Clinics in sports medicine
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For the most part, the competitive athlete is a well-adjusted individual who demonstrates considerable vigor and well-being, as well as less depression, anxiety, and fatigue than nonathletic counterparts. The well-trained athlete, however, may also have a personality that is somewhat rigid, strongly goal oriented, and perfectionist. ⋯ There are a number of other organic causes of chronic fatigue and depression, however, which must be excluded by careful evaluation and appropriate diagnostic testing. Although the evaluation of the athlete who presents with chronic fatigue and depression can be somewhat complex, a diagnostic framework has been outlined here to assist the clinician in the assessment of an athlete who presents with such complaints.
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Evaluation and treatment of closed tendon injuries in the athlete is usually fairly straightforward if seen in the acute stages. These usually respond well in most cases to nonoperative treatment; a small percentage require initial operative treatment, however. In most cases, continued participation in sports is possible during treatment as long as protective splinting is allowed.
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The challenge of treating fractures of the hand and wrist in the athlete is finding innovative ways of internal and external fixation that will allow the athlete to continue participation while the fracture is healing. The challenge is to provide enough immobilization or restriction to allow optimal fracture healing while providing enough freedom to allow the athlete to participate in his sport.
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Lower extremity problems in the runner are common and often perplexing. Although many problems such as acute tendinitis and mild sprains can be treated with short periods of rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, some will be chronic or recurrent in nature. ⋯ Chronic recurring ailments should be examined carefully with a high suspicion of a biomechanical imbalance in the foot or lower extremity. With a basic understanding of the biomechanics of the foot and ankle and the stresses incurred during running, most of the problems can be managed conservatively.
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The goal of any surgical procedure to correct the instability caused by loss of the ACL is to control the abnormal anterior excursion of the tibia on the femur. Because the main problem is loss of the ACL, it would seem most reasonable to approach this problem by performing an intra-articular reconstruction of the ACL, thus approximating as closely as possible the normal anatomy of the ACL. The classic open intra-articular ACL reconstructions are technically demanding surgical procedures that usually require a significant "learning curve" to achieve a level of technical expertise and confidence. ⋯ Of equal importance to the technical demands of the various surgical procedures is selection of the appropriate procedure for each patient. The selection must be based on many factors. The most important factor is the identification of the patient with a high level of athletic activity who is unwilling to modify his or her activity level to compensate for a deficient ACL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)