Joint & Movement Health
Acute or overuse injuries affecting muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones, or nerves.
Physician-led assessment · individualized care · Vancouver clinic
Understanding Sports Injuries
Maybe you rolled your ankle on the trail last weekend, or there's a nagging ache in your knee that shows up ten minutes into every run. Either way, you want to know what's going on and how to get back to what you love, safely.
Sports injuries usually fall into two groups. Acute injuries happen in a moment: a sprain, strain or fracture from a fall, twist or collision. Overuse injuries build quietly when tissue is loaded faster than it can recover, often after a jump in training, too little rest, or a technique or equipment issue. Knowing which you have matters, because you can train through some injuries while others need protecting first. A clear diagnosis lets us guide your recovery and your return to sport with confidence.
Related Presentations
These focused pages explain different patterns within this concern.
Causes and Contributing Factors
Acute injuries typically result from a specific event, such as a fall, collision, twist, or sudden forceful movement. Overuse injuries build over time when tissue is loaded faster than it can recover, and are commonly linked to rapid increases in training, insufficient recovery, technique or equipment issues, and muscle imbalances or fatigue. Contributing factors can include previous injury, general conditioning, footwear, and playing surface. Both types can occur in the same person, and an overloaded tissue may fail suddenly.
Signs and Symptoms
Signs depend on the tissue and the injury, but common features include:
Assessment
Your assessment is with Dr. Teri Fisher, our sports medicine physician. No referral is needed, and it helps to share your most recent imaging or reports before your appointment.
Dr. Fisher asks how the injury happened, what your training looked like beforehand, and how it feels with activity and rest. She then checks swelling, range of motion, strength and stability, and uses specific tests for the tissue involved. If a fracture or significant soft-tissue injury seems likely, X-ray, ultrasound or MRI may help. That tells you whether you can train around a minor injury or need protection, referral or a dedicated rehab plan, and she sets clear return-to-activity goals around your sport, schedule and season.
Sports medicine consultations are physician appointments with a consultation fee, confirmed when you book.
Treatment Options
These are some of the options connected to this concern. The appropriate plan depends on assessment, suitability, and your goals.
Your plan follows your diagnosis. Many soft-tissue injuries do best with early protection and pain relief, then a progressive rehab program that rebuilds range of motion, strength and sport-specific skills. Today's approach favours the right amount of loading and active recovery, so you keep moving while you heal. Fractures, significant tears and some other injuries may need a brace or cast, a referral or a specialist opinion. Looking at your training load, technique and recovery helps keep the same injury from coming back.
For persistent soft-tissue, tendon, ligament and joint problems, Dr. Fisher offers ultrasound-guided injections as part of a wider plan with rehabilitation. Options include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), prolotherapy, corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid preparations, and the choice is at the physician's discretion, based on the tissue involved, your imaging and your goals. Ultrasound lets her see the injured structure in real time, so the injection is placed precisely. The evidence varies by tissue, so injections are considered selectively, always alongside a proper rehab program, with referral to physiotherapy or a specialist whenever your recovery needs it.
For the fuller picture, explore the treatment pages above or discuss the options during a consultation.
Our sports medicine service treats soft tissue and peripheral joints: the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, ankle and foot, along with the tendons, ligaments and muscles around them.
Hip and spine concerns are outside our service, as our ultrasound system doesn't support these areas. For hip or back pain, a service that focuses on those areas is the best place to start, so you reach the right help sooner.
The first question in any sports injury is whether it's acute or an overuse pattern, because that shapes a safe return to activity. Diagnosis comes before a plan, graded rehabilitation is the backbone of recovery for most soft-tissue injuries, and regenerative options such as PRP are considered selectively for specific, persistent problems.
Selected sources informing our approach. Canadian guidance is prioritized, and manufacturer materials are not treated as independent clinical evidence.
Medical Assessment
Seek prompt medical care for an obvious deformity, inability to bear weight or use the limb, severe pain or swelling, or a joint that feels unstable. Numbness, tingling, or a cold or pale limb, a head injury with confusion or loss of consciousness, or pain that worsens or doesn't improve also need assessment. Suspected stress fractures, which cause activity-related bone pain, should be checked before you keep training.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the injury. Some minor issues can be managed with adjusted training, while continuing through others, such as stress fractures or significant soft-tissue injuries, can delay healing. An assessment with Dr. Fisher tells you what's safe for you right now.
These can feel similar. Inability to bear weight, deformity or marked instability may point to a more serious injury. An examination is the most reliable way to tell them apart, so booking an assessment is the quickest way to know what you're dealing with.
For certain persistent tendon and soft-tissue injuries, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is used as an add-on to rehabilitation, though the evidence varies by injury. It works alongside a graded rehab program, and Dr. Fisher will tell you after your assessment whether PRP or another ultrasound-guided option suits your injury.
Physician Assessment
An assessment can help clarify what may be contributing, which options may be appropriate, and what a reasonable next step could look like for you.
Visit Our Clinic
Anti-Aging Medical & Laser Clinic combines medical assessment, individualized planning, physician oversight, and a broad range of treatment options in its Vancouver clinic.
Bring your questions, treatment history, and goals. Your provider can help you understand appropriate options, expected recovery, and realistic outcomes.
Make an Appointment
Use our consultation form below and the clinic can guide you toward the appropriate starting point.
