SPORTS INJURIES
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Definition
3. Types of injuries
4. Signs and Symptoms
5. Causes
6. Risk Factors
7. Diagnosis and Tests
8. Managements and Treatments
9. Physical Therapy Treatments
10. Outlook/Prognosis
11. Prevention
❑ Introductions:
The term “sports injury” refers to the kinds of
injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise, but they
are not limited to athletes. Factory workers get tennis elbow, painters
get shoulder injuries, and gardeners develop tendinitis, even though
they may not participate in sports. Injuries in sports can happen
suddenly, or they can develop slowly over time. Acute injuries happen
with sudden, excessive force. Repetitive strain injuries happen when
you repeatedly overuse a body part. Any injury can become chronic
(long-lasting) if it doesn’t heal well. Many sports injuries can heal at
home with appropriate care. But it’s a good idea to have a sports
medicine physician examine your injury.
❑ Definition:
Sports injuries are commonly caused by overuse,
direct impact, or the application of force that is greater than the body
part can structurally withstand.
❑ Types of injuries:
• Acute Injuries, which happens suddenly
• Chronic Injuries, which are usually related to repetitive loading
or overuse and develop gradually over time. Occasionally, wear
and tear from overuse injuries can set the stage for acute injuries.
What are common types of sports injuries?
Common types of sports injuries are:
1. Bone Fractures:
Sudden force applied to a bone can crack or break it, like a fall, collision
or sudden twist. Chronic stress on a bone can cause a stress fracture or
growth plate fracture.
2. Bursitis:
Bursitis is a type of repetitive strain injury that affects your bursae.
Bursae are soft tissues that provide padding and shock absorption
between your bones and other tissues.
3. Concussions:
A concussion is a brain injury that happens when you hit your head and
your brain bounces off the inside of your skull. Contact sports can lead
to concussion injuries.
4. Contusions:
Contusions are bruises. They come from bleeding under your skin.
Ordinary bruises are superficial injuries. But a muscle contusion or
bone contusion can be more serious.
5. Joint dislocation:
This occurs when the end of a bone gets forced out of its normal
position within a joint. For example, if your shoulder pops out of its
socket, it's been dislocated.
6. Muscle Strains:
A muscle strain occurs when you overextend a muscle, and it stretches
too far and tear. Most muscle strains are mild, but a severe one can
tear all the way through.
7. Sprains:
A sprain happens when a ligament stretches too far and tears.
Ligaments are tough bands of tissue that connect bones and stabilize
joints. These injuries can be mild or severe.
8. Tendinitis:
Tendinitis is a type of repetitive strain injury that affects a tendon. It’s
caused by repetitive motions over time. Tendons are connective tissues
that connect muscles to bones.
Which body parts get injured the most in sports?
Certain body parts tend to take more stress from sports than others.
Some physical activities reply on moving joints; it's often these joints
and the tissues that supports them that get injured most.
Some of these include your:
• Achilles tendon: Your Achilles tendon is the thick cord that
connects your calf muscles to your heel bone. Strain on this
tendon can cause Achilles tendonitis or Achilles rupture tendon.
• Ankle Joint: Your ankle contains three joints, as well as other
bones, cartilage, ligament, muscles, and tendons. Common ankle
injuries include ankle sprains and ankle fractures.
• Elbow joint: Your elbow joint is prone to overuse injuries from
repetitive movements during sports. Tennis elbow and golfer's
elbow are two examples. You can also get elbow bursitis.
• Knee joint: Your knee joints include several ligaments that you
can sprain. Examples include ACL tear and PCL tear.
• Leg muscles: Leg muscle strains are common, including groin
pulls and hamstring injuries. A shin splint, which involves the soft
tissue around your shin bone, is a common runner's injury.
• Shoulder joint: Injuries to your shoulder's rotator cuff, including
tears and tendinitis, are sometimes called swimmer's shoulder.
❑ Signs and Symptoms:
What are the common sports injury symptoms?
It's not hard to tell when you've got sports injury. You can get it while
playing or working out usually. You will notice it when you get pain anf
maybe other signs of injury.
Common symptoms include:
1. Sudden or severe pain
2. Muscle or bone pain (musculoskeletal pain)
3. Bruises or color changes or swelling
4. Not being able to place weight on a leg, knee, or ankle, foot
5. A bone or joint looking out of place (deformity)
6. Extreme weakness of injured limb
7. Pain when you play or exercise
8. Swelling or dull ache when you rest
❑ Causes:
What causes of sports injury?
• Falls, which account for more than 1 in 4 sport injuries, according to CDC
• Training to hard to too long, overextension or overestimating your abilities,
can easily cause injury
• Direct impact, which includes being hit by sports equipment or running into
another player
❑ Risk Factors:
Sports injuries are usually accidentals that can lead to acute or chronic
injuries. Some of the major risk factors of sports injuries are given
below:
• Not wearing the right gear or using the rightly good equipment
• Not warming up or stretching the involved muscles and right
before the activity
• Starting at high intensity level that your body are not used to
• Playing aggressive contacts of sports, like tackle football
❑ Diagnosis and Tests:
How are sports injuries diagnosed?
To help with the diagnosis, your healthcare provider firstly starts with
your physical exam and medical history. Then what happened that
caused the injury, the time and reviewing all the symptoms. They might
check how your involved muscle moves or how it feels while touching it.
Depending on the type and severity of the injury, they might want to
look at the pictures of bones or tissues that involved.
They will get the pictures through:
1. X-rays
2. CT scan
3. MRI
❑ Managements and Treatments:
How do you treat sports injury?
When you get a sports injury, the healthcare provider precautions and
then the further treatments.
Some of them are:
1. Pain relief medications
2. Closed reduction
3. Surgery
4. A cast or splint
After all the medical treatments then it also involves the physical
therapy treatment. It plays a major role in the sports injuries after
medical procedures.
❑ Physical Therapy Treatments:
The physical therapy treatments involve:
Modalities:
• RICE therapy
• TENS
• Ultrasound therapy
• Electrical stimulation
Manual Therapy:
• Massage
• Joint mobilization
• Stretching
• Balancing and Proprioception training
• Therapeutic training
• Functional training
• Dry Needling
❑ Outlook/Prognosis:
What can I expect after sports injury?
The outlook after a sports injury depends on the type and how bad it is.
Most sports injuries are minor and can heal in a few days to weeks.
Others might need medical interventions or surgery and can take
several months to heal. How well you take care of your injury at home
can also affect your recovery. Returning to activity too soon can
interrupt the healing process. Not moving it enough can also stall it.
What questions should I ask my healthcare provider about my
sports injury?
You can ask your provider:
• How should I manage my pain?
• How long should I rest my injury, and when should I start moving
it again?
• What types of exercises should I do during rehabilitation?
• When can I return to sports or other intensive activities?
• How should I take care of my injured part when I return to my
sport?
❑ Prevention:
What can I do to prevent sports injuries?
Not all injuries are preventable, but there are some practical steps you
can take to reduce your risk:
1. Get trained
2. Gear up
3. Start slow
4. Follow a proper instructor
5. Build fitness
6. Know your limits