Sports Medicine Conditions
& Treatment

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the primary stabilizing ligaments of the knee, controlling rotation and forward movement of the shinbone. ACL tears usually happen suddenly, often during cutting, pivoting, or landing from a jump, and are among the most common serious knee injuries in sports.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• A pop felt or heard at the moment of injury

• Immediate swelling

• A sense of instability or the knee giving way

• Difficulty continuing activity right after injury

• Pain and limited range of motion in the days that follow

Not every ACL tear requires surgery. Lower-demand patients with a stable knee may do well with physical therapy and activity modification alone, though nonoperative treatment carries a higher risk of ongoing instability, particularly for athletes returning to cutting and pivoting sports.

When surgery is the right choice, Dr. Eskew offers the following graft and technique options, tailored to your anatomy, activity level, and goals:

• Bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft: known for fast, reliable bony healing and among the lowest revision rates of any graft option

• Hamstring tendon autograft: a smaller incision with a quick recovery, a strong option for many active patients

• Quadriceps tendon autograft: an increasingly popular choice known for excellent strength and reliable outcomes

• Lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET): an additional procedure frequently performed alongside ACL reconstruction in Dr. Eskew's practice to add rotational stability and meaningfully reduce the risk of re-tear, especially valuable for higher-risk patients

Graft choice is only part of the picture. Every knee is different, and Dr. Eskew evaluates factors that many surgeons overlook, including your posterior tibial slope (the natural angle of your shinbone, which can influence graft stress and re-tear risk), whether you have generalized ligamentous laxity, and sex-specific differences in injury patterns, since female athletes face a meaningfully higher rate of ACL injury and warrant tailored consideration in both graft choice and technique.

Because no two ACL injuries or knees are exactly alike, Dr. Eskew builds a reconstruction plan around your specific anatomy and risk factors, not a one-size-fits-all protocol, to give you the most durable path back to the sport you love.

The meniscus is a shock-absorbing cushion between the thigh bone and shin bone, and it's one of the most commonly injured structures in the knee. Tears can happen suddenly from twisting or pivoting, or gradually from wear over time.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Pain along the joint line

• Swelling that builds over hours

• Catching, locking, or the knee giving way

• Difficulty fully straightening or bending the knee

Treatment options:

• Nonoperative care. Many tears, especially degenerative ones, improve with physical therapy and activity modification.

• Meniscectomy. When a tear isn't repairable, removing the damaged portion offers fast, reliable relief.

• Meniscal repair. Whenever possible, repair is favored to preserve the meniscus and protect the knee from early arthritis. Techniques include inside-out, outside-in, and all-inside repair, chosen based on the tear's location.

Root tears, bucket handle tears, and LMORTs

Some tear patterns are treated differently. Root tears occur where the meniscus attaches to bone. Once that attachment fails, the meniscus can no longer function as a shock absorber, so root tears are treated as a more urgent surgical priority to protect the knee. Bucket handle tears and lateral meniscus oblique radial tears (LMORTs) are large, often severe tear patterns strongly linked to trauma and frequently found alongside ACL injuries, since the same twisting injury often damages both structures together.

Dr. Eskew evaluates your full knee, including any associated ligament injury, to determine the right treatment and timing for your specific tear.

A shoulder dislocation happens when the ball of the shoulder joint slips out of its socket. This often tears the labrum, the ring of cartilage that helps hold the joint in place. Most dislocations occur toward the front of the shoulder, called anterior instability. But the shoulder can also dislocate toward the back, known as posterior instability. This pattern is less common and is frequently missed, especially in athletes who push, block, or bench press. Once the labrum is torn, the shoulder is often more prone to repeat dislocations or a lingering sense of instability, particularly in younger, active patients.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• A shoulder that dislocates, or a sensation of the shoulder slipping or giving way

• Pain, swelling, and limited motion after the initial injury

• A recurring sense of instability with certain arm positions, whether overhead or during pushing and lifting

• Weakness or catching with overhead or reaching movements

Not every first dislocation needs surgery. But recurrence rates after nonsurgical treatment can be high, especially in younger athletes. When surgery is needed, arthroscopic labral repair reattaches the torn labrum and restores stability, whether the instability is anterior, posterior, or both. Outcomes are strong. Studies show roughly 80% of patients return to sport after surgery, with recurrence rates typically under 15% at long-term follow-up. If your case involves significant bone loss or repeated dislocations, additional procedures may be needed for lasting stability.

If your shoulder has ever slipped out of place, or just doesn't feel right anymore, it's worth having it looked at.

