Untreated Sports Injuries Can Come Back to Haunt Us
Many people live with a “trick” knee or a “bad” back. Often these conditions are a result of injuries suffered years or even decades prior that did not heal properly.
When we are younger, we tend to ignore what seem to be inconsequential injuries. That sprained knee in high school can have long-term effects as we age. Left untreated, this can lead to chronic pain in the knees, hips, back and neck.
This problem is exacerbated by the fact that when we’re playing sports and we suffer an injury, the tendency for athletes is to “get back in the game.” Many sports injuries are insufficiently treated and allowed to rest and heal, increasing the likelihood that they will cause chronic pain later in life.
You don’t have to live with chronic pain, even if you don’t know the source. When you see a pain management specialist, try to get your complete medical records from as far back as possible. Your specialist may be able to determine that your current chronic pain is a result of an old injury you’ve forgotten about that has flared up and begun to affect other parts of your body.
All of this is especially important if you have children. Even if they don’t participate in organized sports, injuries suffered in everyday child’s play can have lasting effects if left untreated. It can be tough to convince a child to take it easy to give an injury time to heal, but it’s extremely important for their development through adolescence and later on in their adult lives. Helping children learn to treat injuries properly also helps them develop good physical fitness habits to last a lifetime.
If that old trick knee is causing you chronic pain, whether just in the knee or anywhere else in the body, make an appointment with a pain management specialist today.
