5 Common Injuries as a Result of Exercise
Contact sports (and other sports) often leave athletes with injuries they suffer the consequences of long after the injury occurred. Lingering problems and pain are common and understanding the mechanics of the injury is important in order to correct the compensatory changes your body had to make after such an injury that may contribute or increase your risk for additional injuries.
1. Sprains
Sprains are the result of stress and the overuse during a sudden increase in activities or during prolonged activities or just changing your equipment or surface you train on, and this affects ligaments, such and the ankles, knees and other joints. Even non-athletes are likely to experience a sprained ankle, and the sudden pain that comes along with it. Continuous stress or sprains can weaken an area making it more susceptible to more serious injuries like fractures, muscle tears and other soft tissue injuries. These injuries have been known to cut athletic careers short and sometimes years later result in chronic pain, often in an area seemingly unrelated to the injured area. .
2. Stress Fractures
Stress fractures can be anything from severe bruising on bone tissue to small cracks. They are common on weight bearing areas like ankles, feet, heels and wrists. These are not all that dangerous when allowed the time and rehabilitation needed to heal properly.
Ill-managed stress fractures can evolve into larger fractures that take much longer to heal or never truly do. This has been known to lead to chronic discomfort that means the area’s movement becomes limited where the stress fracture originated.
3. Patella Dislocation
Dislocating your patella, your kneecap, can lead to long standing symptoms. This injury is common in any sport that calls for stop and start action along with frequent changes in direction, like racket sports and basketball. The knees take a lot of strain in these and other sports.
When the patella becomes dislocated once, it slips out of place more easily after the first occurrence. This puts patients in danger of experiencing repeated dislocations which can become a painful and immobilising problem.
4. Meniscus Tear
Knees are exceptionally precious to a human being’s ease of movement. They are delicate, and meniscus tears are common. The meniscus is the bit of cartilage that acts as a cushion between the thigh and shin bone. When it tears it may give off a distinctive “pop” noise from the knee joint, this is also associated with severe pain, swelling, difficulty bending or straightening the knee and sometimes require surgery. If left untreated, the torn meniscus can lead to the degeneration of the entire joint and sacrifice joint mobility. Age naturally weakens our meniscus, this coupled with high intensity and strenuous exercises increases our risks for injury.
It is best to take measures to rehabilitate the knee to ensure as much longevity from the injured joint as possible, your biokineticist can play a critical role here
5. Sciatica
Commonly known as lower back pain, sciatica is identified as pain, tingling, numbness and or weakness in the lower back all the way down to the back of the legs. Treatment often focuses on relieving the symptoms however, The World Health Organization recommends conservative and exercise therapy as your first line of treatment for back pain.
For more information and biokinetic services, contact Jacky Hattingh.