Muscle Building Injuries - Knee Injuries

Knee injury is common in any type of sports. Athletes of the NFL experience knee injuries. The NBA players get them too. To bodybuilders, knee injuries are as common as protein shakes. Let us pry into the bodybuilding sport and find out what are the most common knee injuries that bodybuilders experience.

1. Patellar Tendon Strain

This frontal knee injury is perhaps the most common knee injury that may happen to a bodybuilder. The tendon, which is an important part of the knee (it enables movement) may be strained due to repetitive activities. These activities can be as simple as cardio runs, or the traditional squats. Excessive workouts also proved to be the cause of patellar tendon strain. This strain may cause torn in fibers, resulting in pain whenever the knee is used. You need to get into the ER as soon as you find out that you have a torn tendon because you need a surgery to repair it. After the surgery, you need to use crutches or a wheelchair to avoid putting weight through the injured leg.

2. Pre-patellar Bursitis

As with the shoulder, the bursa also protects the knee cap. It is a sac filled with fluid, which is situated between the bone and the skin. Inflamed bursa will cause swelling over your kneecap. This injury is called the pre-patellar bursitis or "the housemaid knee" (housemaids often have to kneel down to scrub dirty floors, causing pressure on the front part of the knee). The bursa can be inflamed due to repeated pressure on the front of the knee. That's why you need to do your squats and lunges the proper way. If you damage the bursa, you won't even be able to work out. Prevention is thus the best measure. Treatment for bursitis involves draining of extra liquid in the bursa that causes the swelling. In more extreme cases, the bursa is removed to eliminate the problem. You will get a leg cast after the procedure, which can only be removed after approximately one month.

3. Knee cap dislocation

Sounds horrible right? Let us assure you that it feels equally horrible too. Medical reports indicate that this injury may happen to any age group; children, teenager as well as adults. Nevertheless, sportsmen are in the high-risk group. Sometimes, in older athletes, the dislocation can be severe that it needs to be manipulated back into place. In severe cases, doctors will propose to remove the kneecap to eliminate the problem. You will be given a special orthotic foot support to help you walk as usual.