Staying active in life is highly crucial to lead one that is free of diseases and brings joy. Taking part in sports activities is a great idea to keep the body functioning properly. Not only is it great for entertaining and has a milestone element attached to it. But it is also working your muscles and burning your fat at the same time. Some of the greatest sports you can be a part of if football, basketball, baseball, polo, hockey, tennis, and many more. Going to a proper academy for sports from a very young age can help you become a good sportsman in the future as well but nothing comes without its setbacks. Sports carry a lot of injuries that you will be facing down the road if you play them actively. But setbacks are not something you can let hold you back in life.
In this article, we will take a look at some of the most common injuries that you can endure during playing sports and ways you can treat them properly. For some, you may require medical intervention however, a lot of them can be treated via self-care as well. Make sure you stick around till the end of this blog to find out more.
But before we begin, let’s answer a few burning questions that people on the internet have about sports-related injuries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you deal with an injury in a sports game?
Here’s how you can cope with sports injuries:
- Take a lot of rest
- Make sure the injured area gets plenty of rest
- Ice the painful parts for around 20 minutes, at least 5 to 8 times a day
- Compress using a clean bandage to ease the swelling and allow the inflammation to go away
- Elevate the injured area above the heart level during rest to allow the clean flow of blood to it as blood has healing properties
How do you overcome injuries?
Here are a few psychological tricks for you to overcome sports-related injuries:
- Set clear and realistic goals
- Visualise a healthy you and manifest it into existence
- Be optimistic
- Focus deeply on the present
- Honor your feelings
- Accept help and support
- Take control back
What are the three things to check on an injured person?
CAB – Circulation, airway & breathing. The three things you need to secure as a medical professional as soon as you start attending to them. Assess the quality of the athlete’s circulation, ensure there are no blocks in the airway, and finally, make sure they are breathing. Your goal is to make sure the condition does not worsen.
Now that we have successfully killed the heat on some of the most burning sports injury related questions online, let’s talk about 4 of the most common ones and how you can treat them.
4 Sports Injuries & What You Can Do About Them
Epicondylitis (Golf & Tennis Elbow)
It’s an inflammation of the tendons in your elbow. Excessive flexion and extension of your wrist can cause this to occur. It happens when, due to this excessive movement, the tendons get tiny tears in them that can be painful and may take time to heal.
This injury can be easily treated if you stop doing the movement that caused it in the first place, and give your elbow some time to heal. However, if the injury gets severe, you should seek medical help immediately.
Shin Splints
Vigorous sports activity or extreme running workouts can cause your shin bone to start hurting. This is known as shin splints. The medical term for shin splints is medial tibial stress syndrome. It often happens after a sudden change in physical activity where the body does not get any time to adapt and adjust.
The treatment is usually conservative where you can ice the shin and use some over-the-counter pain medication. Plenty of rest is also required to heal faster.
Hamstring Strain
Activities that enable you to kick your leg out sharply or fall forward can strain the hamstring easily. The hamstring is basically the three muscles in the back of your thigh. The pain can be sharp and can easily start to worsen if you don’t stop physical activity.
The only way to deal with a bad hamstring is the RICE treatment. We talked about this in the FAQs before as well. R stands for rest and you need to take a lot of it. I stand for ice and you should start icing your hamstring for 20 minutes, about 5 to 8 times a day. C stands for compress as you need to compress the area with a bandage to relieve tension and swelling. E stands for elevating where you need to elevate the injured area above your heart level so the flow of blood to it is direct and uninterrupted.
Ankle Sprain
You have ligaments on the outside of the ankle. While kind of give some shape to your feet, they are quite weak at the same time. It is very easy to hurt them and that can cause a lot of pain. If the ankle gets twisted, it can cause the ligaments to tear up and hurt really badly. Ankle sprains can be anywhere from mild to extremely painful and you should seek immediate medical assistance. A professional is able to tell better what exactly went wrong with the ligaments. A doctor can rule out a fracture whereas you cannot.
To treat the ligaments at home after seeing a doctor, you need a lot of physical therapy to get back on track. The ankle is delicate so you also need to be careful and not stress it out too much again during recovery. Lots of rest is also great for you. With the right exercises along with sufficient rest, you can heal the ligaments properly and get back to your active lifestyle.
Should Injuries
The shoulder joint is the most unstable of all in our bodies. And while this can be great in allowing it for a wide range of movement, it is also important to know that it is just as easy to injure it during a sporting event. With the right force at the right angle, you may even pop it out, and putting it back in place hurts really bad. A tear at the rotator cuff, which has four tendons holding the shoulder joint in place, is among the most common sports injuries you may come across.
You need to get this one checked by the doctor immediately as the shoulder can be a tricky place to treat by yourself. With the right diagnosis, a rule out of fracture, and the perfect combination of physical therapy and rest, you will find yourself back on your feet playing again.
Here is a compact list of the most common injuries related to sports:
- Epicondylitis (Golf & Tennis Elbow)
- Shin Splints
- Hamstring Strain
- Ankle Sprain
- Shoulder Injuries
As you can see, there are a lot of injuries out there that you can avoid if you play responsibly and take care of your body as it requires maintenance as well. However, if you do find yourself with one of these injuries, now you know what to do and how to treat them properly. If you made it to the end of this blog, we believe you are more medically aware of the conditions that can occur during sports and are well equipped to tackle them properly. If you have nice, professional shoes for the game, a lot of these injuries can be avoided. And what better way to store those kicks than in a custom shoe box of your choice? You can find them online easily. With that said, good luck in the future!