- tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
- golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis)
- swimmer’s shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis and impingement)
- Little League elbow syndrome
- runner’s knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome)
- jumper’s knee (infrapatellar tendinitis)
- Achilles tendinitis
- shin splints (periostitis)
- rotator cuff tendonitis and tears
- bursitis (prepatellar, olecranon, trochanteric, and retrocalcaneal)
- iliotibial band syndrome
- spondylolisthesis
- spondylolysis
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
I believe that the often unidentified factor that is contributing to the overuse injury showing up on one side of the body is posture imbalance. A common posture imbalance that can cause one sided running injuries is having a slightly stronger and more stable hip compared to the other. This will cause very slight changes in stride length, stance time, and subsequent imbalanced forces on muscles and connective tissues. For instance if your right leg is slightly stronger than your left leg you will spend more time loading your right leg which could lead to patellofemoral pain syndrome on your right knee from the extra load. This extra loading of the dominate hip/leg can also lead to stress fractures of the foot. In this instance you will also try to unload your weaker left hip quicker which could mean you are pushing off with your left foot harder leading to Achilles tendonitis on your left side.
I believe posture imbalances are responsible for where overuse injuries show up. If a tennis player has a strong but tight shoulder, that strength might make their shoulder injury resistant but the limited range of motion of the shoulder will mean they have to create excessive range of motion somewhere else. They might try to create the excessive range of motion from the wrist which could cause carpal tunnel or lateral elbow epicondylitis. A different player might have strong wrists and arms but weak shoulders comparatively which means their rotator cuff will be under excessive stress and stain and they might end up with a rotator cuff tear or tendonitis of the rotator cuff tendon(s).
If you would like a free posture evaluation and injury consultation, contact me today and I'd be happy to help you understand what is the underlying cause of your injury and how to decrease your chance of future injuries.
Related articles/videos:
Patellofemoral pain syndrome and your posture
Spondylolisthesis and Egoscue
Tennis elbow
Why runners don't get knee arthritis
Sports and the blame game