Dr. Eskew can pinpoint exactly what's going on and build a plan to get your shoulder stable again.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder and power nearly every arm movement, from lifting groceries to reaching for a top shelf to swinging a golf club. Rotator cuff tears range from small, partial-thickness tears caused by gradual wear to complete, full-thickness tears often triggered by a fall or sudden injury. They're one of the most common sources of shoulder pain, especially as we get older, though they can affect active adults of any age.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Pain with overhead activity or reaching

• Weakness when lifting or rotating the arm

• Pain that disrupts sleep, especially lying on the affected shoulder

• A catching or grinding sensation with certain movements

• Difficulty performing everyday tasks like getting dressed or reaching behind your back

Not every rotator cuff tear needs surgery. Many partial tears respond well to physical therapy focused on strengthening the surrounding shoulder muscles. When a tear is significant, painful, or hasn't improved with conservative treatment, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair restores the tendon's attachment to the bone. Outcomes are generally favorable, with the large majority of patients returning to their normal activities after repair, though recovery and results depend on the size of the tear, the quality of the tissue, and how long symptoms were present before treatment.

Dr. Eskew evaluates the size and pattern of your tear, along with your goals and activity level, to build a plan aimed at getting you back to full strength and function.

There's a moment during a sprint or a sudden stretch where you feel it give, and you instantly know something's wrong. What's harder to know in that moment is how serious it actually is, and that distinction changes everything about your recovery timeline.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Sudden pain in the back of the thigh or at the sit bone during a sprint, kick, or forceful stretch

• Swelling, bruising, or a palpable gap in the muscle

• Weakness with bending the knee or extending the hip

• Difficulty walking or bearing weight, in more severe injuries

Why Location and Grade Matter

Not all hamstring injuries are the same, and where the injury occurs matters as much as how severe it is. Dr. Eskew evaluates injuries using the BAMIC (British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification) system, which grades injuries by severity and precisely locates them, whether at the proximal tendon origin (near the sit bone), the muscle belly, or the musculotendinous junction (MTJ) where muscle transitions to tendon.

• Proximal tendon injuries, ranging from tendinopathy to partial tears to complete avulsions off the bone, are less common but carry a higher likelihood of needing surgery, especially with significant tendon retraction

• Muscle belly and musculotendinous junction injuries are far more common and typically respond well to a structured rehabilitation program, though high-grade MTJ injuries carry a higher risk of reinjury and need a more careful return-to-sport progression

Treatment

Most hamstring injuries heal well without surgery, guided by a rehabilitation program matched to the injury's location and grade. Complete proximal avulsions, particularly with significant retraction, generally require surgical repair to restore strength and prevent long-term weakness, especially in active patients and athletes.

Dr. Eskew combines precise injury classification with a tailored recovery plan, so your treatment matches exactly what's injured, not just where the pain is.

You're pushing off to sprint, jump, or change direction, and suddenly it feels like someone kicked you in the back of the leg. That's how most people describe an Achilles rupture, and the shock of it, along with the sudden inability to push off or walk normally, is often more disorienting than the pain itself.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• A sudden pop or snap felt at the back of the ankle

• Sharp pain that may ease quickly, even though the tendon is torn

• An inability to push off the ground or rise onto your toes

• Swelling and bruising around the heel

• A visible gap felt just above the heel bone

Here's what a lot of patients don't realize: the research on Achilles ruptures has shifted significantly in recent years. Surgery was once considered the only real option for active people, but modern nonoperative treatment, using early, structured rehabilitation and functional bracing, now produces outcomes close to surgery for many patients. That said, surgery still meaningfully lowers the risk of re-rupture and tends to preserve more calf strength and push-off power, which matters most for competitive athletes and highly active people who can't afford to give anything up. The right choice isn't the same for everyone; it depends on your activity level, your tendon's specific injury pattern on imaging, and how much risk you're comfortable taking on.

Whichever path is right for you, the quality of rehabilitation afterward matters just as much as the treatment itself.

Dr. Eskew walks you through your specific tear, your goals, and the true tradeoffs between surgical and nonsurgical care, so you can make a confident, informed decision rather than defaulting to whatever's "always been done."

That ache on the outside or inside of your elbow that flares up every time you shake a hand, turn a wrench, or swing a club can start to feel like it's just part of life now. It doesn't have to be. Both conditions are among the most treatable in sports medicine, and most people get better without ever needing surgery.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Pain or burning on the outer part of the elbow (tennis elbow) or the inner part of the elbow (golfer's elbow)

• Weak grip strength

• Pain that worsens with gripping, twisting, or lifting

• Occasional pain at night

Here's what a lot of patients don't realize: despite the names, most people who develop these conditions never picked up a racquet or a golf club. Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are overuse injuries of the tendons that attach to the outside or inside of the elbow, and they show up just as often in people whose jobs or daily routines involve repetitive gripping and forearm motion, typing, lifting, or manual work.

