Sport has increasing significance in our modern society. This is due to the fact that we have more leisure time and also because the biological age limit for sporting activities has shifted.

Sports injuries have many causes and depend in addition on the type of sport in question. Apart from acute injuries, stress damage plays an increasingly important role in the work of sports traumatologists.

The limits of sporting capacity are determined in many sports by the strength of the connective and supportive tissue. If the stress is greater than the individual capacity, chronic microtrauma – in other words: supportive and connective tissue overload – can result.

Athletes experience this in the form of muscle or tendon strain and pain in the joints. If chronic overload or strain is not recognized, analyzed and treated in time, it can lead to irreversible joint or soft tissue damage.

It is the task of the sports traumatologist to diagnose the injury patterns or overload damage specific to the different sports and to treat them accordingly. This calls for teamwork between the doctor, physiotherapist and athlete so as to achieve a gradual transition to low-risk full-load training and competition.

Prevention is also an important part of the sports traumatologist’s work. With young athletes in particular, this will ensure that they are not prone to injuries and can enjoy a long and healthy sporting career.