A sports-related injury occurs when you get hurt while playing a sport or exercising. It can happen if you fall, twist your body the wrong way, or use too much force. Common sports injuries include sprains (stretched or torn ligaments), pulled muscles, broken bones, and bruises. Some injuries heal quickly, while others take more time and care. Warming up, stretching, and adopting correct techniques can help prevent injuries. If you are injured, rest and proper treatment are important. Sports injuries are common. But with the right care, you can recover and get back to playing safely. 

Sports injuries can happen to anyone, whether you are a beginner or a pro. If you have hurt yourself while running, jumping, or playing your favourite sport, don’t worry – Pain Medics Clinic is here to help. Our expert team knows how to treat sports-related muscular injuries, so you can heal quickly and safely. We use gentle, effective treatments to reduce pain and get you moving again. Rest, therapy, and the right care make a big difference.

Types of Sports Injury

Sports injuries, most commonly occur if the person has not been regularly active or warmed up before exercise. Sports injuries can be of different types depending on the sport they are acquired from. The most common sports injuries include:

• Sprains
• Bursitis
• Knee injuries
• Muscle Tears
• Concussions
• Fractures
• Tendinitis
• Joint dislocations etc.

Causes of Sports Injury

The cause of an acute sports injury is a force of impact greater than the body part’s threshold. A chronic injury is typically due to the repetition of the same motion. Injuries acquired from sports are backed up by a number of risk factors, including:

• Improper or incorrect exercise techniques
• Training too often or training for too long can lead to muscle injury
• Sudden and quick change in the intensity of physical activity
• Running or jumping on hard surfaces
• Wearing shoes that do not provide enough support to the feet and legs
• Use of improper equipment
• Another reason is a previous history of injury. Once the muscle or bone has been affected, its strength is affected, which makes it more prone to injuries in the future.
• Poor flexibility
• Certain medications

Risk Factors of Areas Getting Injured in Sports

Some parts of the body get hurt more often in sports because they handle a lot of movement and pressure. Joints and the tissues around them are the most common places for injuries. Here are some body parts that often get injured:

Achilles tendon – This is a thick band that connects your calf muscles to your heel. Too much stress can cause pain or even a tear.

Ankle – Your ankle has three joints and many small parts. Sprains and broken ankles are common injuries.

Elbow – Doing the same arm motions over and over can cause problems like tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow. 

Head – Head injuries happen less often, but they can include nosebleeds, losing a tooth, or even a concussion.

Knee – The knee has important bands called ligaments that can stretch or tear, causing injuries to cruciate ligaments, meniscus or conditions like runner’s knees. 

Leg muscles – Pulling a muscle in your leg, like the groin or hamstring, is common. Runners also get shin splints, which cause pain in the lower leg.

Shoulder – Swimmers often hurt their shoulders, especially the muscles and tendons that help the arm move. Shoulders can also dislocate or break.

Stress Fractures – Commonly seen in the back or ankles of sportspersons who indulge in chronic repetitive sports activities.

Taking care of your body and resting when needed can help prevent these injuries!

Symptoms

Depending on if the sports injuries are acute or chronic, their symptoms also vary.

Acute injuries

• Severe and sudden pain
• Swelling and bruising
• Extreme weakness of an injured limb
• Abnormal movement of a joint

Chronic Injuries

• Pain only on playing or exercising
• Swelling and a dull ache on resting

Treatment For Sports Injuries

There are two types of sports injuries. One is minor injuries, and the second is serious injuries. Here are some effective treatments for both types of sports injury:

For Minor Sports Injuries

Rest: Give your injured body part a break. Avoid using it too much for at least a day or two. Try not to put weight on it or move it too much.

Ice: Put ice on the injury for 20 minutes at a time, about four to eight times a day. You can use an ice pack, a bag of ice, or even frozen peas wrapped in a towel. Don’t put ice directly on your skin or keep it on too long, or it could hurt your skin. Never use heat right after an injury. It can make swelling worse. Heat can help later, but only after three days.

Compression: Wrapping the injured area with a soft bandage can help reduce swelling. Make sure it’s snug but not too tight, so blood can still flow.

Elevation: If you can, keep the injured area raised on a pillow above your heart. This helps prevent swelling and speeds up healing.

For Serious Injuries 

Immobilisation: Immobilizing an injured area helps it to rest and recover. This helps reduce pain, swelling, and muscle tightness. Most people only need this for a short time. Some common tools used are:

• Slings – Used to keep the arm and shoulder still.
• Splints, braces, and casts – These help protect broken bones and injured muscles. Splints and braces allow some movement but casts keep everything completely still if needed.

Injections: Injections into the injured muscles, tendons or ligaments help to reduce inflammation and initiate repair. These consist of low-dose corticosteroid injections or platelet-rich plasma injections depending upon the severity, location and extent of injury. These are injected under image guidance like ultrasound for precision.

Surgery: Sometimes, surgery is needed to fix torn tissues or broken bones, but most sports injuries heal without it.

The treatment of sports injuries is based on the RICE principle. The RICE means Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Rest is the remedy that stops bleeding and prevents new injury. Ice is able to ease the pain and reduce inflammation via constriction of the blood vessels. Elevation and compression are responsible for limiting the fluid accumulation and swelling around the injured area. Other effective treatment options include chiropractic techniques, manipulative therapy and physiotherapy. At our expert clinic, we use an integrated and tailored approach to injury depending upon its location, severity and duration. The treatment options at our clinic consist of non-surgical, minimally invasive interventions combined with physiotherapy for repair and recovery from the injury. Surgery is an option for complete muscle and tendon tears and chronic non-healing injuries.