How likely are knee injuries from playing sports?

Many Americans love playing sports, and there are many reasons this love exists. One reason is that playing sports helps people maintain and improve their physical fitness. It can also help relieve stress and help us develop meaningful relationships with others. However, playing sports is also a common way that people develop knee injuries. 

The reality is that playing sports does make a knee injury likely. One study reports that about 3 in every 10,000 high school sports players develop a knee injury. Fortunately, physical therapists can help you identify what type of injury you have. They can also help you treat your knee injury and help you learn how to prevent future injuries. 

The most common knee injuries in athletes

There is a wide variety of ways athletes can injure their knees. After all, the knee is a complex joint that contains tendons, ligaments, cartilage and more. A few of the most common knee injuries athletes tend to develop include: 

• Medial collateral ligament (MCL) tears
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears
• Patellar tendon injuries
• Meniscus tears
• Iliotibial (IT) band syndrome
• Patellofemoral pain syndrome

What physical therapists can do to treat knee injuries from sports

The first steps toward treating your knee injury will be to determine what injury you have. Physical therapists can accomplish this by comprehensively evaluating your knee. Then, they can create a therapy plan that’s customized to your needs, and your plan could include therapy techniques such as: 

• Running form analyses designed to identify issues with your running gait. 

• Soft tissue mobilization intended to reduce tension in muscles around the knee. 

• Aquatic therapy that can help reduce stress on the healing knee while you do therapy exercises.

• Joint mobilization that focuses on improving range of motion in healing knees. 

• Astym^® therapy sessions designed to break down scar tissue from previous knee injuries.

Excel PT offers effective treatment for athletic knee injuries

Don’t know where to turn to get physical therapy for your sports-related knee injury? You can turn to our specialists at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy. We offer free screenings that can pinpoint what type of injury you have in your knee. Additionally, our physical therapists are experienced at building personalized therapy plans designed to: 

• Reduce injury pain.
• Speed up healing.
• Prepare you to return to your sport.
• Improve knee stability and mobility.
• Prevent future sports injuries. 

You’ll even be able to get therapy from home since we offer virtual therapy and at-home care services. 

Contact our team today for more information about our treatment options for knee injuries or to schedule an initial appointment.