Knee injuries

How to Minimize the Risk of Sports Injury?

July 25, 2022March 28, 2024
by Eva Hospital

There is no denying that injuries, big or small, are part and parcel of a sports person’s life. However, by making conscious efforts towards its prevention, we can minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, which includes injuries to your bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and connective tissues.

Factors that can increase the risk of sports injuries

Medical studies in sports show that the rate of injury in athletes may vary from 10% to 65%. This is why identifying possible risk factors for injury and plugging those gaps is required to lower the odds. Now, what are the factors that make you more prone to sports injuries?

Factors that increase injury risks for a sportsperson

Internal

Age
Gender
Body composition
Physical fitness
Anatomy
Skill level
Psychological factors

External risk factors

Type of sports
Protective equipment
Environment

Inciting event

Sports situation
Athlete behaviour
Whole body biomechanics
Joint/tissue biomechanics

7 tips to prevent sports injuries

Wrong techniques and posture:

Wrong techniques used during a sport can lead to frequent injuries. Learn the right trick to do a maneuver. Until then, you are better off refraining from doing it.

Wrong equipment & gear:

Along with wrong technique and posture, wrong equipment and gear can also lead to injuries. Use only recommended and medically approved safety gear to lower risks of sports injury.

Rest:

While a lot of emphasis is given on training, the merit of resting is often undermined. Your body remains, repairs and recharges during rest and you must have enough of that to prevent injuries.

Warn-up and cool down:

Warming-up and cooling down have to be part of your training routine. The body has to gradually pick-up the intensity and come out of it and should not be sent into a state of shock by sudden motions.

Strength building & flexibility:

Your training programme must focus on strength building as well as flexibility. This would cut down the risk of sports injuries.

Work every muscle in your body:

You are as strong as your weakest muscle. This is why each muscle group in the body must be worked for higher levels of strength.

Stay calm:

Sports ignite a rush of emotions in all of us. However, your health and safety is directly linked to the calm and composure you are able to maintain during this activity. You can be extremely fierce as a sportsperson while staying completely calm.. Don’t mistake excitement with real skill.

Eva Hospital

Top 6 Injuries For Male Soccer Players

July 26, 2021March 29, 2024
by Eva Hospital

Injuries become quite inevitable in the game of football as it is a contact sport. Sports injuries adversely affect a player’s career. Unfortunately, most injuries occur during matches.

Broadly, the injuries can be classified into two categories- Acute and cumulative. An acute injury occurs due to a sudden impact while the cumulative ones are a result of repetitive stress to a particular set of muscles, joints, or tendons.

The latter develops over a period of time whereas acute trauma occurs due to a fall, twist, or collision with another player.

Top 6 Injuries for Male Soccer Players

Due to the nature of the sport, most mishaps occur in the lower extremities. There are definite trends for the kinds of injuries that male players are more likely to get.

Studies concluded that the following type of trauma was among the most encountered mishaps for footballers. These are the injuries to the quadriceps and hamstring muscles, the heel, the foot, the ankle, and the knee.

Here, we have listed the top 5 injuries for male soccer players.

Ankle Sprain

Cause: Occurs when the foot gets twisted unnaturally beyond its normal range of motion. This makes the ligaments around the ankle area stretch beyond the limit and tear, spraining the ankle.

Treatment: Usual line of treatment is RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevate) protocol. However, care should be taken to heal it thoroughly before resuming practice, preventing recurrent ankle sprains. Consult a sports injury specialist to assess the severity and extent of the damage.

Knee Injuries

This involves tears in ligaments that support the knee joint. It creates stress on the ACL or anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus.

Cause: There is plenty of kicking and running action during the game of football. Also, players suddenly stop & change direction. When the rotational stress on the ligament exceeds its capacity ( resilience), it tears or strains.

Concussion

As player collisions are pretty common in football, concussion is a common injury that happens while playing matches. These mishaps seldom occur during practice though.

Plantar Fasciitis:

Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation of thick connecting tissues( ligaments) which connect the heel bone with the toes.

It causes pain in the heel and along the bottom of the foot which is most severe when you get up and put the feet on the ground.

Cause: It is a cumulative injury generally. Ice packs, orthotics, and massage include the line of treatment.

Sports Hernia

A sports hernia or the Groin pull is a muscle-tendon injury in the pelvic/ hip area. As the anatomy of this part is pretty complex, doctors generally club all injuries in this part of the body as Sports Hernia or Athletic Pubalgia

Cause: The muscles on the lower part of the pelvis and inner thigh get pulled beyond their stretching capacity. Usually happens while running, squatting, jumping, or changing direction abruptly.

“Usually when the players do not warm up before starting the game of soccer or do not perform a cool-down after playing, they become prone to injuries such as groin pull,” says Sports Injury specialist Dr. Tanveer Singh Bhutani.

Warm-up and cool-down are very important in the high-energy & movement soccer game.

