Common Injuries

• Groin pull
• Hamstring strain
• Shin splints
• Knee injury: ACL tear
• Knee injury: resulting from the repetitive movement of your kneecap against your thigh bone
• Tennis elbow (epicondylitis)
• Sprains- Injuries to ligaments, muscle fibers, and tendons. Sudden stretching past their limits deforms or tears ligaments

Prevention

Every sport requires its own safety equipment to prevent injuries. Depending on the sport, this could mean special shoes that grip the ground; pads to protect wrists, shins, and knees; or mouth guards to shield the tongue and teeth. Shoes should be tied tightly to prevent tripping and ankle injuries. For bicycling, as well as many other sports, the most common piece of sports safety gear is a helmet.
Every workout should start with a gentle warm-up to prevent injuries. This increases blood flow to the muscles and gets you more flexible. It is smart to pace oneself and try not to play a sport aggressively if you haven’t done it in awhile. Stop when you are fatigued. Muscle fatigue takes away all your protective mechanisms, which increases a chance for injury.

Treatment

Dr. Magaziner’s philosophy is to start with the more conservative treatments (less invasive) first such as rest, medication, bracing, ergonomic changes, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic and laser therapy. If the condition does not respond to conservative care some possible treatments include: Trigger point injections, joint injections, prolotherapy, PRP, and stem cell grafts. As a last resort surgery may be necessary.