The Weekend Warrior: Common Injuries in the Recreational Athlete and How You Can Prevent Them

WORCESTER, Mass. – Weekend warriors usually spend the workweek sitting at their desk. When they have free time during the weekend and can get moving, they often enjoy popular activities like pickleball, running, tennis, golf, soccer and basketball. While they look forward to their weekend activities, sports injuries are common in this group and can occur throughout your body to bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and other structures.

“If you go from work-week to weekend and have a dramatic increase in the physical demands on your body, you can expect your body to protest,” says Stephen Desio, MD, an Orthopedic Surgeon who is Board Certified in both Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, and on staff at Saint Vincent Hospital. "You may convince yourself that your body hasn’t changed much since high school, but you can be certain it has. Even a few extra pounds can put undue stress on joints and ligaments, resulting in pain you haven’t experienced before.”

• Rotator cuff injuries. Caused by repeated stress on the shoulder joint; it can lead to torn tendons in the shoulder, sometimes requiring surgery.
• Knee pain. Very common in sports with lots of running; it’s often caused by irritation on the undersurface of the kneecap or from wear and tear on the patella.
• Golf or Tennis Elbow. Also known as tendonitis, it results from strained or inflamed tendons on the inside or outside of the elbow.
• Achilles Tendonitis or Achilles Heel. Tendons in the back, lower leg lose elasticity with age, making them vulnerable to inflammation, pain and tears from forceful running, jumping or pivoting.
• Plantar Fasciitis. Pain caused by running, or even walking, is felt mostly at the bottom of the heel; may also radiate down the entire bottom of the foot.
• Sprained ankles. A very common injury as it can occur in almost any sport or activity. Common causes are stepping hard onto an uneven ground surface or changing direction too quickly.
• Shin splints. Pain felt in the front side of the lower leg, most commonly affecting runners.

Most of these injuries occur due to overuse, poor flexibility and/or poor body mechanics, rather than because of accident or trauma. Usually there is an imbalance between your fitness level and your activity level. This leads to overload and inflammation. Most sports injuries are minor and heal in a few days or weeks with rest and simple recovery strategies. Other injuries, such as broken bones and concussions, need medical intervention and may take several months to heal.

According to Dr. Desio, the best way to prevent these types of injuries is to make sure that you warm up properly, stay strong and flexible, and gradually increase your activity level at a pace that allows your body time to recover. In general, it's really important to make sure you perform gentle stretching to make sure your body stays strong and flexible. Even one or two days a week of stretching or light exercise will help the body prepare for the upcoming weekend activities.

“If there is an acute injury, like a rolled ankle, or a sudden pop in your knee, those are worth being evaluated by a physician,” advises Dr. Desio. “Other conditions that merit a visit to the physician include gradual or chronic pain, especially if the pain is persistent and has been present more than a couple of weeks. An injury is also worth being evaluated if the pain or discomfort keeps you from doing day-to-day activities, keeps you up at night, you notice significant swelling or have an altered gait such as a limp.”

It's essential to know your limits and progress slowly as you increase your activities. If you have any concerns, it's best to be evaluated by a physician.

For more information on Saint Vincent Hospital’s Orthopedic and Sports Medicine services, please visit here.