Common Musculoskeletal Sports Injuries

A young athlete who is passionate to practice daily or anyone (just like you) who exercises daily and wants to practice their favorite sports is more prone to injuries. Some injuries are easily manageable and you get to your feet quickly. But others might get complicated if not treated on time. So, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible in order to be healthy and fit.

The most common type of sports injuries is musculoskeletal injuries that can get worse. But if treated on time, you can easily manage these injuries and get back to your normal routine soon.

Let’s get started and know exactly what musculoskeletal injuries are and how to cope with them through sports injury rehabilitaion or even NDIS massages.

1. What is a musculoskeletal sports injury?

When you get injured and damage your musculoskeletal system (muscles, nerves, bones, ligaments, tendons) then it’s a musculoskeletal sports injury.

It’s very common to get hurt and damage your muscles, nerves, and bones during sports. So, it’s important to know about these injuries and how to prevent and treat them to get back into the game quickly.

You will get to know about 6 of these injuries in this article. Read on to know about common musculoskeletal injuries, how to treat them, and when it’s time to seek a doctor’s advice.

2. The most common types of musculoskeletal injuries

The most common type of sports injuries is sprains and strains. Let’s know what causes them.

A sprain is caused when you injure your ligaments due to stretching them too much. Ligaments are bands that connect muscles to joints. So, sprains wouldn’t allow you to move your muscles and joints normally. When you over-stretch, your ligaments tear or can’t get back to their normal shape. This causes pain and hindrance in normal movements. Usually, sprains can be treated at home. You have to take a lot of rest and allow your ligaments to get back to normal. But it’s preferred to go to your doctor and seek medical advice for proper treatment and quick healing.

A strain is an injury that is caused when you damage your tendons due to stretching them too much. Tendons connect muscles to bones. They are like springs that normally come back to their original shape. But if you stretch them too much then they deform or tear. Strains are also called “muscle pulls”. You literally feel like your muscle is pulled and you can’t move it properly. With proper medical attention, rest, and home remedies, you can get rid of painful strains.

3. Preventing musculoskeletal sports injuries

Prevention is always better than cure. But let’s face it: it’s very difficult to save or prevent yourself from sports injuries. That said, if you know the sport’s rules well and you’re active and warmed up then you can surely prevent injuries that are caused due to careless attitude.

Before starting the game, you should warm up your body to increase flexibility. You can do light exercise or start the game at a slow pace to warm up your body. Also, exercise daily to keep your body active. And if you aren’t practicing for days, then it’s best to start slowly and warm up yourself for several days.

You can also prevent severe and chronic injuries by taking complete rest in case you get minor injuries. This will help to regain your energy, heal your musculoskeletal system, and allow your body to get back to normal shape and energy.

Another important preventive measure is not to play when you’re feeling tired and fatigued. This surely helps to regain energy and flexibility. If you force your body to play when it isn’t ready, you’re more susceptible to getting injuries.

4. How to treat musculoskeletal sports injuries?

Here, you’ll know about the 6 most common sports injuries that are related to your musculoskeletal system.

5. Ankle sprain

An ankle sprain is experienced by players quite often. The ligaments of the ankles get damaged or torn due to sudden inwards movement of your foot. The upper ankle sprain is worse as it takes a lot of time to heal. Usually, in this case, the bone of the leg also gets damaged.

You can ease the pain and heal the injury by following exercises recommended by your therapist. Further, if you feel that the swelling isn’t going away and the pain is increasing then you should visit the doctor.

6. Hamstring strain

The hamstring is a set of 3 muscles in the back of your thighs. These muscles can get strained due to sudden pull of leg during g kicking, moving leg fastly, or falling forwards.

Hamstring strain takes a lot of time to heal as the muscles get pulled. You should take proper rest and follow exercises and medicines according to your therapist’s and doctor’s prescription.

7. Groin pull

Inner thigh muscles or groin can get strained because of sudden side-to-side movements. A groin pull is most common in hockey and football.

You should try home remedies along with exercises and medicines to get better. It will take time so you’ve to be patient and take a lot of rest.

8. Knee injury

Knee injury is one of the most severe injuries. It is caused when the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) gets torn or pulled. ACL connects leg bone to the knee. If the ACL gets broken completely then it takes a lot of time to heal.

You should always see your doctor ASAP if you experience a knee injury. Proper treatment and rest can surely speed up the healing process.

9. Shin splints

Shin splints are caused by pulling the muscles of the lower legs. It can be caused if you get into high training exercises or run too fast.

You can ease your shin splints and heal quickly by following your doctor’s instructions and taking proper care with home remedies as well.

10. Tennis elbow

Repeated movements of the elbow can tear the elbow tendons causing swelling and pain. Tennis elbow, as the name says, is mostly experienced by tennis players as they move their elbow repeatedly.

Tennis elbow can get healed with proper care and medicines quickly.

11. Laser treatment for recovery

Want to know a modern and effective technique to help get better quickly? It’s laser pain therapy that will solve your injury problems safely and soundly.

A laser beam is directed by an expert doctor to the injured area. It helps to heal, reduce swelling, and pain. Laser therapy is commonly used alongside physiotherapy in a sports injury rehabilitation programme. This is particularly done for athletes in order to reduce their time off-field due to an injury. Laser therapy surely gives you quick relief from pain and you’ll be back on your feet in no time.

12. PRICE therapy to get rid of minor sports injuries

Have you heard of the PRICE method to ease and heal sports injuries? Actually, this method helps reduce swelling and accelerate the healing process. Because when there’s excessive swelling, it can hinder the recovery process. Let’s know about this method:

• P- protect from other injuries and pain. For this, you can use crutches and splints to protect your injury.
• R- restrict activity and movement. Better to take as much rest as you can. It heals the injury quickly as the body gets time.
• I- icing the injured area. Icing is a miracle anti-inflammatory method that has no side effects. Better to do icing after every 2 hours.
• C- compression application. Use compressors to get rid of pain and accelerate healing.
• E- Elevate the injured part of the body above your heart. Elevation increases the blood flow and decreases the swelling.

13. When do you need medical attention?

You’re tough and you can handle minor injuries but you should also know when to visit your doctor in order to avoid chronic injuries. Here are a few signs that it’s time to visit your doctor and follow the prescription to get better quickly.

• If there’s too much swelling and it won’t go away.
• If the color of skin changes. Your skin color will turn purplish in case of bruising. But if you see that the skin color is changing far more than normal bruising then you should be concerned.
• If you feel that you can’t move your joints in a normal way and they seem deformed.
• If you can’t move your arm or leg normally.
• If you feel that your bone is damaged.

14. Takeaway

Musculoskeletal sports injuries occur when you get a sprain and damage to your muscles, nerves, bones, tendons, and ligaments. These injuries can get worse if not treated properly. So read above about the few most common musculoskeletal injuries and get rid of them to be a part of your favorite sports again.