What are the causes of sports injuries? Common causes and treatments
Whether you are regularly active or you’re getting into a new sport or fitness regime, there are various ways that you can suffer an injury or accident.
Your muscles, bones, joints, tendons or ligaments are the body parts that are most likely to be damaged during sport or exercise.
Here you can learn about the typical causes of sports injuries, the main differences between them and what you can do to recover.
Common causes of sports injuries
If you don’t warm up and cool down before and after exercise – or you simply push yourself too hard – then you are more likely to get hurt.
People who play contact sports are undoubtedly more likely to come to harm from time to time, especially if you don’t use the right equipment or your technique isn’t adequate.
However, you can damage muscles, joints or even break a bone with a bad fall or a similarly serious mishap. Ankles, knees and shoulders are especially susceptible.
Types of sports injury
Symptoms and complications of sports injuries differ greatly. The most common types include:
- Sprains
- Strains
- Swollen muscles
- Ruptured tendons
- Torn ligaments
- Bone fractures
- Dislocations
When ligaments are overstretched, twisted or torn it’s called a sprain. Ligaments are connective tissues that connect two bones in a joint.
Sprains and strains are often mistaken; however, a strain is when tendons or muscles become overstretched or torn. Tendons are thick cords of tissue that link bone to muscle.
Muscles can also become painful and weakened due to swelling, which is the body’s natural response to injury. If the problem is in your shoulder, it could be a rotator cuff tear. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that allow your shoulder to move in different directions.
A sudden and severe pain in the ankle that makes it difficult to walk could be a ruptured Achilles tendon. Torn muscles or tendons at the back of the thighs is called a hamstring injury.
A dislocation is where a bone comes out of its socket, causing pain, inflammation and restricted movement. Bones can of course be fractured as part of a sports or exercise injury, for example by slipping and hitting the ground or from a heavy blow during contact sports.
How to deal with sports injuries
Depending on the kind of injury, you might not notice pain, bruising, swelling or other problems until hours later. Either way, you should stop exercising because this could do more harm and make your recovery take longer.
The type of treatment will depend on the type and severity of the injury. Serious injuries to the head or spine, and broken or dislocated bones inevitably mean a trip to Accident and Emergency.
Minor strains and sprains will usually improve by:
- Resting at home
- Keeping the affected limb elevated
- Using ice packs or compression bandages to reduce swelling
- Over-the-counter medication to relieve pain
If your condition doesn’t improve after a few days or more, you should consult a doctor. They will perform a physical examination and may refer you for hospital imaging tests (such as an X-ray, CT or MRI scan), physiotherapy or another treatment. You may also be able to directly self-refer to our private clinic.
Physiotherapy sessions normally combine specialist manipulation of the affected tissues with a programme of careful exercises to improve strength and your range of motion. As part of rehabilitation you’ll normally be advised how to prevent injuring yourself in the same way again.
To treat pain, inflammation and muscle spasms, you may need to have the injured area immobilised for a while using a sling, splint or cast.
Serious and continuous swelling can be treated with a steroid injection to reduce the associated pain. Ultrasound-guided injections are a convenient way to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of targeted injection treatments. The needle placement is aided by safe, real-time ultrasound imaging (similar to the system used in pregnancy scans).
Learn more about ultrasound-guided joint injections which we offer at Ravenscroft Health.
An increasingly common treatment is extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). This non-invasive technology uses a hand-held probe to pass high-energy sound waves into the body. It’s been shown to be highly effective for certain bone conditions and chronic tendon, ligament and muscle damage. ESWT stimulates the target area, breaking down fibrous scar tissue, encouraging cell regeneration and helping reduce pain.
Going to a sports injury clinic
If you have sustained musculoskeletal damage during exercise or sport, the team at Ravenscroft Health includes consultants, physiotherapists and other specialists with the expertise to diagnose and treat a broad range of sports injuries.
All of our treatments can be carried out in the physiotherapy clinic. Whether you’re an occasional or frequent sports player, a regular fitness enthusiast, or you just want to enjoy exercise again, Ravenscroft Health can help you get back into shape.
