Soft Tissue Injury Prevention

A feature article by Rob Tendick, May 27, 2007         

Summary: Whether we are involved in athletics on a day-to-day basis or not, we all have likely heard the term soft tissue injury before. But what exactly classifies a soft tissue injury? The easiest explanation is to say that any damage done to muscles, tendons, or ligaments would likely fall into the soft tissue injury category. This type of injury can be caused by a single accident or repeated overuse.

 
Whether we are involved in athletics on a day-to-day basis or not, we all have likely heard the term soft tissue injury before. But what exactly classifies a soft tissue injury? The easiest explanation is to say that any damage done to muscles, tendons, or ligaments would likely fall into the soft tissue injury category. This type of injury can be caused by a single accident or repeated overuse.

Whether your soft tissue injury is the result of overuse or a one-time blow that caused the injury, the result is still the same; pain, swelling, redness, and instability are the most common symptoms. A doctor will assess your injury and grade it based on the severity of the injury. From there, the rehabilitation protocol is fairly standard. Let's take a look at some of the most common soft tissue injuries and ways to prevent such damage.

If you don't think soft tissue injuries are common, ask yourself how often you hear your friends or family talk about issues such as: tennis elbow, an ankle sprain, strained back muscles, or even a contusion. Yes it's true, everyday people suffer from soft tissue injuries just like athletes do. There are all kinds of injuries that fall under the category of soft tissue.

These common injuries are classified into a few different types, each having unique characteristics. The sprain or strain is likely the most recognized soft tissue injury. The term sprain refers to a stretched or even torn ligament. Many people use the terms sprain and strain interchangeably, but the truth is they are not the exact same injury. A strain is similar to a sprain in that it is a stretching and tearing of soft tissue, but a strain specifically refers to tendons and muscles instead of ligaments.

You may have heard of an overuse injury before, and by putting repeated stress on a muscle, tendon, or even ligament will cause injury over time. Repetitive stress causes micro-tears to the tissue and over a period of time will sum up to a greater tear. This usually results in swelling and pain, and if not treated immediately, can result in a large tear or even stress fracture. A stress fracture to a bone is a great example of an overuse injury.

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The last three types of soft tissue injuries that are commonly diagnosed are contusions, tendonitis, and bursitis. A contusion is quite simply a fancy word for a bruise. This injury is often the result of a single blow to soft tissue. The area will become discolored due to broken blood vessels, and will usually be tender to the touch and could even limit range of motion. Tendonitis is more of an overuse injury. A common form of tendonitis is tennis elbow, which is inflammation of tendons in the elbow due to overuse on the tennis court. You may have heard the term bursitis before, and it is simply an inflamed bursa, or sac, that helps relieve friction in your joints.

Now that we know exactly what a soft tissue injury is, how can they be prevented? Well, there are a number of ways to reduce the risk of injury, but sometimes in sports an injury is inevitable. The most important thing you can do is to warm up and cool down before and after workouts, respectively, and make sure your routine includes lots of stretching. In fact, stretching regularly will help keep your muscles and joints limber and less prone to injury. Another very important thing to do is to always use proper form. Bad form undoubtedly places extra stress on our body, which can lead to injury. Lastly, fatigue can also cause injury and at the very least increases our risk.

Robert Tendick is a student preparing himself to earn a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Through his degree in Kinesiology and experiences as an athlete, Robert has become familiar with laser light physical therapy and other treatments for soft tissue injuries. As a physical therapy aide, he has also helped heal a number of Los Angeles physical therapy patients through the use of cutting edge injury rehabilitation techniques.

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