Sports injuries in Freiburg – diagnosis and conservative treatment
Whether an acute injury or gradual overuse: the affected structure, severity and current physical capacity must be assessed together to support a safe return to everyday activity and sport.
Acute injuries and overuse conditions
Conditions treated include muscle and tendon injuries, ligament injuries, joint problems and load-related pain. In acute injuries, the priority is to exclude relevant structural damage and plan the next steps; in overuse conditions, analysing training history and load profile is particularly important.
Diagnostics
Depending on the clinical question, the examination is complemented by ultrasound or existing X-ray and MRI findings. The key issue is whether a finding explains the symptoms and what it means for training and treatment.
Conservative treatment and rehabilitation
We establish what activity is currently possible and what needs adjusting. Depending on the injury, the plan may include physiotherapy, strength and coordination training or additional treatments.
Returning to sport is a gradual process: from modified activity through sport-specific training to full participation. Symptoms, movement, strength, function and your confidence in movement all matter. A timetable alone is not sufficient to make the decision.
Experience in elite and high-performance sport
For many years, I have accompanied the German national rowing team at training camps and competitions. My experience also includes earlier work with SC Freiburg. This shapes how I assess training load, recovery and return after injury, including for people who practise sport recreationally.
A personal perspective on sports medicine: glimpses of rowing and training on the water and on land. The video contains German on-screen text.
Information helpful for sports medicine assessment
Bring existing reports and describe as precisely as possible how your symptoms started. For overuse problems, details of training volume, intensity, recovery and recent changes are helpful. Tell us your goal too: unrestricted daily activities, regular training or a particular competition.
Recurrent lower-leg pain during exercise may warrant further targeted assessment.
Next step
A reliable diagnosis is based on the course of symptoms, the examination and – where necessary – targeted additional testing. The content of this page does not replace a personal medical examination.
Author: Dr Andreas Aust · Specialist in orthopaedics with an additional qualification in sports medicine
On return to sport: Ardern et al.: Return-to-sport consensus, BJSM (2016). It supports an individual, gradual decision process considering function and sporting demands.