Most common sports injuries: How to prevent them?

Most common sports injuries: How to prevent them?

Being active is beneficial for both your physical and emotional health, whether you participate in organized sports or just exercise for enjoyment. However, participating in sports and working out always carries the chance of suffering an injury, either immediately or gradually. 

However, our team of experienced doctors at Diyos Hospital treats a number of common sports-related injuries on a daily basis. Mentioned below is a list of few common sports injuries and how you can prevent them:

Ankle Sprain

Ankle sprains are a very frequent injury that can happen when playing basketball, playing football, or even just strolling down the street. Due to elevated levels of speed and force, ankle sprains that happen while participating in sports or another physically demanding activity may be more severe than usual.

How to prevent an ankle sprain?

1. Regularly perform strengthening and stretching activities for your ankles.
2. Before engaging in sports, wear preventative braces, especially if you’ve previously suffered from a sprain.
3. The right footwear is essential for the activity and surface you are playing on.
4. Exercises and balance training will help to strengthen your ankle joints while also preparing your body for a variety of positions and actions.

Shoulder Dislocation

Your upper arm bone popping out of the shoulder socket is referred to as a dislocated shoulder. It’s a fairly typical sports injury that’s frequently brought on by a difficult fall, a tackle, or another kind of collision. Dislocated shoulders can affect athletes who engage in high-contact sports like football, hockey, and rugby, but they can also affect cyclists, surfers, yoga practitioners, weight lifters, etc.

How to prevent a dislocated shoulder?

1. Exercises that strengthen the rotator cuff muscles in your shoulder are excellent for prevention since weak rotator cuff muscles frequently increase your risk of dislocating your shoulder.
2. Push-ups, shoulder shrugs, and resistance band workouts are additional excellent shoulder strengthening activities.
3. For those who have already experienced a dislocated shoulder, using a shoulder support or brace while participating in sports or other physical activities is also advised.

Lower Back Sprain

All injuries to the lumbar spine’s soft tissue, including those to the muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and blood vessels around the spine, are referred to as these kinds of lower back strains. There’s a good probability that even at this very moment, you’re dealing with a musculoligamentous strain of some kind. Lower back discomfort can have a variety of causes, including previous injuries, aberrant spinal growth, trauma, bad posture, etc. Obesity, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and using the wrong lifting techniques are other risk factors for lower back issues.

How to prevent a lower back sprain?

1. Avoid spending too much time sitting down. If you sit at a desk all day, get up frequently 
2. Your lower back muscles should be stretched out and strengthened over time to relieve pressure on your spine and assist prevent injuries.
3. Prior to engaging in physical activity, stretch out your lower back muscles using a heat source, a stretching exercise, or both. If your lower back feels stiff or uncomfortable after, apply ice to it.

Knee Sprain

Knee sprains happen when the ligaments in your knee are strained or partially ripped, much as an ankle sprain. Your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament), LCL (lateral collateral ligament), and PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) are some of these ligaments. Football, basketball, and soccer players are particularly prone to these injuries. However, knee sprains are also a common injury for bikers and runners. Knee sprains frequently develop from either a sudden change in direction that causes overextension or twisting of the knee joint or from a direct blow to the front, rear, or side of the knee joint.

How to prevent a knee sprain?

1. By maintaining a healthy body weight, you can significantly reduce the strain on your knees and lower your risk of injury.
2. Your knees will also be supported by strengthening your calf, quadriceps, and hamstring muscles.
3. Before engaging in physically demanding activities, warm up your knees by walking, biking, or lightly jogging.

Elbow Injury

Baseball and tennis players are often the sports where elbow injuries occur. Given that both of those games involve repetitive movements, it is understandable why a sizable proportion of participants in these sports get Tennis Elbow or UCL problems. Simple overuse is the leading reason for elbow injuries outside of direct trauma. Tennis and baseball players are prone to have persistent pain and instability in their elbow joints after years of making forceful swinging and throwing actions.

How to prevent an elbow injury?

1. Resting is the first (and best) thing to do. Taking a few days off can reduce inflammation and offer some relief if your elbow hurts constantly.
2. Pitch counts are frequently used in baseball, where UCL injuries are common, to assist prevent overuse injuries.
3. Tennis elbow can be avoided by performing wrist flexion and extension exercises, perfecting one’s hitting technique, and, if necessary, donning a brace.