Sports Medicine

The field of sports medicine also known as sports and exercise medicine focuses on physical fitness, treatment, and prevention of sports-related injuries. By providing assistance in keeping people safe while training, sports medicine aims to facilitate the pursuit of their goals.

Dr. Harikumar is an expert in sports medicine and provides exceptional care for sports-related injuries. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of injuries that arise from athletic activities, with a focus on restoring his patients to their pre-injury level of function.

Major sports injuries are as follows:

1. Shoulder Rotator Cuff Injury

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that protect the shoulder joint by keeping the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) inside the shoulder socket (glenoid). Traumatic events, such as a fall onto your shoulder, can injure this group of tissues. Problems with aging can also lead to rotator cuff tears. Injuries most commonly occur in people who have jobs that require them to use their arms overhead frequently, such as painters, carpenters, and athletes. Repetitive overhead movements or heavy lifting can damage or tear these tissues. Also, traumatic events like a fall onto your shoulder, outstretched hand, or dislocation of the shoulder can cause injury to these muscles.

2. Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a condition that causes pain and inflammation on the outer part of the elbow. It is typically caused by overuse of the forearm muscles and tendons, which leads to micro tears in the tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle (the bony bump on the outer part of the elbow)

Tennis elbow results in discomfort and soreness on the exterior of the elbow, and might also be felt in the forearm and back of the hand. The severity of the pain can vary from mild discomfort during elbow use to intense pain even when the elbow is at rest. This pain tends to be exacerbated during arm movements, especially those involving twisting, as well as repetitive movements of the wrist, like extending and gripping.

3. Runner's Knee

Runner's knee occurs when the soft tissues supporting and cushioning the patella (kneecap) wear out as a result of overuse or injury. A person suffering from the syndrome experiences pain when the patella moves across the grooves of the femur when they bend or extend their knees. Nerves near the knee joint may sense pain in the patella due to damaged tendons or synovial tissue. Physical activities, such as climbing stairs and kneeling, may be difficult to perform if the patella is damaged.

4. Groin Pull

Groin pulls or strains are injuries that occur when the muscles on the inner surface of the thigh are overstretched or torn. Adductor muscles are a group of muscles running from the inner side of the pelvis to the inner part of the thigh bone. They are responsible for pulling the legs together.

• Grade 1

  Overuse or tear of muscle tissue can cause damage anywhere from 5 percent of the fibers. This can result in limited movement, but running, jumping, stretching, and other "football activities" are still true tests of the injury. "

• Grade 2

  A tear in muscle fibers can result in more severe damage and may cause pain while walking.

• Grade 3

  A tear that affects nearly all the muscles or tendon. This results in intense pain immediately and significant swelling and bruising. Basically, you cannot do anything associated with exercise until it has healed at which point you might be able to jog slowly or maybe even participate in some light exercises.

5. Ankle Injuries

Sprains to the ankle are one of the most common sporting injuries. A sprain is defined as a tearing of the ligaments that connect bone to bone and help stabilise the joint. Sports requiring jumping, turning and twisting movements such as basketball, volleyball, netball and football; and explosive changes of direction such as soccer, tennis and hockey are particularly vulnerable to ankle sprains. Following an ankle sprain, the ankle joint may become unstable and take a long time to recover.

The most commonly injured ligament in the ankle is the anterior talofibular. If the force is greater, it may also damage the calcaneofibular ligament. The posterior talofibular ligament is less likely to be damaged. A complete tear of all ligaments may result in a dislocation of the ankle joint and an accompanying fracture. Occasionally medial ligament injuries may be seen along with lateral ligament injuries. The fibular ligament can also be injured. Injury to this ligament can often cause prolonged recovery from a sprain, particularly if it occurs along with other ankle injuries. Ankle sprains that involve the ligaments between the tibia and fibula bones may also involve a fracture, are often slower to heal, and may require surgery.