Health Tips Tuesday: sports injuries

(WGGB/WSHM) - We spoke with Dr. John Corsetti, an orthopedic surgeon with New England Orthopedics about sport injuries and what you need to know to keep your athletes safe this winter.

What type of sports injuries are most common in the upcoming winter months?

We are seeing a lot of ligament issues in the knee usually double or triple of what we usually see in the winter months so that’s a lot of our business right now.

MRI is used often for sports injuries. Why is it such a good tool in your opinion?

The MRI’s these days are extremely high quality, they use three tesla magnets it’s called. They give us extremely fine detail on the anatomy of the injury. Essentially it removes all questions about what exactly has been torn. It gives us very much a diagnostic accuracy and it allows us to configure a treatment plan very quickly for patients.

If an athlete has an injury, what is the first step they should take?

We always recommend what we call R.I.C.E. which is rest, ice, and elevation. The athlete or patient should be seen by a medical provider fairly quickly simply get an x-ray and make sure that there is no fracture or dislocation. If there is a fracture or a dislocation, there is a very different treatment plan than if there is not. First step is either an orthopedic office or an urgent care to get the x-ray. Occasionally an MRI scan helps pin point what is wrong if the x-ray does not show anything.

Where can viewers get more information?

New England Orthopedics

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