Common Sports Injuries
The most common sports injuries are strains and sprains. Strains are sometimes called “pulled muscles” as overstretching or overusing a muscle causes tears in the muscle fibers or muscle tendons. Strains are injuries to muscle fibers or tendons, which anchor muscles to bones. Sprains, on the other hand, are injuries to ligaments (tough bands connecting bones in a joint). Suddenly stretching ligaments past their limits tears them. The most common sports injuries include:
Hip Flexor Strain
This is a stretch or tear of a muscle in your hip. You use the hip flexor muscles when you flex or lift your knee, do high kicks, or bend at the waist.
Ankle Sprain
This injury happens when the ligaments in your ankle get stretched too much or tear. Ligaments are the strong, stretchy bands that help stabilize your ankle. While they hold the bones of your ankle together, they also allow for some movement. But when there is too much movement, you may get an ankle sprain.
ACL Tear or Strain
This is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament (the ACL is one of the major ligaments in your knee). This injury most commonly occurs during sports that involve changes in direction, jumping and landing, and sudden stops. Your knee may feel unstable, swell, and become too uncomfortable to bear weight.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome
This is a condition in which the cartilage under the kneecap is damaged due to injury or overuse. It is an injury resulting from the repetitive movement of your kneecap against your thigh bone.
Shoulder Injury
There are three common shoulder injuries that occur as the result of a sports injury. One is a SLAP tear which is a tear to the ring of labrum that surrounds your shoulder’s socket and tends to develop over time. The second is a rotator cuff injury. Rotator cuff injuries are typically characterized by weakness in the shoulder, reduced range of motion, and stiffness. The last one is shoulder instability which happens when your ligaments, tendons, and muscles no longer secure your shoulder joint. As a result, the round, top part of your upper arm bone dislocated or subluxated.
Tennis Elbow
This is an irritation of the tissue connecting the forearm muscles to the elbow.
Hamstring Strain
A pulled hamstring or strain is an injury to one or more of the muscles at the back of the thigh.
Sciatica
This is back pain radiating along the sciatic nerve, which runs down one or both legs from the lower back.
Shin Splints
This is pain caused by overuse along the shinbone, the large front bone in the lower leg. Shin splints result when muscles, tendons, and bone tissue become overworked and often occur in athletes who recently intensified or changed their training routines.
Groin Pull or Strain
This results from putting too much stress on muscles in your groin and thigh. If these muscles are tensed too forcefully or too suddenly, they can tear or become over-stretched.
Concussion
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that can occur after an impact to your head or after a whiplash-type injury that causes your head and brain to shake quickly back and forth. While you will see this injury as a result of a car wreck, you see these frequently in sports as well.