Common Injuries Among Athletes
In this page I will address some common injuries among athletes, how to prevent them and how to treat them. Injuries that will be covered are Tendinitis, muscle strains, pulls and tears, ankle and wrist sprains. hyper-extensions, shin and forearm splints, Osgood-Schlatters, epcondylitis, shoulder injuries, and Achilles tears.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis is the inflammation and irritation of tendons caused by over use and repetitive movement. Tendons connect muscle to bone so areas that have lots of small muscles tend to be more prone to tendinitis. Tendinitis can happen anywhere that there are tendons in the body. Common places that Tendinitis occurs are wrists, ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, hands, feet, and Achilles. In order to understand tendinitis you must first understand how tendons work. Tendons connect muscles to bone so they are very important. Tendons are tough bands of fibrous tissues that can withstand strain. Tendons slide bakc and forth through another sheet of connective tissue filled with synovial fluid. When those tendons become inflamed they are not able to function as well and are very painful. Tendinitis is avoidable only by caution. Make sure to not be too repetitive in the movements of your exercises. Tendinitis is somewhat difficult to treat. It is hard to rehabilitate areas that have tendinitis because doing exercises only makes the tendons more irritated. So it is hard to tell whether rehab exercises work. Instead one of the main ways to treat tendinitis is rest. Resting those tendons will let inflammation and irritation settle. Another easy way to treat tendinitis on top of resting it is to ice and heat. Icing will help reduce inflammation while heating will help circulate blood to the area.
Muscle Strains, pulls and tears
Muscles are made of thousands of musculus tissue fibers wrapped up in different types of connective tissues. When a muscle is strained past its capacity some of those fibers may be teared. This will result in sharp pain whenever that muscle is used. Muscle strains and tears are most common in the muscles of the leg specifically hamstrings, quads,and calves. Muscle strains and tears are common throughout the other part so f the body although. Muscle strains and tears are preventable. An easy way to prevent muscle strains tears and pulls is to make sure your muscles are warmed up completely before using them. Another way to prevent muscle strains is to make sure you have good flexibility. If you have good flexibility throughout the muscles of your body you will be at lower risk of muscles strains. Ways that you can treat muscle strains and pulls are by using heat on them. heat will help increase blood flow to the injured muscle and spur a faster repair. Although heat is good for muscles make sure never to put heat on a muscle that has just recently been injured. This could result in tightening of the muscle.
Epicondylitis
Epicondylitis or tennis elbow is tendinitis in the elbow joint area. There are lots of muscles that connect tot eh elbow joint so it is no surprise that tendinitis is common there. It is a very common overuse injury among athletes who are involved in throwing or raquet sports. Pain is felt on the inner and outer side of the elbow joint. It is caused by repetitive movements that involve twisting of the forearm. There are many treatments fo apicondylitis but the first step should always be rest. Icing will help with inflammation. Physical therapy is always a good way to restore health in the joint. Another option that is becoming more popular are steroid shots although they are sodomites only temporary.
Ankle and Wrist Sprains
A sprain is an injury to a ligament. Ligaments are the connective tissue that hold bone to bone. They hold bones together at joints. Sprains can be caused by sudden movement or force applied to a joint area witch moves it out of its normal position that causes a ligament to be stretched or torn. Sprains are very common in the ankles and wrists. Ankle sprains can be caused while running, landing, and jumping. Ligaments most often hurt in the ankle as a result are on the outside and inside of ankle. Wrists are also very susceptible to sprains. The carpals of the wrist are all connected by ligaments and they are the ones most often hurt. Ankle and wrist sprains are hard to prevent because they most often occur because of accidents but precautions can always be taken. Prehab exercises area great way to strengthen the muscles of the wrist and ankle so you are at a lower risk of a sprain.
Here are a couple good ankle exercises that can be done with a resistance band. Sets of 20-30 are around ho many you're going to want to do.
This is a wrist extensor exercise that is great for strengthening the extensor muscles of the wrist. Sets of 20 are good.
