Did you know that there are more than 3.5 million sports injuries involving children and teens each year? The number of injuries hikes up even more if you add adults to the equation.
If you love to play sports, it is important to know what injuries you may experience as you play your favorite games. Let us take a look at some of the most common sports injuries so you can be aware of how to prevent them.
Common Sports Injuries: Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are some of the most common types of injuries and they can also be some of the most debilitating. They are also one of the kinds of injuries that most often require help from professionals.
The knee withstands a lot of impact during sports and can suffer wear and tear because of this. Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, are very common and can even require surgery and rehabilitation from providers like Performaxphysicaltherapyandwellness.com. To avoid serious damage, you want to always warm-up before playing and use the right posture in any sport.
Ankle Sprains
Spraining your ankle is another of the types of sports injuries out there. These injuries are common in sports that require lots of turning quickly and running. A sprain is an injury to a ligament and it can involve tearing or straining that ligament.
To prevent this injury, you want to perform pre-workout stretches and use appropriate posture and technique when practicing the sport.
Muscle Strains
If you stretch a muscle beyond its natural limit, you can strain it or “pull” it. In more severe cases, the muscle can even tear, causing serious pain. Some common areas for muscle strain are in the groin and hamstring but they can usually be prevented with warmups.
Most muscle strains and torn muscles heal on their own, but many require rehab and professional assistance.
Fractures
Broken bones are another common issues people run into when practicing sports. There are different types of fractures.
Stress fractures happen from improper stress on joints. If you have suddenly changed your exercise routine or if you are not using the right equipment or techniques to perform the exercise, you can get stress fractures.
Acute fractures usually happen from a singular injury. They can also be called a traumatic or complete fracture. Unlike stress fractures, which are small cracks in the bone, an acute fracture is a break in the bone that requires setting.
Practice Sports Safely
By knowing what the most common sports injuries are and how you can prevent them, you will have a better chance of playing the sports you love without fear. If you do suffer an injury, the best thing you can do is reach out to professionals for guidance on how to manage the injury.
To learn more about how to keep yourself safe as you play sports, turn to our Lifestyle page!