Sports injuries can occur to anyone, whether an athlete or someone out of shape. It affects the musculoskeletal system, which consists of the muscles, bones, soft tissues and ligaments. Pain and movement restrictions are the two most common symptoms in most cases. Physiotherapy is one of the most common non-invasive treatments for sports injuries among people of various ages. In severe cases, however, the patients may need surgery to recover completely.
What are Sports Injuries?
Sports injuries are injuries that happen because of a sport or an exercise. Athletes aren’t the only ones prone to these injuries. Anyone involved in physical activity, especially children can get these injuries.
Gardeners, for instance, often get tendinitis while desk job workers complain of shoulder injuries. The injury affects the part of your body responsible for your movement and stability. Thus, it causes pain, mobility issues and balance problems.
What are Common Examples of Sports Injuries?
Most injuries affect the joints in various ways. In some cases, it may cause inflammation near the rotator cuff. However, in other cases, it may cause tears in the elbow tendons. Let’s check out the most common sports injuries in specific joints and their interconnected structures.
Ankle injuries–
- Ankle sprain
An ankle sprain occurs when you accidentally land on the ground awkwardly causing the ankle to roll, turn or twist in an abrupt direction. It overstretches and tears the ligaments around your ankle. Sports such as basketball are highly susceptible to ankle sprains.
- Ankle tendinitis
The Achilles Tendon connects the calf muscle to the back of the heel. Achilles tendinitis occurs when this tendon is torn or overstretched. It is the largest tendon in our body. It plays a huge role in helping people walk, stand, jump or climb stairs.
Symptoms include pain and stiffness at the back of the heel. Most people feel the pain right after they take the first few steps after waking up in the morning.
Knee injuries
- Torn ACL
ACL injuries are very common among athletes. It occurs when the person lands from a jump or changes direction all of a sudden. The knee is twisted beyond its natural capability, causing a tear in the ACL.
- Runner’s knee
People who cycle, hike or run are prone to this injury. It causes tenderness and pain in the kneecap at the front of the knee.
- Tendon tear
The injury usually occurs due to an awkward jump or a forceful landing. It is common in sports that involve jumping and running.
Shoulder injuries
- Instability
The shoulder joints lose their stability when the round end of the upper arm bone moves out of the shallow socket, partially or wholly. If not taken care of, the attached muscles, tendons and ligaments tear apart, thereby worsening the dislocations.
- Rotator cuff injury
The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint. It consists of four muscles and tendons. A sudden injury or overuse of the rotator cuff can cause inflammation around the shoulder joint. It is highly common among people who have to do repetitive overhead motions at work or sports such as swimmers or painters.
How does Physiotherapy help?
Sports physiotherapy is a special branch of physiotherapy that deals with the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sports injuries. Sports physiotherapists go through training and education to help people recover from injuries and restore an active lifestyle. There are various treatments involved in sports physiotherapy. The most common ones include stretches, massage therapy, exercise prescriptions and other forms of manual therapies. All the treatments, however, focus on reducing pain and improving your function.
