There are about 3 million non-fatal injuries in the United States annually. Just because these injuries aren’t fatal doesn’t mean that they don’t cause limited mobility and potentially excruciating pain.
The lower body is particularly susceptible to injury, so you should get to know which types people experience most often. Here are some of the most common leg injuries that people deal with.
Torn ACL and MCL
Every year when you watch sports, you’re going to hear about athletes experiencing tears to ligaments in their knees. The most common knee tears happen in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL).
These tears can require extensive rehab or even surgery, depending on the severity and how soon you need it to heal. It can take up to 9 months to recover from an ACL tear.
Tearing these ligaments makes it difficult to walk or even put weight on your leg. The ligaments control your leg’s ability to extend, pull back, and move in different directions. Because these injuries are so tricky, you should always get thorough medical imaging done to find the specific spot of the tear and to weigh your options.
Have you ever had ACL tears? Check out Ray of Health to learn about ACL tear symptoms, treatments, recovery and more.
Sprained and Fractured Ankles
A study showed that strains and sprains made up 36% of lower leg injuries that participating patients suffered. All it takes is making one wrong step to roll or sprain your ankle. When you sprain an ankle, it’ll swell up, and you’ll have a difficult time putting weight on it.
It’s also very common for people to fracture the bone, which might require a cast while it heals.
Damage to the Knee
Many people have damage to their knees that leads to chronic pain problems. This usually happens when your knees have suffered prolonged damage over the years due to aging or constant use.
Many people each year get arthroscopic knee surgery to clean up any damage to the joints, cartilage, or ligaments. Patients with serious knee problems might get it replaced entirely. About 90% of patients that get a knee replacement significantly reduce their pain problems.
You may also want to look into stem cell therapy so that your knee can start to heal itself until it feels as good as new.
Torn Quad and Hamstring Muscles
Your quadriceps and hamstrings are the muscles in your thigh that allow your leg to extend out and contract back to your body. Because they carry so much weight and are responsible for mobility, it’s also easy to tear these muscles.
The quad muscle is found in the front of your leg, while the hamstrings are located in the back. People that are chronically dehydrated are more likely to tear these muscles, particularly hamstrings.
These injuries range from minor tears that heal on their own to surgeries that require some recovery time, physical therapy, and injury aftercare.
Companies like www.truemotionllc.com can help you with any sort of injury rehab needs you have. They’ll show you the best exercises to strengthen the muscles so that they’re less likely to get injured again.
Get Help With These Leg Injuries
Leg injuries can create several different types of nagging ailments. Since your lower body is your base, it’s important that you treat all of these problems quickly and under the guidance of a skilled medical professional.
Bookmark our website and read our other posts for more advice on dealing with medical injuries.
