Playing sports is an activity that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. One of the world’s most popular sports today is football (or soccer as the Americans call it). It is estimated that 265 million people play the sport regularly. This equates to approximately 4% of the world’s population. People play sports to stay fit and healthy and many people enjoy the competitive element that comes with team sports games, such as football or hockey. If you play sports regularly, you will be fully aware that it is easy to pick up a range of injuries. Whilst doing warm-up exercises and stretches can reduce the likelihood of some injuries, it is a fact that collisions and falls often happen during a sporting event and these can result in a range of injuries. This article describes a range of common sporting injuries, ranging from minor to more serious, with information on how they can be treated.
Sprains
Sprains are one of the most common injuries that come from taking part in a wide range of sporting activities. A sprain is caused when a ligament in the body (often in the legs or arms) is stretched or slightly torn because of over-exertion. Such injuries can be more common if the person has not done adequate warming-up exercises before taking part in the sport. See here for some of the most effective warmup exercises that can be undertaken to reduce the likelihood of experiencing sprains. If you experience a sprain when taking part in sports, the best solution is to follow the RICE method of treatment and contact a Naples knee pain specialist. This is where you take rest, put ice on the affected area, use compression at the site of injury, and elevate the area that has been affected.
Fractures
Fractures are a more serious type of sporting injury that often require the injured player to seek medical treatment. A fracture occurs when a bone in the body is broken. This is often a direct result of sustaining a fall or a collision with another player, which has sufficient impact to fracture the bone at the site of the collision or fall. Fractured toes or stress fractures may not require medical treatment – simply rest and ensure that no weight is placed on the affected area. However, most other fractures will require professional treatment. Often, a fracture is immobilized by using a splint, which seeks to keep the bone in the correct placement to heal it properly. In other cases, a cast may be made around the affected area to serve the same purpose.
Serious Injuries
It is an unfortunate fact that serious sporting injuries can occur from time to time. One example of such an injury is when sports people sustain serious spinal injuries. This type of injury is relatively common in horse riding when a rider falls from their horse and lands in a manner that damages the spinal cord. Such injuries require immediate medical attention. Full immobilization of the spine will take place before the patient is taken to a healthcare facility to receive spinal cord injury treatment. Injuries to the spinal cord should always be treated as a medical emergency, as they have the potential to cause permanent paralysis. Thankfully, modern medicine now offers a range of advanced treatments to treat serious spinal damage. This may even involve injecting stem cells into the affected area to reduce inflammation and ease the pain. As recovery takes place the patient may need a course of physiotherapy to regain full movement.