Nonsurgical treatment is the starting point for nearly everyone: activity modification, physical therapy, bracing, and anti-inflammatory measures. For patients whose symptoms persist despite these steps, Dr. Eskew offers platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, using your body's own healing factors to target the damaged tendon directly. For the small number of patients who don't improve with these measures, surgical options exist to address the tendon tissue directly.

If that ache has been quietly limiting your grip, your golf game, or your work for longer than it should, Dr. Eskew can help you understand exactly what's driving it and get you back to full strength.

You roll your ankle and immediately try to gauge how bad it is: can you walk it off, or is this going to sideline you for weeks? The honest answer depends on which ligaments were actually injured, and that distinction matters more than most people realize.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Pain, swelling, and bruising around the ankle after a twisting injury

• Difficulty bearing weight

• A feeling of instability or the ankle "giving way"

• For high ankle sprains specifically, pain higher up the leg, worsened by pushing the foot outward or rotating it

Here's what a lot of patients don't realize: not all ankle sprains are the same injury. Low ankle sprains, the kind almost everyone pictures, involve the ligaments on the outside of the ankle and are by far the most common, usually healing within a few weeks with rest, bracing, and physical therapy. High ankle sprains are a different injury entirely, involving the ligaments that hold the two bones of the lower leg together just above the ankle joint. They're far less common but take much longer to heal, often six weeks or more, and are frequently misdiagnosed as a routine sprain, which can delay the right treatment. Unlike a low sprain, high ankle sprains are more likely to need a period of limited weight-bearing, and if the injury is significant enough, surgery to stabilize the bones while the ligaments heal.

Getting the right diagnosis early matters, since treating a high ankle sprain like a routine sprain can prolong your recovery and leave the ankle chronically unstable.

Dr. Eskew evaluates exactly which ligaments are involved and how severely, so your treatment plan matches the injury you actually have, not just the one it looks like on the surface.

That sudden, sharp pain in the back of your leg, sometimes described as feeling like you were kicked, is one of the most recognizable sports injuries there is. What's less obvious in the moment is exactly which muscle and which part of it is injured, and that distinction matters more than people expect for how long recovery actually takes.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Sudden, sharp pain in the back of the lower leg during activity

• Swelling, bruising, or a palpable defect in the muscle

• Difficulty walking, pushing off, or rising onto the toes

• Tightness or weakness that lingers with activity

Why Location and Grade Matter

The calf is made up of several muscles, most notably the gastrocnemius and soleus, and injuries are classified both by severity (grade 1 through 3, based on the extent of muscle fiber damage) and by precise location within the muscle. Location-based classification systems help identify exactly where the injury sits, whether in the muscle belly, at the musculotendinous junction, or involving the surrounding connective tissue, since this affects both healing time and the risk of reinjury. Injuries at the myotendinous junction, particularly of the medial gastrocnemius, tend to take longer to heal and carry a higher recurrence risk than simpler muscle belly strains.

Treatment

Most calf strains heal well with a structured rehabilitation program, progressing from rest and gentle motion to targeted strengthening and a gradual return to running and sport-specific activity. Rushing this progression is one of the most common causes of reinjury. For higher-grade injuries or slow-healing cases, additional options like PRP injections may help accelerate recovery.

Dr. Eskew precisely classifies your calf injury by grade and location to build a rehabilitation timeline that reflects your true recovery, not a generic six-week estimate.

You go down hard on the field, the court, or the trail, and suddenly you're not thinking about the game anymore, you're thinking about whether something's broken and how fast you can get answers. That uncertainty is often worse than the injury itself.

Common signs and symptoms include:

• Significant pain, swelling, or bruising after an impact

• Visible deformity or an inability to move or bear weight on the injured area

• A pop, snap, or crack felt at the moment of injury

• Numbness, tingling, or a limb that feels cold, which needs urgent attention

Sports trauma covers a wide range of acute injuries, including:

• Fractures of the collarbone, wrist, hand, and finger

• Shoulder dislocations and separations

• Elbow dislocations and fractures

• Knee dislocations and ligament tears

• Ankle fractures and severe sprains

• Growth plate injuries in young athletes

Here's what a lot of patients don't realize: you don't have to wait days, or sit in an ER waiting room, to get a real answer after a sports injury.

Dr. Eskew sees acute trauma the same day, whenever it happens, and will work you into the schedule rather than making you wait for the next open slot. Getting an accurate diagnosis quickly isn't just about comfort, it often changes the treatment options available to you, especially for injuries where early intervention matters most.

If you or your athlete got hurt today, call the office. You don't have to wonder what's wrong until next week.