The human body has a built-in mechanism to address stress. Your body needs to recover every time you encounter physical stress in the form of exercise or activity. The applied stress can bring about a positive change, as it can strengthen muscles, ligaments, bones and tendons. However, you may be at risk of an overuse injury when you try to take on too much physical activity too quickly.

Overuse injuries are very common. They occur as a result of repetitive action or trauma. Overuse injury can happen to anyone. However, you are more likely to sustain this type of injury if you have certain health complications. Some of the most common overuse injuries among athletes include Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, swimmer’s shoulder, runner’s knee and shin splints.

An overuse injury typically stems from:

• Training errors. It’s the most common cause of overuse injuries. This occurs when you take on too much too soon. Simply doing too much exercise or activity can cause serious strain to your muscles and cause overuse injuries.
• Faulty technique. A proper technique is key in avoiding overuse injuries. For example, a slight change in swimming form can result in pain to your neck and shoulders.

If you are suffering from overuse injuries, you might want to listen to your body and ease down the level of activity. It is important that you go to a podiatrist and get him to examine your injury.

At Joseph Stuto, DPM, our team of board-certified podiatrists can help you pinpoint the exact issue that undermines your performance and will provide comprehensive treatment to guide you in fixing this problem. Our podiatrists Dr. Joseph C. Stuto and Dr. Joseph A. Stuto can be your go-to team in helping you get rid of overuse injuries. Contact us at our two convenient locations in Brooklyn: (718)624-7537 (Brooklyn Heights) or (718)567-1403 (Brooklyn) to make an appointment.