Sports injuries. Prevention and treatment

Many people can’t imagine their life without sports. Unfortunately, this activity is not only useful, but also often leads to damage to the limbs. Fractures, luxations and bruises can be mild or severe. In the latter case, they require serious rehabilitation. The treatment of sports injuries at Ladisten Clinic has been successfully carried out for more than 30 years already.

Causes of sports injuries

The causes of sports injuries may be very different, ranging from banal negligence and inexperience to consequences of performing complex tricks in professional sports. The most traumatic kinds are as follows:

• football;
• hockey;
• rugby;
• all kinds of martial arts;
• gymnastics.

Volleyball players, tennis players and swimmers are the least likely to get injuries. And what about the safest sports, chess is usually considered to be such.

More specifically, the “breakdowns” occur because of the following reasons:

• collisions in rugby;
• direct kicks in boxing, martial arts, wrestling;
• load on joints and muscles in gymnastics and cycling;
• falls and hits cause fractures and internal brain injuries.

Mortality statistics among sportsmen say that climbers, skydivers, boxers and high jumpers die more often. The first place in this rating goes to hang gliders: among them, every thousandth sportsman dies.

The causes of sports injuries have their own classification¹:

1.   Poor conditions during training, including weather;
2.   Violation of the doctor’s recommendations for sportsmen;
3.   Violation of discipline and rules by the sportsmen;
4.   Inadequate organization of exercises and competitions;
5.   Unreliable training place, training devices, sports equipment, uniforms and shoes.

Kinds of common injuries

The main kinds of injuries are fractures, luxations, sprains and bruises. In accordance with their localization, injuries can be divided into the following types:

• foot injuries. Runners and skiers suffer from tendon sprains. Metatarsal fractures are one of the common pathologies. As a rule, they happen if a heavy object falls on a leg;
• head injuries. These include internal brain injuries and bruises. They are common among boxers, racers, wrestlers and all people who practice martial arts;
• injuries of the elbow joint. This area is affected in case of everyone who actively move their arms. Tennis players, golfers often get inflammation of the elbow joint.
• shoulder injuries. Shot putters and bodybuilders are at high risk for shoulder luxations, muscle sprain and even fractures;
• ankle injuries. This is a common problem among footballers, volleyball and basketball players. In team matches, injuries are constantly occurring;
• hand injuries.  Luxations and sprains of the hand are common among rowers and basketball players. And in case of skiers and boxers, finger damage and torn ligaments are observed;
• spine injuries. The most dangerous kind of injury. Most often, these are found among gymnasts, divers and motorcycle racers.

Fractures of the lower and upper limbs take the leading position among all types of injuries. It is with this problem that patients come to Ladisten Clinic.

Nature of sports injuries

Sports “breakdowns” are divided by the severity and nature of the damage. Depending on the condition of the sportsman, there are such degrees of injuries²:

• light. Medical assistance is needed, but it doesn’t affect sporting activities and quality of life;
• moderate. A sportsman needs help that limits his activity;
• severe. Long-term treatment is necessary, the sportsman is forced to skip training and competitions.

Classification of sports injuries depending on the nature of the course:

• primary. Occurred for the first time;
• repeated. Damage to organs of the same area several times. This can lead to dangerous consequences;
• chronic. The consequence of rotating injuries. It develops gradually, especially if the load on the damaged area is continued;
• injuries from overload. Occur in case of regular loads on joints and limbs. This can cause ruptures, sprains and even fractures;
• acute. It occurs sharply, due to the influence of external factors – for example, a fracture.

Treatment of sports injuries

Researches show that more than a third of all sports injuries occur in case of improper treatment and rehabilitation after previous injuries³. Therefore, it is important to choose a good doctor and institution if you have faced such injury as a fracture, luxation or rupture of ligaments. The treatment of injuries at Ladisten Clinic is aimed at quick recovery, and its quality doesn’t suffer as well.

The steps for treating an injury include:

• First aid. For example, casting, surgical operation in case of an open fracture, etc.
• Recovery stage. This is the period when blood flow and nerve endings should be restored in damaged limb, motor activity should also be restored;
• Rehabilitation. Exercise therapy, massages and physiotherapy help further healing.

Peculiarities of recovery

Injuries during sports are often aggravated by psychological state. Indeed, sportsmen can’t live without movement. For professionals, the injury is fraught with a number of consequences: inability to participate in competitions, skipping training, inability to withstand competition, loss of previous skills. In difficult situations, a person is forbidden to practice sports. Therefore, the recovery stage should include support for psychological health.

Preventive measures

Treatment of sports injuries is not easy. They are best avoided. This can be done thanks to proper prevention:

• proper load distribution and normal training intensity;
• purchase of shoes in special stores. Apart from that, there should be one special pair of shoes for running and another one for doing exercises in the gym;
• check of equipment before each training;
• initial warm-up before running and strength training;
• proper nutrition aimed at strengthening bones and muscles.

An important role is played by preventive examination carried out by doctors once every six months. This can identify diseases that may lead to injuries in the early stages. Prevention is always better than treatment. It is important to remember this before each training session.

Sourses

¹Y. V. Volkov, 1973; Z. S. Mironova, 1976

²Leonov Sergey Vladimirovich. “Experiencing Sports Injury” National Psychological Journal, no. 2, 2012, p. 136-143.

³Injury in sports: problems and development prospects. V.N. Platonov. National University of Education and Sports of Ukraine, 2006.