Sports Injuries

What are sports injuries?

Exercise is important for good health, but people often get hurt when participating in sports or other physical activities. A sports injury involves damage to part of your body due to sports, exercise, or athletic activities. A sports injury can be acute (sudden) or chronic (develop over time).

What are the most common sports injuries?

The top 8 most common types of sports injuries are listed below.

The top three categories are (Runner’s Knee, Shoulder Injury, and Ankle Sprain), and they comprise more than 80% of all sports injuries.

• Runner’s Knee: Runner’s knee is the most common type of sports injury. The problem happens most commonly to runners, cyclists, swimmers, as well as people who practice aerobics and play football, basketball, and volleyball. Overuse of the knee leads to irritation of the tendon below the knee cap which results in this problem.
• Knee Ligament Injuries (ACL Tear/MCL Tear/PCL Tear/Meniscus Tear): Knee injuries can be the result of getting hit on the knee, falling down, or landing on a flexed knee. These are most common to footballers. These typically involve the ligaments that hold two of the bones of the knee – the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the medial cruciate ligament (MCL), or the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
• Shoulder Injury (Rotator Cuff Tear): These injuries occur mostly during tennis, swimming, and volleyball. The chief cause of these problems is the overuse of the shoulder, which loosens the rotator cuff (a group of tendons and muscles around the shoulder).
• Ankle Sprain: Ankle sprains are common to any activity that involves jumping, running, or turning quickly (e.g., playing football, basketball, etc). Such motion can lead to twisting of the ankle and possible tearing of a tendon/ligament.
• Tennis/Golfer’s Elbow: Tennis Elbow involves tendon degeneration in the elbow due to repeated backhand strokes common to tennis. This condition leads to pain on the outside of the elbow. Golfers’ Elbow impacts the inside of the elbow, due to the inflammation of the muscles responsible for forearm flexing.
• Shin Splints: Shin Splints refer to pain on the inside of the shinbone caused by inflammation of the surrounding muscles. These occur mostly in cases of inactive people who start working out and increase their intensity too fast.
• Groin Strain: This refers to a strain on the adductor muscles, situated in the upper thigh which helps to pull the legs together and causes sharp pain and swelling on the inside of the thigh. This usually happens when one changes directions suddenly while running.
• Hamstring Strain: The hamstrings are the muscles behind your thighs. Hamstring strains most commonly occur due to inadequate warming up or excessive fatigue.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of a sports injury depend on the type of injury. Common symptoms include:

• Aches, pain, or tenderness.
• Bruising.
• Deformity, such as a bone or joint looking out of place.
• Decreased range of motion.
• Grinding, cracking, clicking, or popping noise.
• Inability to bear weight on your hip, leg, or foot.
• Skin that’s warm to the touch.
• Stiffness or weakness.
• Swelling.
• Trouble moving a body part normally (for example, you can’t move it as far or it locks up when you try to move).

Diagnosis

To diagnose a sports injury, your healthcare provider performs a physical exam. They’ll ask questions about what happened and what symptoms you’ve had. They’ll also look at the injured area, possibly testing how it moves.

Depending on the type of injury you have and how severe it is, your healthcare provider also may recommend imaging tests. An X-ray, CT Scan, or MRI can create pictures of the structures inside your body. The images will help your healthcare provider understand, diagnose and treat your specific injury.

Treatments

Some of the general treatment options that are helpful for the management of sports injuries include:

• PRICE TherapyIt is one of the best treatment options for minor injuries such as sprains and strains. It can be initiated at home for three or four days to get relief from the mild injury.The word PRICE stands forProtection – The therapy helps in protecting the affected area from further injuryRest – Take rest; avoid exercise or any other physical activity that puts pressure on the point of injuryIce – Apply an ice pack on the affected area every two to three hours for around 15 to 20 minutes.Compression – To limit the swelling try using elastic compression bandagesElevation – Keep the injured body part raised above the level of the heart to reduce swelling.
• MedicationA patient can take pain relief medicines or painkillers to ease the pain. These medicines can be paracetamol, ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). A patient can also apply ointments on the affected area to ease pain and reduce any swelling.
• Corticosteroid InjectionsA corticosteroid injection is recommended in case of severe or persistent inflammation. It helps in relieving the pain caused by the injury. The relief from the pain is for a short duration. If necessary, a corticosteroid injection can be repeated for two or three injections a year.
• Arthroscopy SurgerySurgery for any sports injury is usually performed when all non-operative treatment options fail to work. The doctor suggests to the patient and his family the possible treatment, for the patient’s injury and they have to make a final decision on the same.The surgical treatments offered by our team of specialists depend upon the severity of the injury. Usually, doctors follow a Minimally Invasive approach to perform surgery which requires a smaller incision and speeds up the recovery time, and has many benefits over traditional surgery.
• PhysiotherapyIt is a specialist treatment recommended to patients recovering from long-term injury. It includes massage, manipulation, and exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles, improve the range of motion and help the injured area to return to normal function.