Athletes play a risky game, they train, they play and they win, occasionally losing too. But what happens when an athlete goes into a sport and obtains an injury? You would assume that the medical professional on call at the time would be able to correctly diagnose the complaint, treat it, and allow them to be on their way. Sadly, however this is not the case all the time. Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is something that is cropping up time and time again.
In fact as the quality of medical care seems to get poorer and poorer each year around the UK, this situation also applies to athletes that get injured when in training and of course when playing professionally, or just for fun in the sports that they live for.
Why Is Medical Misdiagnosis In Sports Injuries Growing?
Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is quickly on the rise. One of the reasons seems to be a lack of knowledge about the strains and pains of sportsman ship, and of course one of the things that seems to hit home hard for those affected is just how they have suffered unnecessarily. Medical professionals seem to have an attitude that athletes are fit and healthy, and if they succumb to an injury whilst at play, that it was a superficial one as a result of playing the sport they know best. It is often pushed aside as a pain of the game and downgraded.
Sadly though that is not always applicable. Athletes can have underlying problems, like heart murmurs, heart conditions that they were born with and of course fall into problems with injuries that have not healed, and of course fresh, new ones that require the correct care and follow up with medical professionals. Doctors’ surgeries and emergency rooms are overly crowded, understaffed and staff are just too busy and fail to spot the correct diagnosis when rushing their job.
All too often when playing their sports athletes are faced with injuries that are treated to on the scene by a physiotherapist, or an on call doctor. When they are sent to the hospital there is no difference between your average accident and emergency patient and the risk of being misdiagnosed than there is for the medical negligence assist members of society.
One thing that remains a dead cert, is that whatever misdiagnosis was given, it will cause a great deal of messing around, unnecessary pain and a lot of running around as a result of trying to find the real cause of the injury or ill fate of the sufferer. We put a lot of trust into doctors and professionals in the medical profession, but one thing that many seem to forget is that no matter just how highly qualified they are, they can always have skipped a class whilst in training for their present job title. We are after all human.
There have been cases of amputations, heart attacks. Medical misdiagnosis in sports injuries is distressing and something that you should not accept from whomever gave the diagnosis.
What Can I Do If I Think I’ve Been Wrongly Diagnosed?
First of all you should always keep a record of your hospital and doctors’ appointments, you should document any paper work that is handed to you on your path to recovery, along with the name of any medications that are prescribed throughout the time you are sick. That way if you suffer from negligence or not, you are ensuring that you have the correct care and documented evidence. You should also take pictures of your injuries progress. Also check out NHS sports injury page.
Seek advice from a professional, legal advice nowadays is usually free and you will not have to pay the odds to see if you have a case. In fact, if you do, you will gain money so there really is nothing to lose. Solicitors do not like to waste their time on cases that will be laughed out of court.
Be persistent and make sure that you do not give up. Also, if you are a family member of someone that suffered from a case of negligence make sure to encourage them to seek professional help in order to help to ease the suffering that they have had to endure as a result of a misdiagnosis.
In this day and age it doesn’t pay to be a victim, make sure to be persistent and put the suffering behind you. There really is no need to suffer in silence.