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What is Sports injury?
Sports injury refers to the injuries that occur during sports or exercises. Sports injuries are usual in the field of sports. An athlete can get injured during practice, training, or competition. Perhaps, there may not be any athlete who has not gotten injured during their sporting careers. Although coaches and trainers have been delving deeper to prevent such injuries, they have not been fully successful so far (sports injury centre are very helpful). However, such injuries are not limited to athletes. Factory workers get tennis elbow, painters get shoulder injuries, and even gardeners develop tendinitis, despite not participating in sports.
This topic focuses on the most common types of sports injuries, those affecting the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is the network of muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and other tissues that provides the body with stability and enables movement.
Sports injuries are divided into two broad categories
- Acute injuries: Acute injuries happen suddenly, like when a person falls, receives a blow, or twists a joint. Examples are sprains and dislocations.
- Chronic injuries: Chronic injuries usually develop gradually over time due to overuse of one area of the body. Common chronic injuries include shin splints and stress fractures.
Most Common Sports Injuries
- Broken bone: A broken bone/bone fracture can happen when a significant amount of sudden force is applied to a bone.
- Cartilage tear: Cartilage is a tough but flexible shock absorber that covers and protects the ends of certain bones. Cartilage injuries can occur in joints such as the knee and shoulder.
- Concussion: A concussion is a brain injury caused by a bump or blow to the head.
- Dislocation: Dislocation occurs when one end of a bone moves out of its normal position in a joint.
- Tendinitis: Tendinitis occurs when the tissues that connect muscles to bones (tendons) become inflamed. It is caused by repetitive movements over time. An example is jumper’s knee or patellar tendonitis.
- Sprains: A sprain occurs when a ligament stretches too much or tears. Ligaments link bones and stabilize joints. These injuries can be mild or severe, and they’re common in the ankle, knee, and wrist.
- Strains: A strain occurs when one overextends a muscle and it stretches or tears. Examples of strains are hamstring strain, back strain, and abdominal strain.
Also Read | Sports Biomechanics
How can Athletes prevent injuries?
Sports injuries can be prevented to a certain extent with proper research in this domain. There are many ways an athlete can prevent sports injuries.
- Developing a fitness plan that includes cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility. This will help in reducing the chance of injury.
- Alternate exercising of different muscle groups and exercising every other day i.e. mixing up the routine as the body needs a combination of cardiovascular (aerobic) exercises, strengthened training with weights or resistance, and flexibility.
- Not playing the same sport or doing the same activity year-round.
- Drinking plenty of water before, during, and after any exercise and staying hydrated throughout to prevent heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
- Listening to their body and not pushing too far. Resting when tired and stopping any physical activity that doesn’t feel right.
- Stretching before and after every workout/playing any sport. Stretching exercises improve the ability of muscles to contract and perform, reducing the risk of injury. Each stretch should start slowly until one reaches a point of muscle tension. Stretching should not be painful. One must aim to hold each stretch for up to 20 seconds.
- Using the right equipment or gear and wearing proper shoes that provide support. One must also make sure that they’re always in good condition.
- Learning the right techniques to play their sport.
- If one sustains a sports injury, he/she must make sure to participate in adequate rehabilitation before resuming strenuous activity.
Why is Exercise important?
Being physically active can improve brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of diseases, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve the ability to do everyday activities along with playing sports. Exercises play an important role in keeping athletes and every human being physically active and fit. Some of the benefits an athlete can acquire from exercises are given below.
- Reduced risks of injury
One of the biggest benefits that an athlete can gain from exercises and strength training is that it creates physiological changes in the muscle, connective tissues, and bones. To delve deeper, the bones increase in mineral density and become stronger over time. A strength increase in the connective tissue results in improved resilience and resistance to impact, and subsequently injuries.
- Increased strength
When an athlete works out regularly and undertakes a focused strength training program along with sports-specific drills, they can increase their power. This is the ability to exert force in the shortest amount of time. It is also commonly referred to as explosive strength.
- Better body composition
Better body composition is a must for all athletes to have healthy levels of body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass, with specific ratios and percentage requirements varying according to the nature of the sport. A suitable amount of lean body mass contributes to increased agility, quickness, and power, while reduced non-essential body fat improves cardiovascular and muscular endurance. By regular exercises and implementing strength training, it is possible to attain the most efficient balance of lean-to-fat mass and body composition.
- Faster Neuromuscular activation
Often one of the most overlooked benefits of exercises and strength training is neuromuscular activation. Neuromuscular activation is the process by which the brain sends signals to the muscle to recruit muscle fiber and activation patterns to perform a certain movement. The muscle reacts and sends feedback to the brain creating a loop. Over time, this process will allow the body to learn to optimize and improve such movements.
What are Sports Injury Centres?
Sports injury centres help in the rehabilitation process of athletes having sports injuries. The sports rehabilitation process helps to limit the extent of the injury of the athletes. The rehabilitation process also helps in reducing or reversing the impairment and functional loss, and further prevent, cure or eliminate the disability altogether.
Top 10 Sports Injury Centres in India
- Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi
- All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
- Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi
- Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai
- Indian Spinal Injuries Center, New Delhi
- The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Sports Injury Center, Jaipur
- Institute Of Sports & Physical Medicine, Kolkata
- Manipal Hospitals Dwarka, Delhi
- Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre, New Delhi
- Calcutta Sports Injury Centre, Kolkata
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