Sports injuries occur frequently. Unconscious movements, unhealthy postures cause injuries. It is necessary to be conscious about this in order for the injuries to heal easily. Incorrect information applied in treatment causes injuries to have more serious consequences. Orthopedics and Traumatology specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı talked about the misconceptions about sports injuries.
BEWARE OF SPORTS INJURIES
Sport is an activity that is done in every period of life, from a free activity for fun in childhood to professional competitions. However, sports come with the risk of injury. Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı said, “However, being aware of the risks while doing sports and making the right intervention when an injury occurs will minimize the problems that will be encountered in the future.”
RUNNING DAMAGES KNEES
Most sports injuries are preventable. Stating that the first to blame for sports injuries in runners is mostly shoes, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı said, “Shoes really matter. However, as in many other sports branches, some disorders that occur in runners depend on more than one factor. All of the factors such as the ground run, nutrition, water loss, concentration, preparation of the body for sports (warm-up-stretching-activity-cooling-down-re-stretching) can affect the benefit or harm we will derive from sports. However, it is possible to prevent most of the potential harms of running, which is a natural activity of many living things.
FRONT CROSS-LIGATE INJURY ENDS ATHLETE’S SPORTS CAREER
Saying that this information was correct in the past, Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı clarified the subject as follows: “Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the serious injuries of the knee region. Today, ACL surgeries give much more successful results thanks to developing technology and techniques. However, since it is a biological process related to the healing of the ligament, it is not very possible to reduce the post-operative return to sports below certain times. However, with a good rehabilitation process, it is possible to return to sports at a rate of 70-80% and to achieve preoperative performance at a rate of 50% in patients who underwent ACL reconstruction.”
DOING A LOT OF EXERCISE STRENGTHENS THE BODY
Explaining that it would not be right to set such sharp limits for this information, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı stated that there will be two types of strengthening exercises for the muscles and gave the following information: “The way these exercises are done and the results are different. The first is exercises that increase the strength and volume of the muscle. In this exercise technique, the exercise is performed against increasing resistance. In the meantime, the energy production capacity of the muscle with the aerobic mechanism gradually decreases and the anaerobic mechanism comes into play. Fatigue occurs in the muscle and some substances released into the environment cause pain. Meanwhile, the adaptation mechanisms that come into play in exercises such as heavy lifting cause both volume and strength increase in the muscle. In the second way, more muscle endurance increases. Here, the motor units producing power within the muscle do not increase, but rather the activation of the muscles moving in the same direction. In this case, the strength of the muscle, which does not increase in volume, increases. In strengthening exercises, technique plays an important role as well as quantity.”
APPLYING HEAT TO ACUTE INJURIES IS GOOD FOR PAIN
Tissue damage that develops in a sudden injury sometimes causes bleeding, but almost always local edema, depending on the severity of the injury. Stating that in cases where bleeding occurs, the vessels will contract (“vasoconstriction”) to limit bleeding in the damaged area, Prof. Dr. Bombacı said, “Following, other mechanisms to stop bleeding come into play. In the following hours, in response to the lack of oxygen in that area, the veins expand and increase in vascular permeability, which means an increase in edema,” he added, adding: “If heat is applied at the beginning of the injury, bleeding and edema in the damaged area increase due to the enlargement of the vessels. This is also an undesirable situation. Instead, cold should be applied to the damaged area with appropriate pressure.”
EFFECTIVE EXERCISE GIVES PAIN
Underlining that this information is not always correct, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı informed that the most important reason for the pain felt while exercising is the irritation caused by the lactic acid that occurs during the contraction of the muscle. Stating that this is especially evident in “high resistance exercises such as lifting weights,” Prof. Dr. Bombacı said, “The reason for this is that when the capacity of the muscle is used most, the energy production mechanism in the muscle switches from the ‘aerobic route’ to the ‘anaerobic route’. Pushing to these limits is necessary for muscle cells to both increase in volume and increase their number. However, although this situation occurs in endurance exercises where the muscles work under maximum strength, it is milder. He said that in stretching exercises, which is another type of exercise, the pain created by the exercise is felt at the beginning of the exercise, but is of a shorter duration.
DISPLACES HEALS LONGER THAN A FRACTURE
Pointing out that the treatment approach of finger dislocations will differ according to the hand or foot, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı said, “If we talk about more frequent hand fractures and dislocations, it would not be wrong to say that very different results can occur depending on the complex structure of the hand and the variety of damage that will occur.” He emphasized that it may be necessary to apply a wide variety of surgical procedures depending on the shape and form. prof. Dr. Bomber added that the healing process may vary greatly in both injuries, depending on the location and shape of the fracture and dislocation.
ANKLE SPRING IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN AN ANKLE FRACTURE
Ankle sprain is a very common injury in daily life. Expressing that ligament injuries in the ankle joint come to mind when ankle sprain is mentioned, Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı also said: “Although this is not very common, small fractures may accompany it. Unless there is a fracture, the treatment of ankle sprain (ligament injury) for the first time is fixation, mostly with specially designed orthoses, in varying times depending on the degree of ligament damage. Ankle fractures are actually basically caused by the ankle being under an abnormal load. However, in this case, fractures occur in one or more bones forming the ankle. Surgery is often required for its treatment. Sometimes these fractures may be accompanied by cartilage damage. The consequences are therefore more unpredictable and carry risks.”
HEAVY LIFTING IN PRE-AUTHENTIC AND ADOLESCENT CAUSES GROWTH REGARDING
Underlining that this information is not always correct, Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Bombacı reminded that the muscle volume and oxygen-burning capacity of the muscles are less in pre-adolescent children compared to adults, “This causes the muscles to produce less power. Therefore, children get tired more quickly. Premature fatigue of the muscles indirectly means overloading the joints and growth plates at the ends of the long bones. This growth prepares the ground for the injury of the cartilage. However, recent studies show that the risks that may occur in growth plates can be minimized with well-arranged and timely (8-12 weeks) exercise programs in children. In strengthening exercises performed by children, exercises performed with more repetitions against lower resistance are more appropriate.