Mal-Alignment as a Risk Factor for Lower Extremity Overuse Injuries in Young Adults in Unorganised Sports Activities.

Abstract

Overuse injuries in young adults present a unique challenge to the treating clinician. In this study, we studied the association of male-alignment as a risk factor for overuse injuries of the lower extremity in young adults. This prospective cohort study examined all the adult patients presented with various lower extremity overuses injuries. Only those engaged in unorganised sports activity were studied. After making a clinical impression, all patients were subjected to relevant X-rays to diagnose the malalignment, if present or not. A total of 252 cases with overuse injuries was included, in which seventythree per cent were male patients. The sprain ankle was the commonest overuse injury to both genders. In our study, the mal-alignment was seen in 64.3% of the total overuse cases, of which the commonest malalignment in both genders was internal tibial torsion. In conclusions overuse injuries in young adults are frequently associated with mal-alignments. Better understanding of these mal-alignments are better for the management of these injuries.