Along with the desire for teamwork or the pleasurable rush of endorphins, we all participate in athletics and exercise to stay healthy. That’s why it’s so frustrating to experience a sports injury. Here are some of the most common injuries people experience during competition or training.
Frustrations When Doing The Right Thing
In the last decade, more people have been listening to their doctors’ warnings and have become more physically active. However, for many (especially people who ramp up their training overzealously or don’t include a warmup), athletics also means a negative health consequence: injury.
In fact, the number of people who get injured every year is massive. Just among the youth, there are 1.35 million sports injuries per year, including 451,000 strains or sprains, and 250,000 broken bones.
The good news is that people who injure themselves in athletics can generally receive treatment that allows them to return quickly to their regular routine. Plus, sports injuries can often be avoided entirely if people take the right steps for prevention.
Sports Injuries: Broader Than Just Sports
You may hear the term sports injuries and think it doesn’t apply to an injury you suffered while running, lifting weights, or doing yoga. However, it’s typically used as an umbrella term that includes both athletics and working out. You can hurt yourself due to accidents of course; however, you can also get injured because of poor training practices, equipment that hasn’t been maintained, failure to properly condition the body, or lack of adequate stretching.
Here are three of the most prevalent injuries among athletes:
Strains & Sprains
A strain “is a twist, pull, or tear of a muscle or tendon, a cord of tissue connecting muscle to bone,” notes the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “It is an acute, noncontact injury that results from overstretching or overcontraction.”
A sprain, on the other hand, involves tearing, rupture or stretching of a ligament. These injuries occur because of impact during accidents; when you hit the ground or another competitor, a joint is knocked out of alignment, potentially tearing the ligaments.
Knee Injuries
There is a broad range of knee injuries that people may experience when they exercise or participate in sports. Sometimes the damage to the joint is relatively mild; but the pain can be excruciating, and you may not be able to use your knees as effectively. Examples include runner’s knee, tendinitis, and iliotibial band syndrome.
Examples of more intense and devastating injuries are ligament or cartilage damage, and bone bruises.
Shin Splints
Shin splints are often misunderstood. “Although the term ‘shin splints’ has been widely used to describe any sort of leg pain associated with exercise,” explains the NIH, “the term actually refers to pain along the tibia or shin bone, the large bone in the front of the lower leg.”
Often shin splints occur soon after conditioning begins, generally because of poor training practices.
Non-Surgical Solutions
Are you experiencing the pain and frustration of a sports injury? At Advanced Wellness and Rehab, we provide solutions for resolving painful health issues in a personalized and caring manner. Learn more and get a free consultation.
