Injury Doctors NYC

How serious are soft tissue injuries?

How-serious-are-soft-tissue-injuries

Soft-tissue injuries can result in pain, inflammation, bruising, and damage to tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Although those who lead active lifestyles are more prone to soft-tissue injuries from joint overuse, non-athletes can also suffer such injuries from a fall, accident, or other trauma. While athletes are commonly encouraged to “walk it off,” a delay in soft-tissue injury treatment could lead to increased or even permanent damage that requires surgical intervention. That’s why it is important to promptly treat all soft-tissue injuries, At Injury Doctors NYC we have 6 convenient locations to help treat your soft tissue injuries.

Common Soft-Tissue Injuries

Painful soft-tissue injuries that can result from increased physical activity and joint overuse include:

Contusions

Also known as a bruise, a contusion is a soft tissue injury often caused by blunt force trauma that results in bleeding into the tissue under the skin.

Sprains

Most often affecting the wrists, ankles, or knees, a sprain is a partial ligament tear caused by a severe twist of the joint.

Strains

Muscles and tendons can be strained if overstretched or overused.

Tendonitis

Many athletes are afflicted by this inflammation of the tendon due to repetitive overuse. While swimmer’s shoulder and tennis elbow are common tendonitis injuries, the condition can also affect the knee, hip, ankle, wrist, and hand.

Bursitis

The bursa is a sac of fluid that counters joint friction between the bones and muscles or tendons. When it becomes inflamed due to joint overuse, painful bursitis can result.

Stress Fractures

Small fractures can occur in leg, feet, and hip bones due to extreme weight load bearing and overuse.

How Soft Tissue Injuries Occur

Soft tissue injuries fall into two groups: Acute and overuse injuries. Like many sprains, strains and contusions, acute injuries involve sharp, sudden trauma. During physical activity or simply going about your day, you may fall on, twist or experience a sharp blow to a particular body part.

The other group consists of overuse injuries. Tendonitis, bursitis and some strains can occur when a particular activity or action is repeated over and over, but the muscles and tendon in this part of the body never have a chance to fully heal.

All soft tissue injuries vary in terms of severity, regardless of source:

  • Grade 1 (Mild): These soft tissue injuries occur when the body’s fibers are damaged at the microscopic level due to overstretching, resulting in tenderness or swelling.
  • Grade 2 (Moderate):These soft tissue injuries involve a degree of tearing, which may feel like an abnormal amount of looseness in the joint and result in pain, swelling and tenderness. As a result, pressure or body weight cannot be applied to the injured joint and the individual needs to stay off it for at least a few weeks.
  • Grade 3 (Severe): These soft tissue injuries involve full or complete tears, which require a significantly longer recovery time. Individuals often find they can’t use the joint or muscle area at all following the injury. Severe soft tissue injuries are characterized by instability, rupturing and a high degree of pain and swelling.
 Soft-Tissue Injury Treatments

The most common treatment for contusions, strains, and sprains is R.I.C.E., which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Stretching exercises can also help alleviate pain and strengthen muscles. More serious soft-tissue injuries may need to be examined by a doctor. For example, injections may be required to reduce tendonitis pain and antibiotics prescribed for bursitis infection swelling. For stress fractures, you should limit the amount of weight you put on the affected side. However, if a fractured bone leads to a break or if a sprained ligament or strained muscle is torn, surgery may be necessary.

Efficient Soft-Tissue Injury Care

Speedy treatment leads to a speedy recovery. If you have suffered a soft-tissue injury that does not respond to basic R.I.C.E. treatments, do not hesitate to contact us at Injury Doctors NYC. Our orthopedists are here to help determine the extent of your injury and get you back on the road to recovery. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.