The Portland Trailblazers basketball team has been plagued by injuries recently, as have other players throughout the NBA. Veteran athletes and rookies alike have been benched over parts of the season due to soft tissue injuries, causing them to miss out on key games and hindering Portland’s NBA playoff chances. The muscle and tendon strains, sprains, and tears these players suffered are a common type of personal injury that occurs among all athletes. While professional sports team members are assured of getting the latest treatments in order to speed recovery, minor league and recreational players are not always so lucky.
Sports-Related Soft Tissue Injuries
An April 2018 report by Rip City Project elaborated on bad news that NBA fans in Portland already knew: the injury bug that had been hitting teams throughout the Western Conference was taking its toll on several key Trailblazer players. Those who have been benched over the 2017/2018 season due to various soft tissue injuries include the following:
- Al-Farouq Aminu, who was forced to sit out four games due to an ankle injury;
- Jusuf Nurkic, who sat out three games due to various soft tissue injuries, which seem to have plagued him over the course of his career; and
- Maurice Harkless, who sat out the last nine games of the season due to knee surgery to repair damages.
An assortment of minor soft tissue injuries kept various starting players sidelined for brief periods. Fortunately, none of the Trailblazers have suffered more major, career-ending injuries thus far this season. Soft tissue injuries are something that both professional and non-professional athletes are well acquainted with. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) these injuries are among the most common type of sports injury, impacting millions of athletes and sports enthusiasts each year.
The Role Coaches and Leaders Play in Mitigating Soft Tissue Injuries
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) states that soft tissue injuries often involve the following:
- Muscle or tendon strains, sprains, and tears in the extremities and in the hips, back, and neck;
- Dislocations and tearing involving ligaments and joints, such as in the knees, shoulders, ankles, and wrists.
Some of these injuries occur as the result of overuse, while others are acute and occur due to sudden wrong movements or bumps and blows. Players should always be alert to signs of pain, which indicate a potential problem.
Continuing to play when a soft tissue injury occurs can lead to further damage and potentially long-term disabilities. In these situations, coaches, recreational staff, school sports administrators, and others can be held accountable for failing to properly train players, to provide warm ups and breaks as needed, or for failing to remove them from play when an injury is suffered
Our Legal Team Is Here to Help
When sports and recreational injuries do occur, our Portland personal injury attorneys are here to help you get the medical care and treatment you need to recover. Call or contact the Johnston Law Firm and request a consultation to discuss your case and how we can assist you today.