Approach to injuries in active people.

Objective: To review the basic principles underlying treatment of injuries in active people.

Sources Of Information: Basic science texts and reports of observational and randomized trials on treatment of musculoskeletal injuries were retrieved during previous exhaustive systematic reviews published by the author on a variety of musculoskeletal injury topics.

Main Message: After an injury, further damage or re-injury can be prevented either by decreasing the stress on the tissue or increasing the stress the tissue can withstand. Regardless of the type of injury, clinicians should aim to restore function; aim to increase activity without increasing pain; recommend that patients start slowly and increase activity gradually; revisit diagnosis and treatment if patients are not responding; and treat the patient, not the condition.

Conclusion: Most musculoskeletal injuries in the general population can be managed effectively by family physicians. Management should follow the basic principles of exercise training.