If you play amateur or professional sports in New Mexico, you’re probably no stranger to the occasional injury. You may even get back up on your feet after a painful accident because you think you can just “shake it off.” As an athlete, it’s not your job to diagnose yourself, but too often, even the professional medics who are hired to keep sports players safe misdiagnose serious injuries.
Anterior cruciate ligament
Knee injuries involving the ACL are very common in sports, especially those that require quick turns and abrupt stops. When an athlete’s ACL is strained or torn, they could lose the stability in their knee joint and end up requiring surgery and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, a lot of ACL injuries are aggravated because they are mistaken for collateral ligament strains.
Stress fractures
Stress fracture is another name for cracked bone. When an athlete puts way too much stress on a muscle, the muscle becomes fatigued, and the stress is shifted to the nearest bone. These injuries are cumulative, and they are common with overtraining. If a stress fracture is misdiagnosed as a strain or a shin splint, an athlete could develop more serious, chronic injuries.
Concussion
Although you hear a lot about concussions in sports, these brain injuries are still overlooked on a regular basis. When concussions aren’t diagnosed and treated properly, they can have a lasting impact on an athlete’s cognitive functioning. In sports, the worst part about a concussion being ignored is that another concussion could be on the way. Repeated concussions can lead to life-long problems.
Misdiagnosis in sports is costly
Athletes live for their sport, and in some cases, they also make a living off of their sport. When a doctor fails to properly diagnose an athletic injury, the mistake sometimes costs the athlete their career. If your athletic injuries were aggravated by a misdiagnosis, you may be able to pursue financial compensation for all of your losses.