Why Might an Old Injury Start Hurting Again? 

Years ago, you slipped on a wet, muddy trail and broke your ankle. You wore the splint, worked with a physical therapist, and did everything else your orthopedist recommended. It’s been healed for ages, but it’s hurting again. What gives?

What you’re experiencing is pretty common. Old injuries may seem like a thing of the past, but they can leave lasting damage. Joint wear, scar tissue, and weakened muscles can suddenly become much more painful years later.

Everything from seasonal yard work to hiking in the Sierra Nevadas can reactivate old injuries. Knowing why this happens helps you know when it’s important to seek help from a Fresno orthopedist.

Why Your Old Injury Is Acting Up

When your bones, joints, or muscles suffer trauma, your body immediately works to repair the damage. It doesn’t prioritize perfection. Years later, the processes used to repair the damage can start to wear down. This causes the discomfort you experience.

• Biomechanical Compensation: Your body’s response to the injury was to compensate by slightly changing movements or weight patterns to protect the injury. After years of these slight compensations, stabilizer muscles become strained, leading to pain at the original injury.
• Incomplete Healing: When your initial injury doesn’t heal completely, the ligaments are looser. Eventually, pain returns because the ligaments aren’t as supportive as they need to be.
• Post-Traumatic Arthritis: Damaged cartilage, even if it happened years ago, wears faster than healthy cartilage. Eventually, it wears enough for osteoarthritis to become an issue and cause joint pain.
• Scar Tissue and Adhesions: Muscle and tendon tissue is soft and elastic. Scar tissue isn’t. It’s hard and stiff. As you age, the surrounding tissue loses its elasticity, causing the scar tissue to restrict movements and irritate nearby nerves.
• Seasonal Viruses: When you have a cold, your body releases proteins called cytokines to fight the virus. This triggers inflammation throughout the body, which can make joints ache for days or even weeks.
• Weight Gain: It’s pretty common after menopause for women to gain weight due to the hormonal changes their body undergoes. That extra weight places more strain on your joints. Previous injuries may start aching again.

Fresno-Specific Triggers: Why Now?

It’s not just your body’s aging process and healing properties that can worsen injuries. Fresno’s environment also impacts injuries.

• Central Valley Weather Patterns: When there’s a dense Tule fog or winter’s cooler rainy season hits, the shifts in barometric pressure causes synovial fluid within a joint to thicken and expand. Even when the swelling is minimal, it irritates nearby nerves, which creates the pain you feel.
• Repetitive Work Strain: A high percentage of the jobs in Fresno are in the agricultural or manufacturing sectors. When the body continually bends, lifts, and stretches, it pulls on the ligaments, muscles, and tendons. As they stretch, it hurts. It can also impact a joint’s stability and put strain on your previously injured joint. You’re often walking on hard concrete all day, which adds to the strain.
• Seasonal Activity Spikes: During the hot days of summer, you’re probably spending more time inside in air conditioning. Your muscles and joints don’t always get the exercise they need during heatwaves. Spring and fall’s cooler temperatures are peak times to get out and explore hiking trails and natural wonders like Yosemite Falls. Later in winter and early spring, you’re busy gardening. These seasonal activity shifts also impact your activities.

Ideally, you want to stay active year-round. As little as three weeks of inactivity is enough for muscle tissue to degrade. 

When Is Home Management Enough and When Should You See a Specialist

It’s been days with pain that’s distracting you, but it’s not so severe that you feel a doctor’s visit is necessary. When should you focus on self-care, and when should you see an orthopedist?

Self-Care Tips for Temporary Relief

Take care of yourself to help ease discomfort. Some of the best methods include:

• Exercises: Instead of vigorous workouts or complete rest, switch to gentle exercises for now. Beginner mobility exercises are a good option.
• Ice vs. Heat: Use ice for acute inflammation, such as when  you have a virus and heat for stiffness and pain from things like scar tissue from healed injuries.
• Massage: Massage helps loosen tight muscles, which eases pain.
• Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers: If the pain is distracting, over-the-counter NSAIDs can ease it. They work by reducing prostaglandins, chemicals that cause pain and inflammation. Use this option when nothing else helps. Science is moving away from the use of NSAIDs in healing joints, so only use it for old injuries.

When to Book an Appointment

Sometimes, it’s better to make an appointment with a Fresno orthopedist. 

• New Injury: If you feel a joint lock and snap to release, you could have a new joint injury.
• Pain: If the pain is severe and keeps you from sleeping or focusing on your work or daily routine, see a specialist. 
• Swelling: If swelling doesn’t subside, see a doctor.

How an Orthopedist Treats Pain in Old Injuries

Working with an orthopedist and sports medicine specialist is often the better option, as many newer treatments provide lasting relief while supporting tissue repair.

• Advanced Diagnostics: Premium Sports & Orthopedics performs digital X-rays and MRI evaluations, which are important for assessing joint health. If there is a loss of synovial fluid or new wear on the cartilage, you know you’re facing a condition like osteoarthritis. A proper diagnosis helps determine the best treatment options.
• FDA-Approved Treatments and Therapies: Consider a simple in-office blood draw where our lab separates your platelets from the rest of the blood. This biologic-based treatment involves injections of your healthy platelets to accelerate healing in ligaments, muscles, and tendons.
• Innovative Tissue Repair Therapy: Come to our office for a blood draw and let our lab process your blood to separate biomatter that repairs damaged tissue.
• Physician-Assisted Weight Loss: A doctor-approved and supervised weight loss program helps you safely and effectively lose weight. This reduces the pressure on prior injuries.

Fresno’s cool, damp winters may make your joints ache, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent part of your routine. Ease the pain and gain healthier, stronger joints using medically proven techniques. 

Don’t let past injuries keep you from an active Fresno lifestyle. Whether you want to spend hours strolling through the local vineyards or orchards or hike the trails, it’s possible when you work with Premium Sports & Orthopedics. Schedule an appointment online and have our orthopedist assess your joint health.