Sports Injury

Sports and a Healthy Lifestyle

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A popular way to maintain your health is to exercise by participating in sports. Exercise is very good for your overall health. It can reduce stress and even strengthen your joints, bones, and heart. However, it is an unfortunate fact that injuries can occur while partaking in these activities. Whether you've become overzealous with your routine or simply forget to use the proper safety equipment, it's very common to become injured while doing these simple activities.

Sports Related Injuries

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The most common sports injuries are strains, sprains, tendinosis, and stress fractures. When a person accidentally twists or overextends a joint, the muscles and tendons can tear. Overextending these muscles can cause a strain. If the ligament tears, it can result in a sprain. Tendinosis (overuse syndrome) happens when certain joints in the body are overused. When these parts become overworked, pain and dysfunction are the results. With the tendons being used repeatedly, they become inflamed from the repetitious activities. Tennis Elbow and Golfer's Elbow are great examples of tendinosis. Stress fractures are another injury commonly seen related to sports injuries. Stress fractures are also known as Fatigue Fractures. These fractures happen when there is a large, abnormal amount of weight being placed on a bone. It is extremely common with beginner runners who start off at a higher level than advised.

Comprehensive Care

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In order to diagnose an existing injury that you may have, x-rays or MRI's may be necessary. X-rays or MRI's help rule out fractures and allow us to find soft-tissue injuries. Ice and heat along with elevation and rest are helpful in most cases to reduce pain and inflammation while the tissue heals. The most important thing to know is how sports injuries can be prevented. Educating yourself on proper warm up and cool down techniques, sufficient water intake, and proper movements can reduce sports injuries substantially.