Hamstring Tendinopathy :

The set of muscles & tendons along the back of the thigh are the Hamstrings. They aid in the lifting or rotating of legs and bending the knees. Hamstring injuries include a pull or a tear.

Cause: hamstring pull occurs when a player overextends these sets of muscles and tissues in the hamstring. The tear or rupture is more severe and painful. It should be attended to immediately.

At Eva Hospital, Ludhiana, we believe that most injuries can be prevented in the game of soccer by diligently following the rules of the game. Sportspersons get hurt due to player contact in the majority of cases.

There are prohibitions on aggression, tackling (especially slide tackling), and charging, which should be stringently enforced. That way we can minimize sporting mishaps and trauma to a player and eventually the team.

Contact Eva – Ortho Centre Ludhiana for a consultation now.

Sports Injuries Treatment

Sports Injuries – Types, Treatment & Prevention

June 26, 2021December 12, 2023
by Eva Hospital

Sports professionals often get injured in a practice session or during a match. They are prone to different types of musculoskeletal injuries commonly referred to as sports injuries. Most athletic injuries can be broadly divided into three main categories- Acute, Overuse, and Chronic.

Acute injuries are usually the result of direct trauma to the site in the last 4-5 days. Overuse injuries are caused by repetitive stress to a set of muscles or ligaments & occur over time. Chronic are those that have been nagging for a long time, like a few months.

Common Types of Sports Injuries

Various sports injuries present varied symptoms & complications. The most common types of sports injuries include:

Knee injuries: While practicing stretching, the tissues near the knee may tear pull. It can cause a knee injury.

Sprains: Sprain occurs due to overstretching or tearing of ligaments. Ligaments are bits of tissue that connect two bones to each other in a joint.

Strains: Sportsmen often suffer from strained muscles. These are similar to sprains in that they are also caused by tearing – of tendons or muscles. tendons are thick, fibrous strings of tissue that connect bone to muscle. They are often mistaken for sprains.

Fractures: Sports personalities might suffer from small to severe fractures or broken bones.

Achilles tendon rupture: Achilles tendon rupture is pretty common as well. The Achilles tendon is the biggest tendon above the ankle(at the back). It may rupture while playing a game, resulting in severe pain in the foot and difficulty in walking.

Rotator cuff injury: The rotator cuff is the set of muscles that keep the shoulder moving in all directions. External trauma, as well as overuse, can cause inflammation or tears in these muscles and weaken the rotator cuff.

Tennis/Golf Elbow: Also known as lateral epicondylitis, it is a common injury for golfers, cricketers & tennis players.

Dislocations: When a bone gets forced out of its socket, especially in a joint, it is called dislocation. It is seen very commonly in active sports. It can be painful and cause inflammation & weakness.

Also Read: Achilles Tendon Injuries- Symptoms, Causes & Recovery

Treatment

While some sports injuries may be mild, others may require immediate treatment or emergency care. Indications of such conditions are:-

Excessive inflammation at the injury site and extreme distress.
Observable lumps or similar abnormalities.
Clicking the joint while moving.
Inability to put weight on the joint.

Strains are sprains are treated first with the RICE method- Rest, Ice, compression, and elevation for the first day and a half.

This is okay for all mild sports and provides relief from pain. Tears also require medical care and sometimes surgery as well.

A fracture in the bone is treated by setting the bone in a plaster.

Sports Injury Specialists are more qualified to treat injuries for sportsmen based on the intensity of the game, projected time of recovery, and personal choices.

A compound fracture may require resetting the bone back to its proper placement in the body.

In complete fractures, the bone breaks in pieces and may penetrate the skin. Both the cases require immediate action.

Commonly the athletes tend to break the bones in ankles, wrists, ribs, hips, or feet. The most crucial part is casting and restricting movement.

Sports Injuries Prevention

Although some injuries cannot be prevented as they are part of playing a sport, there are many ways to prevent severe injuries and tears.

Warm-up & Stretching: warm muscles are flexible and more immune to injury. A proper and long warm-up and stretching exercises go a long way in preventing mishaps on the field.
Follow the proper techniques: Always follow the instructions of your coach. Learn the right way to move during the sport or training.
Cooldown: Cooling down is as important as warming up. Do the same stretches that you did, in the beginning, to cool down.
Use Proper Equipment: using unsuitable, wrong sized or substandard sporting equipment will make you prone to injury and away from your favorite game.
Use the Right Gear: Especially it applies to footwear. Wear the right shoes. You must possess the proper athletic protection. Tennis, football and jogging shoes are all different, for example. Also, take care of the size.
Go Slow and Steady: do not overdo things in enthusiasm. The shortcut might land you in a cast or a bandage when you have to take a forced rest.
Heal completely: after an injury do not be in a rush to start training. Wait till you heal completely. Also, build up the previous level gradually after an injury.

Dr. Tanveer Singh Bhutani, sports injury specialist and an orthopedic surgeon in Ludhiana with very high expertise. If you or your friend is having any of the above symptoms or sporting injury, consult the superspecialist at Eva Hospital. Book your appointment now.

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