Overuse Injuries

Topic Overview

Overuse injuries occur from stressing your joints, muscles, or other tissues without allowing them to recover. For example, throwing a baseball at high speeds over and over can stress your shoulder joint and cause an injury to part of that joint (the rotator cuff). Stress fractures, in which a bone breaks from the pressure placed on it through activity, are also common for athletes.

Overuse injuries can be caused by:

• Doing too much too soon.
• Doing intense exercise.
• Not varying your activity or exercise routine.
• Playing sports.
• Doing too much without proper conditioning.
• Not using the proper form for the activity.
• Not using proper equipment, such as wearing poorly fitting shoes.
• Doing too much of an activity at work.

For more information, see the topic:

• Achilles Tendon Problems. (A sign may be pain in the back of the heel.)
• Bursitis and/or Tendon Injury (Tendinopathy). (A sign may be pain in the joints or tendons.)
• Low Back Pain.
• Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. (A sign may be pain in the front of the knee.)
• Plantar Fasciitis. (A sign may be pain in the sole of the foot.)
• Rotator Cuff Disorders. (A sign may be shoulder or arm pain.)
• Tennis Elbow. (A sign may be elbow pain.)