How to Manage Pain After a Sports Injury

Whether you’ve been injured on the field or in training, Dr. Okezie N. Okezie and our team at Interventional Sports and Pain Management Associates can help. 

As a board-certified pain management physician who specializes in helping active adults recover from sports injuries and get back in the game safely, Dr. Okezie knows that the five phases of sports injury rehabilitation begin with pain relief and inflammation control. 

Here, we explore steps you can take to alleviate pain and promote healing after a sports injury — including knowing when it’s time to see a pain management expert. 

A short primer on sports injuries 

In 2023, nearly four million people in the United States sought emergency medical care for a sports injury. A common problem for serious athletes, daily exercisers, and weekend warriors alike, these various musculoskeletal injuries happen in the game just as often as they occur during routine workouts and repetitive activities.   

Your musculoskeletal system is the network of muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues that provides physical stability and strength — and enables movement. 

Acute vs. chronic

The term “sports injury” covers a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries that occur during competitive sports, athletic activities, and general exercise. All of these injuries fall into two general categories:

Acute trauma

Acute sports injuries happen suddenly. They may occur in a fall or stumble, during an intense “plant-and-pivot” move, when “landing wrong,” or with a physical blow. Examples include traumatic bone fractures or muscle strains, joint dislocations or sprains, and concussions. 

Repetitive stress

Repetitive stress sports injuries — also known as overuse injuries — occur when repetitive loading or overuse of a certain body part causes “wear-and-tear” damage and trauma that emerges gradually, over time. Examples include tendon inflammation (i.e., tendinitis), joint impingement, stress fractures, and some ligament tears. 

Risk factors

Anyone who’s active can sustain a sports injury, but your risk increases when you overtrain, engage in the same sport or activity year-round with little to no cross-training, increase your intensity too quickly, or don’t use the proper biomechanical techniques.

Serious injuries

Some sports injuries are serious from the get-go, meaning they require immediate evaluation and care in the nearest ER or urgent care clinic. Seek emergency care if you:

• Experience severe pain, swelling, or bruising 
• Can’t bear any weight on the affected leg
• Suspect you’ve sustained a bone fracture
• See an obvious deformity in your joint or limb

You should also seek emergency care anytime you experience head trauma or a suspected concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury.

Early care for your sports injury

When you’ve sustained a minor sports injury that doesn’t necessarily call for prompt expert care, the first thing you should do is stop your activity, so you don’t make matters worse. To put it another way: Never play through the pain.  

RICE therapy

Early action following a sports injury helps ease pain and set the stage for optimal healing and a speedier recovery. This typically means implementing the RICE protocol right away:

• Rest: Take a major break — avoid using or putting weight on an injured body part
• Ice: Apply cloth-covered cold packs to the injury for 20 minutes, several times a day
• Compression: Lightly wrap the injured joint in a soft bandage or ACE™ elastic wrap
• Elevation: Elevate the injured body part while resting to ease inflammation

Many minor sports injuries often heal fully with this basic technique. You may also take an OTC non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like ibuprofen to alleviate pain and discomfort during the initial period of healing.  

Signs your injury needs expert care

These basic care techniques are often effective for the pain management and healing of minor sports injuries. When these methods are successful, you’ll still likely need to engage in physical therapy (PT) exercises to regain flexibility and strength in the injured area before you can safely return to sports and exercise. 

If, however, you’re still experiencing pain after a few days of at-home care following what you thought was a minor sports injury, it’s time to see Dr. Okezie. Seek expert evaluation and care as soon as possible if: 

• You have persistent or worsening pain
• The injured area is stiff or hurts to move
• You’re in pain when you bear weight
• You can’t walk without limping in pain 
• You’re unstable when you’re on your feet
• You have new or continued joint swelling

Dr. Okezie can ensure you get the treatment you need to foster complete healing and restore stability for pain-free movement, rehabilitation, renewed mobility, and future injury prevention.  

Are you dealing with a painful sports injury? Interventional Sports and Pain Management Associates is here to help. Call or click online to schedule an appointment at your nearest office in Humble or Baytown, Texas, today.