What is an overuse injury?

An overuse injury is a condition caused by continued or repeated stress on a part of the body. For example, a tennis player can get a tendon overuse injury, called tendinitis, from the repeated serving motion in practices and matches. Another example is a bony stress fracture often seen in runners. An overuse injury can happen in any sport. This repeated motion or activity may cause swelling, irritation and weakness in the injured part of the body.

How to recognize signs of an overuse injury

Overuse injuries result in pain but usually do not happen with a sudden injury, like a fall. The pain occurs when the motion causing the problem is performed. For example, a gymnast who has low back pain when doing back handsprings or walkovers may have an overuse injury. The gymnast may not have pain with normal daily activities. Sometimes, if the injury is not treated, the pain can worsen and begin to affect normal daily activities.

How are overuse injuries diagnosed?

Overuse injuries are diagnosed through a physical exam. The doctor will gather information and perform tests on the area of the body that is hurting. If a bone overuse injury is suspected, an X-ray may be done. An ultrasound can also be done on areas of soft tissue.

How are overuse injuries treated?

The most important way to treat an overuse injury is to rest. Sometimes this means complete rest, but often it means briefly changing how the injured area is used, to avoid pain. For example, a soccer player with an overuse injury in the knee may need to stop running, but may still be able to do simple ball-handling drills. Ice can be used to help with pain. Medications are also often used to treat pain.

Physical therapy can be helpful especially when pain has been present for a long time. Many overuse injuries happen due to incorrect performance of a skill or physical activity. This can be caused by weakness in the surrounding muscles. In these cases, correcting the motion and the weakness is needed, or the problem will come back.

How can overuse injuries be prevented?

Physical activity is an important part of life. In physical activity and sports, muscles, tendons and bones experience stress. Children's bodies are more likely to have overuse injuries, as their bodies are still developing and growing. Athletes must be strong enough to perform the activities needed for the sport. The intensity and amount of physical activity being done should be slowly increased. For example, a baseball athlete should slowly increase the amount and intensity of throwing activities at the beginning of a season to avoid an overuse injury in the shoulder or elbow.