overuse injury

An injury resulting from an imbalance between training and recovery. The mechanical stresses imposed by training damages tissues (especially muscles, tendons, and ligaments) at a rate faster than they can be repaired during the rest period. Internal factors contributing to overuse injuries include age, malalignments of joints, muscle imbalances, and inflexibility; external factors include errors in technique, poor equipment, poor environment, and overtraining. Overuse injuries range from those which cause mild pain during the activity only, to those which severely limit performance and produce chronic, unremitting pain. Overuse injuries are common in aerobic activities involving repetitive movements over a long period of time. Certain sites, such as the tendons of the shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles are particularly susceptible to overuse injuries. The injuries are usually quite easy to treat in the early stages with a combination of relative rest, ice, stretching, and progressive resistance exercises. If, however, a person continues to train with an overuse injury, it may become much more difficult to treat; anti-inflammatories and other more intrusive treatments, including surgery, may be needed to resolve the condition.

An injury caused by overexerting the body with excessive workloads at a normal frequency of movement, with normal workloads at an increased frequency of movement, or with low workloads at an excessively rapid frequency of movement. Overuse injuries often occur at the microscopic level and are caused by repeated microtrauma.