Injuries to your joints and ligaments can occur during sports and physical activities. They can also occur during routine daily activities. Some of the most common injuries, and their symptoms, experienced by patients are listed below. Click on each one to learn more about them.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries – The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) helps connect the femur with the tibia and stabilize the knee joint.  ACL injuries can occur when the knee is twisted, hyper-extended or bent side to side.  The ligament may tear partially or completely.

Symptoms:

1. Feeling or hearing a popping in the knee during the injury
2. Pain and swelling
3. Knee instability

Bursitis – Bursa sacs are filled with lubricating fluid.  These sacs decrease rubbing, friction, and irritation between tissues including bones, muscles, tendons, and skin.  When the bursa becomes inflamed or irritated, it is called bursitis.

Symptoms:

1. Pain at the bursa which may radiate
2. Pain may occur gradually over time or be sudden

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve of the wrist (which passes through the carpal tunnel passageway) becomes compressed or pinched.  This can be caused if the nerve or surrounding tendons become swollen.

Symptoms:

1. Numbness, tingling, weakness, and pain of the affected hand and fingers
2. Pain may radiate into the forearm

Contusions (Bruises) – Contusions occur when the skin or underlying tissues are bruised, usually from a bump or fall.  The black and blue color is caused when blood leaks into the tissues under the skin.

Symptoms:

1. Swelling, pain, or tenderness
2. Discoloration under the skin
3. Severe bruising with swelling and pain may indicate a sprain or fracture

Dislocated Patella – The patella (kneecap) is normally positioned over the front of the knee joint.  The patella can become dislocated if it is malaligned (a condition known as patellar tracking disorder) and force is applied, a twisting injury, or a blow to the inner edge of the patella pushing it laterally across the knee.

Symptoms:

1. Deformity of the knee
2. Inability to bend or straighten the knee
3. Swelling
4. Severe Pain

Dislocated Elbow – Three bones meet to form the elbow joint.  These are the humerus (upper arm), the ulna and the radius (located in the forearm) and they are connected by ligaments.  An elbow can be dislocated if these joint surfaces are separated.  Dislocation can be either partial or complete.  A dislocated elbow most commonly occurs if a person falls on their outstretched hand.

Symptoms:

1. Deformity of the elbow
2. Inability to bend or straighten the elbow
3. Swelling
4. Severe pain
5. Loss of feeling in the hand of the affected arm

Dislocated Shoulder – Shoulder dislocations can be either partial or complete.  In a partial dislocation (or subluxation) the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) is partially out of the socket (glenoid).  In a complete dislocation, it is all the way out of the socket.  The shoulder joint can dislocate forward, backward, or downward.  The force required to dislocate a shoulder is usually caused by a fall or collision with another person.
Symptoms:

1. Severe pain
2. Numbness or weakness in the shoulder and arm
3. Swelling or bruising

Fracture - The main categories of fractures are complete, incomplete, compound and simple.  The severity of a fracture is usually dependent upon how much outside force is applied to the bones involved.  A complete fracture involves the bone snapping into two or more parts.  An incomplete fracture means the bone cracks but does not break all the way through.  A compound fracture (open fracture) occurs when the bone breaks through the skin.  In a simple fracture (closed fracture) the bone breaks but does not break through the skin.

Symptoms:

1. Severe pain
2. Difficult or impossible to use affected body part
3. Bruising
4. Swelling

Frozen Shoulder - Frozen Shoulder or Adhesive Capsulitis is a condition that causes stiffness, pain, and limited motion in your shoulder.  It occurs when there is thickening and contracture of the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint.  While the causes of frozen shoulder are not completely understood, it may appear following an injury.

Symptoms:

1. Stiffness
2. Dull or aching pain
3. Limited motion in the shoulder

Ganglion Cyst – A ganglion cyst grows from the capsule of a joint or the sheath of a tendon.  The cyst contains a thick, clear, mucus-like fluid and is usually harmless.  Ganglion Cysts may disappear on their own but sometimes require medical intervention.

Symptoms:

1. Sometimes painful depending on location
2. May feel firm or spongy under the skin

Meniscus Tears – The meniscus is a rubbery cushion (cartilage) in the knee that acts as a shock absorber between the major bones of your leg.  The meniscus also acts to distribute weight across the knee, and allows the knee to move and turn in many directions.  Meniscus tears often occur from twisting, pivoting, or cutting motions.  Older patients may experience a meniscus tear without a specific injury as the cartilage weakens and gets thinner over time.

