Sports injuries commonly occur during sports or exercise. They can affect your bones, tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Sports injuries can be acute, which develops suddenly, and chronic, which develops over time. Minor injuries are treatable at home with over-the-counter medicines and the RICE method, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
However, serious injuries might require surgery and physical therapy. To know more about sports injuries and how to avoid them, consult with an expert for spring sports physicals today. Below are some common sports injuries and tips on how to treat them.
Common sports injuries and how to treat them
- Strains
Tearing or overstretching muscles or tendons causes strain. Tendons are a cord of flexible tissue connecting your muscles to your bones.
- Sprains
Tearing or stretching your ligaments can cause a sprain. Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect bone to bone. Spraining is common in wrists, ankles, and knees. The degree of the injury can vary from mild to severe.
- Broken Bone
You can fracture your bone if it is hit with a sudden force during any athletic activity.
- Dislocations
When a bone moves out of its socket, it gets dislocated. Dislocation of bones can lead to extreme pain and swelling of the affected area.
- Knee injuries
Tearing or overstretching of tissues in the knee could lead to knee injuries.
How to treat them?
Minor Injuries
The most common method for treating minor sports injuries is RICE, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
- Rest: Avoid any activities that may be causing discomfort or pain for at least a day to protect the injured area.
- Ice: Apply ice to the injured area for 15 to 20 minutes, 4 to more times a day, to reduce swelling and pain. Wrap the ice with a towel before applying it on the skin, as applying ice directly on the skin is not advisable.
- Compression: Building pressure by wrapping an elastic bandage around the injured area can help reduce swelling, but make sure not to wrap it too tightly to avoid increased pain and cutting off circulation.
- Elevation: Use a pillow to elevate the injured area above the level of your heart to help decrease swelling.
Over-the-counter pain medicines such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen are helpful to manage pain.
Serious Injuries
- Surgery is required to fix tendon, ligament, and cartilage tears and readjust fractured bones.
- Physical Therapy involves rehabilitation to heal injured body parts.
- Immobilization is the act of limiting movement in the injured area with the help of medical devices like:
- Casts and splints to protect and support injured bones.
- Slings to restrict movements in the upper body, including arms and shoulders.