sports injuries

1. Sport Injuries

2. Introduction • Injuries are common when you are engaged in regular exercise or if you are involved in a sport. Most of the injuries are avoidable and occurs due to • lack of warming up • poor technique • not using the equipment correctly • not taking proper safety precautions • over estimating the overall level of fitness

3. Injuries Most common Least common Broken bones Cartilage damage Ligament damage Severe head injuries • Blisters • Bruises • Cuts • Minor head injuries • Sprain and strains • Tendinitis

4. Sprains and strain • Sprain occurs when one the ligaments are stretched, twisted or torn. Usually sprain occurs in the ligaments surrounds knee, ankle, wrist and thumb. Symptoms include, swelling, pain and redness, bruising, and restricted movement • Muscle strain occurs when the muscle fibers are stretched or torn. Symptoms may include pain, muscle spasm, and loss of strength in the muscle. Usually this type of injury occurs in people who are involved in sports which require them to jump, run, or change direction quickly. Most common strains are hamstring strains, calf strains, quadriceps strains, and lumbar strains.

5. Heel Pain • This type of sport injury occurs when thick band of that runs under the sole of the foot gets damaged. • The medical terminology for it is plantar fasciitis. • People with plantar fasciitis often feel sharp pain when they place weight on their heel. Heel pain is common in joggers and runners.

6. Tennis Elbow/Golfer’s Elbow • Tennis elbow (Epicondylitis) occurs when the tendons that joins the forearm muscles on the outside part of the elbow gets inflamed. It effects tennis players as the name suggest, but not limited to them .It also effects people who are involved in swimming and playing cricket • People with epicondylitis may feel pain at outside aspect of elbow. They may also feel weak grip strength. Often the symptoms are aggravated by forearm activity. They may also feel stiffness in the elbow. The symptoms may develop gradually but it worsens over period of time. Most often the dominant arm is affected, but it can also affect both arms. • People who suffer from the golfer’s elbow have similar symptoms and the swelling occurs on the inside of the elbow.

7. Tendonitis • This type of sport injury occurs when the tendon get inflamed. It occurs due to strain or tears in tendon at shoulder, elbow, wrist finger, thigh, and knee and back of the heel. • Symptoms include pain, swelling and redness at the injure area, restricted movement on the affected area, change in physical appearance of the affected area.

8. Shin Splints • Shin splints cause pain along the shin bone. Shin splints occurs a result of swelling and tiny fractures in the surface of the bone. • Symptoms may include pain, throbbing and tenderness along the side of the shin which often travels to the outside of the shin. • It often occurs in a athletes who participate in running events and root cause is overtraining. It can also be caused by running on hard surface in a shoe that does not give support to foot and ankle.

9. Runner’s Knee (Knee Pain) • The most common type of knee injury is Runner’s knee. • It occurs when the cartilage under the knee cap wears away and this will cause swelling at the back of knee cap. • Symptoms include soreness and discomfort beneath the knee cap or one side of it. Runner’s Knee occurs as result of repetitive impact caused by running on hard surfaces.

10. Cartilage Damage • Damage can occur to the cartilage located at the joints. • Symptoms include, joint pain, stiffness, swelling and decreased range of motion at the affected joint. The damage is severe if the cartilage is loose or breaks off and effects the movement of the joint. You may feel locking, popping or catching at the joint. • Knee joint is most common area where the damage of the cartilage occurs.

11. Ligament damage • The most common sport injury is ACL ligament tear (Anterior cruciate ligament). • It is caused by sudden stop or change in direction or if you land incorrectly from a jump. • Almost 20% of sports injury involves ACL. Symptoms may include severe pain in knee, instability, swelling, not having full range of motion at knee joint.

12. Big or small, sports Injuries can cost your carrier! Take Action! • At Maya physical therapy, our experienced physical therapist will help you to regain the strength and mobility of the joints. • Physical therapy will help you to relieve pain as well as prevent any farther injuries. As the part of the rehabilitation program, physical therapist will teach you strengthening; stretching exercise as well as techniques using specialized equipment to address problems. • It is very important to know do’s and don’ts to prevent farther injury. Recovery always starts with physical therapy as it decreases the recovery period