Overuse Injuries can happen in any joint of the body. Repetitive strain from repeat motion and overuse due to particular jobs and activities can lead to these injuries. Injuries like Runner’s Knee, Rotator Cuff Tendonitis, and Tennis Elbow are overuse injuries.
Overuse injuries are progressive activity-related injuries linked to repetitive stress that is placed on the tendon, ligament or other joint structure. Individuals with overuse injuries may try to manage their pain on their own for a while. They may attempt to stabilize the knee, shoulder, or elbow with a brace. Or calm the pain with over-the-counter medications. Or even rest the joint a bit to find enough relief to play in the next game, continue to work, or participate in their upcoming event.
Doing too much of the same activity strains the tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissue structures. Training errors and improper technique may also increase the possibility of an overuse injury. Poor or improper form during training exercises, while running on uneven ground, or when swinging a tennis racket, or even poor form when painting walls, can overload the muscles, tendons, and ligaments and cause an overuse injury.
In cases of Runners Knee, for example, the repeated stress again and again, from the force of hitting hard surfaces while contracting the leg muscle when running, results in a weakening of the tendon and ligaments. In overuse injuries, many may think the tendon or ligaments are inflamed. Although the injury may begin with inflammation, when left untreated, this overuse injury overloads the tendon and ligaments. The result is degeneration or even a tear. Many cases of overuse injuries become chronic with instances of recurrence.
Pain and tenderness are initially noted in the affected area after physical activity. As the problem progresses, the pain and discomfort occur during activity. Of course, symptoms vary with the various joints and from person to person. However, as the condition advances, swelling and pain will restrict the ability to perform sports or particular activities. Eventually, the pain and symptoms will persist, even at rest.
Chasing and suppressing symptoms with bracing and pain medications may decrease swelling and relieve momentary pain. However, a knee sleeve, for example, will only give a false sense of security while temporarily helping the sufferer function. The debilitating pain can keep the individual and athlete searching for a cure.
Surgery prolongs the athlete’s return to sport.[i] Fortunately, there are non-surgical options!
Here’s what doctors in New York say about the overuse injury patellar tendonitis: “Due to its common refractory response (difficulty in treating) to conservative treatment, a variety of new treatments have emerged recently that include…Prolotherapy, platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP), arthroscopic surgical procedures, surgical resection of the inferior patellar pole (cutting away tendon tissue at the kneecap)…”[ii]
At OrthoRegen®, we use regenerative treatments for painful joint conditions, including platelet-rich plasma and Prolotherapy. But the researchers also listed surgery! Why do surgery if PRP is good enough? Is PRP good enough to effectively treat overuse conditions?
Studies done in Europe demonstrate the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma for those with overuse conditions of the knee. It is also able to improve pain symptoms and functionality. Here is what they say: “The most important finding in our meta-analysis is that PRP injections are statistically better than the control group at longer-term follow-up suggesting that PRP is an effective and worthwhile treatment for Patellar Tendinopathy. [iii],[iv]
A 2018 study agreed that multiple PRP injections offer the most satisfactory results.[v] Athletes are looking to non-surgical therapies such as Stem Cell Treatments, platelet-rich plasma, or Prolotherapy treatments because they show improved outcomes in those with tendon and ligament conditions like runners’ knees.[vi]
At OrthoRegen®, we use regenerative therapies like stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma therapy, and prolotherapy. By treating overuse injuries with Regenerative Orthopedics, athletes can return to their sport, and other individuals and non-athletes can return to the activities they love.
When treating those with overuse injuries, we see substantial, consistent improvements in pain outcomes. Regenerative Orthopedics can treat various joint disorders, including problems with the tendons. The injections are directed at the weakened tendons and ligaments, stimulating a string of healing events. These events include an increase in blood supply, an influx of reparative cells, and the deposition of collagen cells. When the collagen matures, it will strengthen and tighten the damaged tendons and ligaments.
With an increase in individuals participating in sports activities comes a rise in sports-related injuries. Many of these injuries are tendon related, including lateral epicondylitis, rotator cuff tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, Osgood-Schlatter Disease, and Achilles Tendinosis. Patients and health professionals are subsequently looking into non-surgical treatment options. Is non-surgical Prolotherapy effective at treating tendinopathies? Researchers in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine found that Prolotherapy effectively treated all those conditions. (vii)
Why would we treat the ligaments too?
Joint instability is the root of ongoing and recurring joint pain in overuse conditions. Patients with overuse injuries often have concurrent weakness in the ligaments of the joint. These ligaments play a huge role in stabilizing the joint, and when they are weak, they put more strain on the tendon and other joint structures.
The problem of weak ligaments needs to be addressed in treatment. Therefore, we treat the joint comprehensively and ensure that we treat any injured and weakened ligaments as well to achieve the best results. Comprehensive treatment will repair and heal the entire joint, tighten the ligaments, and strengthen and restore the tendons. Thus, the joint and all of its structures will function normally. Athletes and individuals sidelined by overuse injuries will be able to return confidently and pain-free to the sport and activities they love.
[i] Cook J L, Khan KM, Harcourt PR, et al. A cross sectional study of 100 athletes with jumper’s knee managed conservatively and surgically. The Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group. Br J Sports Med1997; 31: 332 – 336.
[ii] Christian RA, Rossy WH, Sherman OH. Patellar tendinopathy – recent developments toward treatment. Bull Hosp Jt Dis (2013). 2014;72(3):217-24.
[iii] Kaux JF, Bruyere O, Croisier JL, Forthomme B, Le Goff C, Crielaard JM. One-year follow-up of platelet-rich plasma infiltration to treat chronic proximal patellar tendinopathies. Acta Orthop Belg. 2015 Jun;81(2):251-6.
[iv] Dupley L, Charalambous CP. Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections as a Treatment for Refractory Patellar Tendinosis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials. Knee surgery & related research. 2017 Sep;29(3):165.
[v] Andriolo L, Altamura SA, Reale D, Candrian C, Zaffagnini S, Filardo G. Nonsurgical Treatments of Patellar Tendinopathy: Multiple Injections of Platelet-Rich Plasma Are a Suitable Option: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. The American journal of sports medicine. 2018 Mar 1:0363546518759674.
[vi] Kopka M, Bradley JP. The Use of Biologic Agents in Athletes with Knee Injuries. J Knee Surg. 2016 Jul;29(5):379-86. doi: 10.1055/s-0036-1584194. Epub 2016 May 20.
(vii) Capotosto, Salvatore, et al. “Prolotherapy in the Treatment of Sports-Related Tendinopathies: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine 12.11 (2024): 23259671241275087.
