Cause and Effects of Lower Extremity injuries

        Lower extremity injuries are very important because we use our lower limbs everyday.  Serious lower extremity injuries are caused from contact with a large force, which can result in broken bones and dislocations. Minor injuries occur when a muscle or ligament moves past its normal range of motion. Two very important causes for injury to the lower extremities are muscle fatigue and poor balance. A prior injury, weakness of the joints, or a small range of motion could cause poor balance.  In athletes, this may not only hurt their chances of success, but also put them at risk for injury. Since the body’s balance is maintained in the core, upper extremities, and lower extremities, injury to any of these areas can cause balance deficits. Weak stability can cause  more harm to other parts of the body than just the lower extremities. For example, if a hurdler in track lands on the weaker leg due to fear of re-injury, his or her body could get off balance and possibly fall landing on his or her arm, which would cause an injury to the upper extremity. With this upper extremity injury, the hurdler’s balance could be thrown off. While there are many other possibilities , it is practically a domino effect. Abnormal balance and muscle fatigue go hand-in-hand. Overworking the specific muscles around the lower extremities can cause muscle fatigue, as well as abnormal stability. According to Semyon M. Slobounov in his book, Injuries in Athletics: Causes and Consequences, “Female athletes with a composite reach distance less than 94.0% of their limb length were 6.5 times more likely to have a lower leg extremity injury.” Since these females have a higher risk for injury, studies show that female athletes have a higher risk for ACL injuries.  Other overuse injuries in the lower extremities include: shin splints, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, bone marrow edema, tarsal and carpal tunnel, nerve damage, degenerative joint diseases of the ankle, knee, and hip, etc. According to Mark Charrette, DC in Lower-Extremity Overuse Injuries: Primer on Causes and Corrections, “An example of an extrinsic source of lower-extremity overuse that is often overlooked is the forced pronation and "environmental" leg-length discrepancy due to repetitive running or walking on a banked surface, such as along the sides of roads with a pronounced slant for water runoff.”

References

1. Campagne, Danielle. "Overview of Fractures, Dislocations, and Sprains -   Injuries Poisoning." Merck Manuals Professional Edition. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015. Web.
2. Charrette, Mark. “Lower-Extremity Overuse Injuries: Primer on Causes and Corrections.” Dynamic Chiropractic. 33:10. Nov. 2015. Web.
3. Slobounov, Semyon. "Abnormal Balance as a Risk Factor for Injury." Injuries in Athletics: Causes and Consequences. New York: Springer, 2008. N. pag. Web.