Sports injuries affect bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons — usually from overuse, trauma or sudden stress. Most are partial injuries that heal with accurate diagnosis, a structured rehabilitation programme and, where healing stalls, PRP or stem-cell–based therapy for faster healing and return to play. Complete tears need a surgeon, and Dr. Kiruthika will say which is which at the first visit.
High-impact sports, a poor warm-up, overtraining and lack of flexibility are the usual risk factors. Sudden loads tear muscle fibres; twisting stretches or tears ligaments; repetitive loading outpaces a tendon’s ability to repair. Tendons and some ligaments have a poor blood supply, which is why healing stalls — and why regenerative treatment helps.
Clinical examination with ultrasound in the same visit to grade the injury; MRI when a complete tear, bone injury or damage inside a joint is suspected. A return-to-play timeline is set from the grade, not the calendar.
Conditions treated
A twisting injury tears the anterior cruciate ligament — swelling within hours and a knee that gives way. Partial tears often heal with bracing, rehabilitation and ultrasound-guided regenerative treatment. Complete tears in active athletes usually need reconstruction and are referred directly.
A twist on a loaded knee tears the shock-absorbing cartilage; locking or a knee that will not straighten needs arthroscopic referral, while stable tears are treated with injection and rehabilitation. Covered in detail on the Knee pain page.
Overhead sports overload the shoulder’s cuff tendons. Many partial tears respond to physiotherapy and regenerative treatments — PRP under ultrasound guidance — while large tears in active athletes are referred for repair. Covered in detail on the Shoulder pain page.
The commonest sports injury. RICE and bracing early, then a balance and strengthening programme; ultrasound-guided PRP for ligaments that are slow to heal or keep giving way.
Repetitive strain degenerates the tendons on the outer elbow — in racquet sports and in anyone gripping repetitively. A loading programme first; PRP has shown excellent results in chronic cases. Covered in detail on the Elbow pain page.
Recovery is staged — pain-free daily activity, strength symmetry, sport-specific drills, then full play — with criteria at each stage rather than fixed dates. Re-injury is most common when a stage is skipped.
Assessment with ultrasound takes twenty minutes. PRP takes about forty-five minutes including the blood draw, with soreness for two to five days and a temporary reduction in training load.
It depends on severity — mild sprains may heal in weeks; major ligament tears may take months.
Yes — PRP and stem-cell therapies help athletes return to play faster.
Brief rest and ice in the first days, then early guided movement. Prolonged rest slows recovery.
Mild pain that settles by the next morning is usually acceptable during a loading programme; pain that worsens overnight means the load is too high.