With the right knowledge, expertise and support you can overcome an injury without threatening your sports career. By taking things slow, setting realistic goals, and maintaining a positive, focused approach, most athletes can overcome minor injuries quickly and major injuries in time.

Q: Playing cricket is my passion and I am a right-arm fast bowler. Lately a shoulder joint pain is developed and it increases while I am in action. Is it some kind of an injury? I am 26 years old. –Muhammad Ahmed

A: Dear reader, fast bowlers, at times, develop shoulder pain because of repeated action of throwing and bowling. There is a group of sensitive muscles, soft tissues and bones around the shoulder which can cause pain due to imbalance of activity and faulty bowling action. If this imbalance is not corrected then it leads to injuries of the shoulder. At 26 years old you need to stay in close collaboration with your physiotherapist and coach who will look into the strength of your muscles and depending upon the flexibility of your tendons your bowling action needs to be modified. If pain persists despite these measures then there is a possibility of an injury for which you are advised to undergo a complete evaluation of your shoulder by a shoulder sports medicine specialist in order to keep you pain free and keep you in the game.

Dr. Muhammad Sufyan

FCPS (Ortho) AO Fellow
(Germany), Sports Medicine
Fellowship (Singapore)

Assistant Professor | Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College

Q: I am a 19 years old athlete and participate in long jump events. Few months ago during a competition, I miss-timed my jump and landed on my left heel on a wrong angle. Since then the heel pain has not gone. Please advise which specialist doctor to visit? –Ejaz Ahmed

A: Dear Ejaz, long jump needs lot of stretching exercises, stamina and body balancing to achieve maximum jump length. When there is imbalance during a jump there is high risk of injury to ankle joint which may lead to soft tissue or bony injury. In soft tissue injury ligaments around the joints are most vulnerable to sprain or avulsion from that origin. As you said it’s now been a few months and that might be due to a chronic ligament injury. You are advised to consult an Orthopedic surgeon to evaluate your ankle joint for related problems due to injury. Prompt investigation, correct diagnosis and good treatment will help you to obtain relief from pain and any future disability.

Dr. Muhammad Kazim Rahim

MD, FCPS (Ortho) AO Fellow (Germany), Sports medicine
Fellow (IRI) (France), Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Fellowship (PAS, Pak)

Assistant Professor | Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College

Q: I play cricket and I am a batsman. I’m 24 years old. For the last two weeks I have been suffering from a “stiff neck” problem, which is not only painful but also hampers my batting performance. A friend of mine advised me to change my batting stance. Please advise. –Shah Hassan

A: Stiff neck can be due to multiple reasons, which include bad posture, muscle spasm, Vitamin D3 deficiency etc.

As a batsman, healthy neck/spine is very important therefore, I suggest that you consult a neurosurgeon who may order x-rays and blood tests. Furthermore, he may refer you to physiotherapy as well.

I believe that you should try and take care of your neck issues first before changing your batting stance.

Dr. Saad Akhter Khan

FCPS

Assistant Professor | Department of Spinal and Neurosurgery

Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College

Q: I am 34. I play hockey. Two years ago, during a match the ball hit my wrist. It was a fracture. After healing I refrain playing for two years. Lately I resumed my game but the wrist pain is still there. Please suggest me a good specialist. –Amir Bajwa

A: It is quite common for hockey players to sustain wrist injuries. Such issues need proper evaluation. There are certain reasons which can cause wrist pain after fracture. Some of them are:

Wrist Osteoarthtitis

Scaphoid Non union

SNAC (Scaphoid non union advance collapse)

Carpal instability

TFCC Injury (Ligament Injury)

So treatment depends on proper evaluation and diagnosis. You need to follow an Orthopaedic consultant for assessment and management of this problem.

Prof. Zaki Idrees

FRCS, A.O. Fellow

Professor | Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery

Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College

All the specialists on our experts’ panel are associated with
Liaquat National Hospital. Please send your queries at khalidhraj@gmail.com or Anjum.Rizvi@lnh.edu.pk.)

– Khalid Hussain