Sprains can be treated a number of different way but the first step is always rest. Resting splints, casts, and a boot are always a good way to make sure it does not get worse. Make sure to ice sprains so the inflammation will go down. In severe cases surgery is an option.
Hyperextensions
Hyperextensions happen at the knee and elbow and it happens when they bend the wrong way. Hyperextnsions cause the knee or elbow to bend backwards past there normal range of motion resulting in hurt ligaments, bones and other structures of the elbow or knee. Elbow hyperextensions often occur when someone is falling and they try to catch themselves by putting there arm down straight. Knee hyperextensions are very common among gymnasts. Knee hyperextensions can be caused by landing with straight legs out of a dismount.
Hyperextensions of the elbow are somewhat preventable although not completely. By doing exercises that strengthen the bicep it will be harder for hyperextensions to occur. Knee hyperextensions are less preventable.
Treatment options for hyperextneison include rest, ice, and physical therapy if necessary.
Shin/Forearm splints
Shin splints are very common among athletes who do a lot of running. However, what are shin splints exactly? Shin splints are when the muscles attached to the anterior or lateral side of you tibia are pulled off the bone slightly or it is the inflammation of a thin sheet of tissue that wraps around the shin bone. Either of these are classified as shin splints. Shin splints are caused often by overuse, bad foot ware, netiquette stretching, or excessive stress placed on one leg or the other. Ways that you can prevent shin splints is by making sure you stretch before workouts, having good shoes and changing up your workouts so you're not putting the same force on your legs everyday. treatment option for shin splints obviously start with rest. If you would like to continue running through the pain wrapping up your leg is a good way to reduce pain although you should ice them aas much as possible. Stretching you Achilles tendon also helps with shin splints.
Forearm Splints
Forearm splints are much more rare than shin splints and most often occur when tremendous amounts of weight are put on wrists. Weightlifters, gymnasts, and baseball players. The injury is the same as shin splints but in the forearm muscles and bones. It starts out as a dull pain and will get worse and worse if not treated properly.
Osgood-Schlatters
Osgood-schlatters is a knee pain common among young growing athletes. It is the inflammation of the tendons that attach the patella(knee cap) to the tibia(shin bone). Most often occurs during growth spurts when tendons, muscles and bones are changing. Very common among gymnasts. Preventing osgood-schlatters is possible by strengthening and stretching the quad muscles. Ways that you can treat Osgood-schlatters are by rest and ice first of all. Stretching your quands and strengthening your hips will also help recover. If you need to continue doing whatever hurts your knees there are braces that are available to prevent pain and support the knee.
Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder injuries are some of the most frustrating and persistent injuries among athletes who throw balls or throw themselves (gymnasts). The shoulder has the most muscles concentrated in one area out of the whole body. Rotator cuff injuries are common and are associated with throwing and lifting your arms. The shoulder bone is so prone to injuries because it is a ball and socket joint associated with three different major bones, the humerus, scapula, and clavicle. It has the most range of motion out of any joint in the body. Every time yo lift your or move your arm shoulder muscles are being activated. Syptoms of shoulder injuries include pain, tingling, soreness, and weakness. To avoid getting shoulder injuries make sure to do a lot of prehab exercies so strengthen all the small muslces of your shoulders. Treatments for shoulder injuries start with rest and ice. Massages are good for loosening up those muslces up there and are very beneficial.
Achilles Injuries
Achilles ruptures, tears and other injuries are very common among athlete and non-athletes alike. You Achilles tendon is the biggest tendon of the body. It is located starting behind the heel and ending up near the knee. Some causes of Achilles injuries are overdoing and activity, wearing high heels a lot which can tighten up the Achilles tendon, or your leg muscles are too tight. It is preventable by making sure you stretch your Achilles a lot. Treatments for your Achilles if it is not torn include ice, rest,and stretching. If your Achilles tendon is torn surgery is usually the best option.