Symptoms:

1. Popping in the knee at time of injury
2. Stiffness and swelling
3. Pain at the inside (medial meniscus) or outside (lateral meniscus) of the knee
4. Residual popping or locking in the knee joint

Osteoarthritis – Osteoarthritis (OA), or Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), is the most common type of arthritis.  It can occur in almost any joint in the body and is associated with the breakdown of cartilage.  Cartilage is a smooth, elastic tissue that covers the ends of the bones that form a joint.  Cartilage allows them to glide easily and without pain.  As OA progresses, the cartilage gradually wears away and reduces the ability to act as a shock absorber between bones.  This can cause tendons and ligaments to stretch and eventually the bones can rub together causing discomfort and pain.  OA usually develops in middle-aged and older patients after many years of use, but can also occur with risk factors such as obesity, injury to a joint, or a family history of the disease.

Symptoms:

1. Aching and soreness in the joint
2. Increased pain after overuse or inactivity
3. Joint swelling or bony enlargements
4. Stiffness or loss of motion in the affected joint

Plantar Fasciitis – Plantar Fasciitis is an overuse injury in which the plantar fascia, the tough, fibrous band of tissue connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes, becomes inflamed.  Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain and most often causes pain with the first few steps out of bed in the morning or after long periods of sitting.

Symptoms:

1. Gradual onset of pain at the heel bone
2. Stiffness and pain with first steps after inactivity

Rotator Cuff Tear – The rotator cuff is a large tendon formed by four muscles in the shoulder.  These muscles help to lift and rotate the arm and to stabilize the ball of the shoulder within the joint.  A rotator cuff tear may be partial or complete and may occur with an injury, such as a fall, or it may occur over time with tendon degeneration.

Symptoms:

1. Acute pain at time of injury
2. Pain that radiates from the shoulder down the side of the arm
3. Pain when reaching or lifting
4. Pain when sleeping on the affected shoulder
5. Weakness in the shoulder or arm

Shin Splints – Shin splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome) are an inflammation of the periosteum (the thin layer of tissue that covers the bone) and the attached muscle fibers.  The condition causes pain and sometimes swelling in the front part of the shin.  Shin splints are an exercise related pain that is commonly experienced by runners or those with repeated pounding on hard surfaces during athletics.

Symptoms:

1. Pain along or just behind the inner edge of the shin
2. Pain during increased activity

Shoulder Impingement – Shoulder Impingement results from pressure on the rotator cuff from part of the shoulder blade as the arm is lifted.  Pain and sometimes limited motion is experienced when the front edge of the shoulder blade (acromion) rubs or impinges on the rotator cuff.  This may occur due to inflammation of the bursa (bursitis) or tendonitis of the rotator cuff itself.

Syndrome:

1. Minor shoulder pain during activity and at rest
2. Pain that radiates from the front of the shoulder to the side of the arm
3. Pain with lifting and reaching
4. Local swelling and tenderness on the front  of the shoulder
5. Stiffness

Sprains – A sprain is a partial or complete tear of a ligament.  Ligaments connect the end of bones together and stabilize joints.  They allow the joint to move in specific directions.  Sprains commonly occur with twisting or falling injuries.

Symptoms:

1. A popping or snapping sound at time of injury
2. Joint instability
3. Pain with weight bearing (if a lower extremity)
4. Loss of motion in the affected joint

Strains – A strain is a partial or complete tear of a muscle or tendon.  Muscles are attached on each side of a joint to bone by tendons.  As a muscle contracts, it shortens and pulls on the tendon, allowing the joint to go through a range of motion.  A strain may be a simple stretch in a muscle or tendon, or it may be a partial or complete tear in the muscle-tendon unit.  Strains most commonly occur when a muscle is overused or stretched.

Symptoms:

1. Pain and inflammation
2. Limited motion
3. Muscle spasms or weakness

Stress Fracture – Stress fractures are tiny breaks in the bone.  They occur when fatigued muscles are unable to absorb added stress and this overload is transferred to the bone, or when a bone is deficient in minerals and cracks under the stress of routine activities.  Most of these injuries occur in the foot or lower leg.  Stress fractures are one of the most common sports injuries – particularly in sports that include running or weight bearing on hard surfaces. 

Symptoms:

1. Pain with weight bearing
2. Localized tenderness of the affected body part
3. Swelling

Tendonitis/Tendinitis – A tendon is a fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone or other tissue.  Tendonitis/tendinitis is the inflammation of a tendon and is usually the result of wear over a period of time.  There are several types of tendonitis/tendinitis including acute and chronic.

Symptoms:

1. Pulling or pain when moving a joint
2. Pain with lifting or carrying objects
3. Swelling and inflammation

Tennis Elbow – “Tennis elbow” or lateral epicondylitis is caused by overuse of the arm and forearm muscles which results in elbow pain.  It involves degeneration of the tendon fibers that attach on the outside of the elbow at the epicondyle.

Symptoms:

1. Pain around the outside of the elbow which can radiate to the forearm
2. Increased pain with activities like squeezing or lifting objects
   

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