Know Everything About Sports Injuries And Its Cure
Sports injuries are injuries caused during playing a sport and exercise. Having said that, it is important to understand that they have not essentially occurred during sports or are limited to sportspersons or athletes. They can occur in individuals that are physically active. The most common type of sports injuries are sprains and strains and they occur majorly in contact sports such as basketball, football, etc. Non-contact sports like bicycle race, darts, swimming, etc have lesser chances of causing sports injuries.
Two broad categories of sports injuries would be acute and chronic injuries with acute being the suddenly occurring injuries due to an impact or blow, while chronic being the ones that develop in a longer time frame. On a narrower scale, sports injuries can be divided into many types:
Dislocations: Injuries that result in the separation of two bones that come together to form a joint, are called dislocations. The name itself suggests the change in the actual location of the bone. High-impact contact sports like basketball and football can result in dislocation. The commonly occurring dislocations are that of the shoulder, hip joint, elbow, knee, and fingers.
Rotator Cuff Injury: Upon overuse, the four muscles’ group holding the shoulder joint In place gets inflamed. This causes rotator cuff injury. Another cause could be the sudden impact on the rotator cuff muscle group. Sports with arm movement overhead, like badminton, lawn tennis, etc are sports more prone to it.
Bone Fracture: A bone fracture simply refers to a break in the bone and it could be classified into acute, stress, or growth plate fracture. It could occur due to a sudden sharp impact or due to repeated stress to a specific area in the bone.
Ankle Injuries: They include ankle sprain and achilles tendinitis. When the joint ligaments are stretched, rolled, or twisted in an unusual way, it causes an ankle sprain. While the Achilles tendon injury occurs due to stretching or tearing of the tendon Achilles that connects the back of the heel to the calf muscle.
Knee Injuries: Knee injuries restrict the movement of the knee joint. They range from fracture or dislocation to torn ligament, tendon, or meniscus. Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear is one of the most common injuries occurring in football.
Sprain and strain: There is only a slight difference in sprain and strain. In a sprain, the ligaments are overstretched while in a strain, tendons are overstretched.
The treatment for sports injuries depends upon the extent of the injury. RICE is a common approach followed to relieve a sports injury. Rest, ice, compress and elevate. This approach is used in the initial 36 hours of injury to produce maximum benefit. For serious injuries, treatment might look a little different. Immobilisation and/or surgery may have to be taken for the treatment of injuries that involve musculoskeletal tissues and bones.
Even though sports injuries are very common, they can be prevented to some extent.
Some of the preventive measures include:
Correct Technique: Most sports injuries require learning a skill or a technique. Correct learning and application of these skills can help prevent injuries.
Proper Warmup and Cooldown: Proper warming up of muscles helps your body to be ready for aerobic activity. Adding a cooldown routine post-exercise helps in better recovery.
Don’t overdo: One good way to prevent injuries is only pushing your limit to a specific extent.
Have essential equipment: Appropriate footwear is a must! Wearing the right sports gear also helps in preventing injuries.
Hydration: It is equally crucial and should be maintained with water and electrolytes before, during, and after your workouts/ play.
Although many sports-related injuries may be managed at home, you should consult a pain management physician if you witness movement-limiting pain that doesn't get better with time, severe swelling that doesn't gradually subside severe bleeding, visible lumps or bruises, etc. Do not overlook your symptoms or warning indications. Take into consideration that the quicker you receive a diagnosis and treatment, the quicker you can heal and return to play.
Treatment
The treatment essentially depends on the cause and the type of injury. The treatment spectrum varies from simple rest to complicated life and/or limb salvaging surgeries. Your doctor may recommend investigations like X-ray and MRI scans to reach a correct diagnosis. Once a diagnosis has been established, anti-inflammatory and analgesic medicines (pain killers) are usually the first line of treatment. For any bony injury, a cast may be required. Local injections are also useful in augmenting the recovery. Surgical option is reserved for the more serious and complex injuries. Please remember to seek medical assistance sooner rather than later if you have suffered any sports injury.
