We admit getting injured during bowling and golf sounds a bit suspect, but in fact, bowlers and golfers are susceptible to repetitive use injuries and even ligament tears. If you lose your balance, or simply have bad form that’s repeated over time, you may start to complain of wrist or elbow pain, knee pain, or lower back pain. That’s because, even though you mostly hear it called “tennis elbow,” elbow tendinitis can occur in any repetitive sport. In fact, it is among the most common bowling and golf injuries. If you experience persistent pain in your dominant arm or your back or feel a sharp pain in your knee or hip, drop in to our Spring Hill walk-in clinic to get checked out…
Your sports physical in Spring Hill* is completed and practice has started – now it’s time to look ahead to your first games! Whether your child is participating in bowling, cross country, football, golf, swimming and diving, or volleyball, there’s a number of injuries to be aware of when it’s time to compete.
Bowling and Golf
We admit getting injured during bowling and golf sounds a bit suspect, but in fact, bowlers and golfers are susceptible to repetitive use injuries and even ligament tears. If you lose your balance, or simply have bad form that’s repeated over time, you may start to complain of wrist or elbow pain, knee pain, or lower back pain. That’s because, even though you mostly hear it called “tennis elbow,” elbow tendinitis can occur in any repetitive sport. In fact, it is among the most common bowling and golf injuries. If you experience persistent pain in your dominant arm or your back or feel a sharp pain in your knee or hip, drop in to our Spring Hill walk-in clinic to get checked out.
Cross country
Running long distances is great for health – but it can also be bad for your bones if you don’t cross-train or rest enough. The most common cross country injuries include stress fractures from overuse, Achilles tendinitis, and runner’s knee, a condition where the knee is sensitive to the touch under the kneecap. As with bowling, these generally come from the repetitive nature of the sport rather than contact. To reduce your chances of injury, it is important to do weight-training to strengthen your hamstrings, glutes and core as well as stretch thoroughly after each run. If you continue to feel pain, talk with your coach about cutting back on mileage and consider seeing a doctor.
Football
Despite all the pads, football is one of the most dangerous sports for children because of its high-contact nature. Football players are at high risk of tearing knee ligaments, getting concussions, and even experiencing overuse injuries. The nature of the game means a lot of side-to-side movement and full-contact tackling. Concussion is the most concerning long-term issue – if your child loses consciousness after a tackle, acts confused, has ringing in their ears or seems to have amnesia about the hit, he may have one. It’s worth familiarizing yourself with common symptoms. If your child does display any of these symptoms, bring him to our Spring Hill walk-in clinic immediately for a checkup. This kind of injury does not require a visit to the emergency room, but it does require a check.
Swimming and diving
Although this sport is easy on the joints – no contact and no impact – there are still ways for your child to feel less than 100% healthwise. That’s because shoulder injuries are quite common in swimmers, in the form of rotator cuff impingement (the shoulder blade or scapula putting pressure on the joint as you raise your arm), biceps tendinitis (inflammation of the biceps tendon) and shoulder instability (where the muscles aren’t working well to keep the ball in the socket). Again, cross training and weight training can help in prevention – both strengthening the muscles around the shoulder as well as resolving muscle imbalances in the arms and core will ensure better shoulder health.
Volleyball
Volleyball is not technically a contact sport, but good players are willing to throw themselves in strange positions to save a point – and that often means impact with the ground, the ball or other players. This can result in finger, ankle and knee sprains or ligament tears. Besides this, volleyball players are using their dominant hands over and over again in serving and spiking, making them prone to similar shoulder overuse injuries as swimmers. Although most volleyball injuries can be resolved with rest, sprains should be seen by a doctor. The best option is avoiding the emergency room and stopping into our Spring Hill walk-in clinic after the game to get it splinted and get advice for further treatment.
LifeGuard Urgent Care
For Spring Hill athletes, we are open seven days per week with no appointment necessary. We provide sports physical in Spring Hill*, adult physicals, as well as urgent care services. Simply show up, and we will take care of you. To learn about other services that we provide, visit our website.
*Sport physical in Spring Hill provided by Lifeguard Urgent Care Center applies to children between pre-K and 12th grade
