Sports injuries can be minor, such as a sprained ankle, or serious, such as a bone fracture. Some injuries may require prolonged medical treatment and rehabilitation, which can significantly impact a person's ability to participate in sports or even perform everyday activities.
It is important to address sports injuries appropriately to minimize the risk of long-term complications and prevent recurrent injuries. The treatments Common for sports injuries include the use of ice, compression, elevation, physical therapy, and medications for pain and inflammation.
What are the causes of a sports injury?
Between the Causes of sports injuries , the most common are usually the following:
- Do not warm up before exercising.
- Misuse sports material and equipment.
- Have a low physical condition.
- Performing exercises incorrectly, without paying attention to technique.
- Overtrain.
- Not respecting sports rest.
Most common types of sports injuries
There are different types of sports injuries , but these are some of the most common among athletes.
Lumbar sports injuries
He lower back pain It is very common in athletes. And many times, when practicing exercise, whether due to overload or poor physical condition, we incorrectly involve the spine and it suffers. Consequently, this can lead to injuries in the area in the short or long term.
muscle injuries
They usually occur due to physical overexertion, due to forced movements and trauma. Some muscle injuries The most well-known are contractures, contusions, muscle cramps or strains, among others.
bone breaks
Fractures are the best known among the bone injuries , but there are also others related to overload that can end up causing breaks.
Knee ligament injury
The knee ligament injuries They occur when there is a tear or rupture of the ligaments. From there, the area becomes inflamed and great pain is generated. An example of this is a sprain of the internal lateral knee ligament, or the anterior or posterior cruciate ligament.
Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament
It occurs in the knee area and its main symptom is intense pain in the knee, swelling and inability to walk. Treatment includes knee arthroscopy and the use of ligandoplasty.
Achilles tendonitis
This is a type of sports injury that occurs as a result of overloading the Achilles tendon, the one that connects the muscles of the rear calf to the bones of the heel.
The Achilles tendonitis is one of the tendon injuries more common. In this case, you should know that there are two types: tendonitis, which is inflammation of the tendon, and tendinosis, which refers to aches and pains in the tissue.
How to prevent injuries in sports
While it is true that avoiding the risk of injury in sports completely is not feasible, there are a series of practices and recommendations that we can follow to minimize the possibility of suffering from pain and discomfort after practicing physical activity. These are some of the indications that we must take into account to prevent sports injuries :
Always warm up before training
It is essential do a good warm up so that the body gradually warms up. And the fact is that going from inactivity to practicing exercises of greater or lesser intensity significantly increases the risk of suffering injuries.
Return to calm gradually
We said that you have to start exercising directly without going through the warm-up phase. Well, the same thing happens in reverse. That is, we should not go from intense physical activity to suddenly stop. Therefore, the ideal is to make a return to progressive calm in the last minutes of training.
Never skip stretching
It is as important to warm up before training as it is to finish with a good workout. stretching. This allows the muscles to return to calm and obviously greatly prevents the appearance of possible injuries.
Lead a healthy lifestyle
Physical exercise is a fundamental pillar to have a healthy lifestyle , but as you know, nutrition and hydration complete the perfect combo to gain health and quality of life. Therefore, do not forget to drink plenty of water and meet nutritional needs.
Treatment of sports injuries
He treatment of a sports injury It will depend on the level of severity of it. For this reason, professionals in sports traumatology are the indicated profiles to assess how to address each discomfort and apply sports rehabilitation in each case.
Broadly speaking, injuries in sports are usually corrected with physiotherapy sessions, use of ice, prescription of painkillers and anti-inflammatories, plenty of rest and, in some cases, with surgical treatments, such as dislocations and bone fractures, for example.
