracture, concussion or dislocation.

Recovering from a sports injury depends on many factors, most importantly the type and severity. But no matter the injury, Dr. Jagim says it’s important to give yourself time to fully heal before rushing back to competition or trying to “fight through the pain.” In other words, don’t be like me and ignore your injury until you’re struggling on and off the field.

Below, Dr. Jagim goes over everything you need to know about bouncing back from a sports injury as quickly as possible.

What to expect from a sports injury

The exact symptoms of a sports injury depend on the injury and body parts affected. But, in general, signs of chronic injuries include pain with exercise, possibly swelling — and even pain or discomfort at rest or during daily activities. Acute injuries, on the other hand, may include sudden, intense pain, severe swelling or bruising, and the inability to move normally or put weight on a body part. You may feel or notice a “pop” or sharp sting of pain during contact with another competitor or when planting or twisting with the lower extremity, adds Dr. Jagim.

“Some injuries just need time and immobilization to recover,” says Dr. Jagim. “For example, a bone fracture is frequently immobilized and casted to protect the bone and give it time to heal, without external stimuli or pressure disrupting the healing process.” Other injuries may need rest from the activity that caused the injury, but not necessarily immobilization. These injuries can often benefit from specific and gentle stretching and strengthening exercises. These exercises might benefit the injured area directly, but many times they help improve body structures that support and stabilize the injured area.

But for athletes, there is often more to the recovery process than just allowing the tissues to heal. For many people, it’s also about recovering their level of fitness, strength, endurance and kinesthetic awareness. Kinesthetic awareness is knowing where your limbs are in space and during movements, such as making sure your foot is level and prepared for landing during jumping activities. “Oftentimes following an injury, the injured limb has been immobilized and therefore likely will experience significant atrophy, or muscle loss, and weakness due to lack of muscular activity. It’s the ‘if you don’t use it you lose it’ kind of idea,” says Dr. Jagim.

As a result, athletes may need to work with a physical therapist to regain range of motion, joint stability, muscular ability and joint coordination to help them get back to their pre-injury athletic abilities. “After physical therapy, it’s a good idea to begin a transition plan to return to sports activities as well as a plan for modified strength and conditioning training,” Dr. Jagim says. “This plan will help build up strength gradually, so an athlete doesn’t do too much too soon and risk the chance of re-injury.”