Sports and a Healthy Lifestyle
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 become very common nowadays to become injured while doing these activities.
Sports Related Injuries
The most common sports injuries are Strains, Sprains, Tendinosis, and Stress Fractures. Strains and Sprains are very common injuries. When you accidentally twist or overextend a joint, it can tear the muscles and tendons. When you overextend these muscles, it can cause a strain. If the ligament then tears, it can result in a sprain. Tendinosis, or “overuse syndrome", happens when certain joints in the body are overused. When these parts become overworked, it can result in pain and dysfunction. With the tendon being used over and over again, it becomes inflamed from the repetitious activities. Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow are great examples of Tendinosis. Stress fractures are another injury commonly seen in regards 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 in beginner runners who start off at a higher level than advised.
Comprehensive Care
In order to diagnose which injury you may have, x-rays or MRI’s may be necessary. This helps rule out fractures and allow us to find soft-tissue injuries. Ice and heat may be helpful in reducing pain while the tissue is healing, and elevation helps to reduce swelling. The most important thing to know is how sports injuries can be prevented. Educating yourself and loved ones on proper warm up and cool down procedures, sufficient water intake, and proper techniques can reduce sports injuries substantially.