As students, we often lead hectic and spontaneous lives. The conditioning and training that athletes undertake are usually overlooked by young adults who may indulge in extracurricular sports. But anyone who dabbles in athletic activities can tell you that even a slight injury can be severely frustrating and a giant impediment to physical routines.
The most common injuries result from high-impact sports. Generally, overuse of a specific muscle or body part is the cause. Yet faulty positioning, collisions, and falls can all contribute equally to the buildup of an injury. The value of stretching and practicing proper form in each respective sport should never be underestimated.
Prior to and after every game, activity, or exercise, a 10 to 15-minute warm-up and cool-down period is necessary. This may include a few laps around the track.
It makes sense to see a medical professional for serious and painful injuries. Physiotherapy and surgery might be necessities to enhance healing but some minor injuries can be treated with the practice of RICE, which stands for resting, icing, compressing with an elastic bandage to reduce swelling, and elevating the injured area to decrease blood flow.
Whether you are on a varsity sports team, play intramurals, or just jump into the occasional pickup game, here are the top seven most common sports injuries and how you can prevent them.
7) Lower Back Pain
You may hear your elders complain about this as well, but lower back pain is an injury that strikes athletes who play sports involving twisting, such as tennis and golf. The straining and tearing of lower back muscles can be an extremely restrictive injury on even basic movement. The practice of rotating hips instead of the back will greatly reduce the chance of this injury. Building overall upper body strength with exercises like push-ups will also prevent lower back pain.
6) Foot Arch Pain and Strain
Foot arch pain is an injury that is prevalent in any activity that involves standing. It is, however, mostly common in runners. Arch pain occurs when the foot’s natural padding on the sole becomes inflamed. The arch pad can also be stretched or partially torn. Individuals with high arched feet are extremely susceptible to this injury. The simplest way to prevent arch pain is to buy and use specially designed arch supports for your athletic shoes. You can also try to redistribute your weight evenly on your feet when rising from a stationary position.
5) Ankle Sprains
Ankle sprains range from mild to moderate to severe because it may be a stretched or torn ligament depending on the intensity of the ankle motion. A runner’s awkward step off the curb is not as serious as jumping on someone’s foot or lunging over a poorly planted foot. Basketball, volleyball, and tennis players are extremely susceptible to this injury. Standing on a balance board is the best way to strengthen ankles and prevent sprains. Appropriate footwear that provides adequate ankle support and cushioning should be used for the sports mentioned above. Playing in low-cut basketball shoes is always a risk, as even NBA star Kobe Bryant has sprained his ankle.
4) Hamstring Strain
Diving in volleyball and sliding in baseball are two common ways in which a hamstring muscle can be stretched or torn, so it’s crucial to stretch before playing either of these sports. As it can take valuable weeks away from your chosen sport, it is beneficial to constantly work on strengthening your hamstrings with hamstring curls. Most importantly, exercises that strengthen and balance quadriceps can also prevent hamstring strains from occurring.
3) Runner’s Knee
Runner’s knee is one of the most common types of knee injuries and can result in constant knee discomfort, pain, and inflammation. Runner’s knee is an umbrella term for various afflictions of the knee, but the problem is generally due to misalignment of the kneecap in its groove. The knee cap will pull off to a side and rub the other side of the groove. This causes cartilage in the kneecap to wear out. Running is the primary cause of this injury. The strengthening of quadriceps in low impact exercises is the best way to prevent runner’s knee. If your quads feel tight, try stretching them out or even consider therapeutic massages that will prevent further knee injuries.
2) Frozen Shoulder Injury
A frozen shoulder injury typically occurs when the rotator cuff muscles, which are responsible for the shoulder’s fine movements, are stretched. The injury occurs in sports when the muscles and shoulders are over stressed with the arm in an overhead position. As such, swimmers and baseball, volleyball, and tennis players are at the greatest risk of a frozen shoulder injury. It’s very painful and may sometimes cause trouble for even basic movement as the shoulder becomes quite stiff. Strengthening and stretching the shoulder muscles and tendons before engaging in the sport is the best way to avoid a frozen shoulder. Pull ups and shoulder press exercises are extremely beneficial. Practicing proper shoulder movement from the joint in each sport is also vital to keep it from freezing.
1) Torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)
Lastly, we come down to the three most horrifying letters for any athlete to hear. An ACL Tear is a tear of the ligament that stabilises the knee joint. It occurs in any sport that involves jumping or quickly changing directions. Athletes in soccer, lacrosse, basketball, skiing, tennis, squash, badminton, and volleyball are most at risk. As most sports require you to force yourself forward with the use of your lower body, the injury is not limited to the mentioned activities. It is difficult to pinpoint how to avoid an ACL injury, but basic prevention involves building strong leg muscles with leg curls and leg stretching/strengthening exercises such as hopping on one foot in a straight line for a one minute. Wearing a knee band or taping it to ensure alignment are also other alternatives, but should be done after consulting a sports medical professional.
