Top 10 Common Sports Injuries Treated with Physiotherapy
You may experience restricted mobility and physical function if you develop a sports injury. These adverse effects can affect your daily life, hindering your ability to go through your daily routine comfortably. As a result, sports injuries may affect your overall quality of life. Hence, there is a need for sports injury physiotherapy.
Sports injuries refer to injuries to the body, during exercise or athletic activities. They may occur due to overuse, misuse, or trauma to the bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. Sports injuries may be acute or chronic. Acute sports injuries happen suddenly, due to specific incidents. Chronic sports injuries, on the other hand, are injuries that develop gradually over time, due to repetitive stress, overuse, and other factors.
Sports physiotherapy is concerned with preventing sports injuries, rehabilitating, and improving athletic performance. Therefore, if you are suffering from acute or chronic sports injuries, you should consider undergoing treatment at Vira Physiotherapy.
Who Can Benefit From Sports Physiotherapy?
Anyone can suffer from sports injuries, due to fitness issues, lack of proper protective equipment, collision during contact sports, etc. Therefore, sports physiotherapy benefits several people, regardless of age or gender. Examples of individuals that can benefit from sports physiotherapy include:
- Athletes (Professional, amateur, and youth athletes)
- Normal people recovering from sports injuries
- Fitness enthusiasts
- People recovering from orthopedic surgeries
- People suffering from chronic conditions
- People who have undergone surgery affecting their mobility or physical function
- Senior citizens trying to stay fit and healthy
- People trying to avoid surgical procedures
- People who want to improve their overall quality of life.
Top 10 Common Sports Injuries Treated with Physiotherapy
Several types of sports injuries can affect any part of your body. Top 10 common types of sports injuries include:
Rotator Cuff Injuries
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that hold the shoulder joint in place, enabling the movement of the arms and shoulder. You may injure or damage the muscles and tendons in the rotator cuff during sporting activities. Examples of rotator cuff injuries you may suffer while playing sports include partial or total rotator cuff tears, tendinitis, impingement syndrome, tendinosis, etc.
Rotator cuff injuries may cause severe pain, weakness, reduced range of motion, and even reduce your overall quality of life. However, sports physiotherapy can help treat and manage rotator cuff injuries with non-invasive techniques.
Muscle Strain
Muscles are soft tissues that support your organs and enable movement and several physical functions. However, you may injure your muscles while participating in your favorite sporting activity. A muscle strain occurs when a muscle is stretched beyond its limit till it is overstretched or torn. Muscle strains may occur during sports due to sudden movements, trauma or excessive force to the muscle, and overuse.
A strained muscle is painful, stiff, and sore and can restrict your ability to move and perform other physical activities. However, physiotherapy can assess, diagnose, treat, and manage a muscle strain.
Ligament Sprain
A ligament is a strong, flexible, and fibrous band of connective tissues that attaches bone to bone at a joint. Ligaments hold structures together and keep them stable. However, you may damage or injure your ligaments during sports. A ligament sprain occurs when the ligaments are overstretched or torn, due to sudden twisting, falls, and traumatic impact.
Ligament sprains commonly occur in the ankle, wrist, knee (ACL or MCL), and shoulder. If you sprain your ligament, you may experience pain and tenderness around the joint, swelling and bruising, and a limited range of motion. Sports physiotherapy in Edmonton, AB, can treat and manage ligament sprains.
Tendonitis
Tendons are fibrous tissues that attach the muscles to the bones and other structures. Tendons ensure that you can move your bones and other structures. They also absorb impact to prevent muscle injuries. However, tendons can also become damaged or injured, especially during sports. Tendonitis is a condition that occurs due to the inflammation, irritation, and swelling of the tendons from overuse, repetitive strain, or sudden injury. There are several types of tendonitis that you may develop while engaging in sports. These include Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, etc.
Tendonitis causes pain and tenderness around the affected joint. It can also restrict your mobility and range of motion, making it difficult to perform some activities. Physiotherapists can treat and manage tendonitis with several non-invasive techniques.
Dislocation
A dislocation occurs when the bones in a joint are forced out of their natural position due to sudden impact, falls, and sudden forceful movements. The most common joints that may get dislocated during sports include the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, finger, and ankle. Dislocations cause severe pain and swelling in the joint. You may also suffer bruising, limited range of motion, and deformity if you have suffered a dislocation. Physiotherapy can help restore the dislocated bones to their natural position and manage other negative effects of dislocation.
Concussion
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that occurs due to a violent blow to the head or sudden impact to the body that causes the brain to shift from its natural position and move around rapidly in the skull. You may develop a concussion while playing contact sports, such as football, rugby, or combat sports.
Concussions can cause headaches, memory loss, loss of consciousness, nausea, blurred vision, mood changes, etc. If left untreated, concussion symptoms can worsen and lead to other complications such as brain damage or even death. Physiotherapy can provide concussion management to treat and manage the effects of concussions.
Bursitis
Bursae are fluid-filled thin sacs between bones, muscles, and surrounding soft tissues that act as cushions. Bursae absorb pressure in some joints and reduce the friction between moving parts in the joints. However, excess pressure on a bursa from overuse during sports may cause it to become irritated and inflamed, causing it to swell and lead to bursitis.
Bursitis causes severe pain and limits one’s range of motion. This condition may occur in the shoulder, knee, elbow, hip, ankle, and heel. Physiotherapy can treat and manage bursitis, relieving pain and discomfort.
Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Therefore, this condition also affects athletes, especially those whose sports require repetitive movements, twisting, bending, and heavy lifting. Causes of lower back pain in athletes include poor core stability, sciatica, herniated discs, muscle or ligament strain, muscle imbalances, etc. Lower back pain causes severe discomfort and limits mobility and physical function. Physiotherapy can treat and manage lower back pain in athletes by addressing the root cause of the condition.
Fracture
A bone fracture is a break or cracks in the bone. This condition can occur during sports, due to stress, excessive force, or other underlying medical conditions. If you suffer a fracture during sports, you may experience severe pain and discomfort, swelling and bruising at the injury site, and restricted mobility and function. Physiotherapy in Edmonton, AB can promote faster healing of the broken bone and restore strength, mobility, and physical function.
Plantar Fasciitis
The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissues that connects the heel bones to the toes. This connective tissue may become inflamed, due to excessive stress, repetitive use, and strain from overuse, improper footwear, weight, etc. The inflammation of the plantar fascia leads to plantar fasciitis, one of the most common causes of heel pain affecting athletes. Plantar fasciitis may cause severe pain, tightness, and tenderness in the heel, restricting mobility and physical function. However, physiotherapy can help treat and manage plantar fasciitis by providing pain relief and improving mobility.
Conclusion
Sports injuries have several negative effects. They cause pain and discomfort and restrict mobility and physical function. Individuals suffering from sports injuries may find it increasingly difficult to perform daily activities and participate in their favorite sports. These negative effects of sports injuries can reduce one’s overall quality of life. Physiotherapy provides a solution to sports injuries. This non-invasive treatment option treats and manages sports injuries, restoring mobility and physical functions to affected individuals, and improving their overall quality of life. Therefore, you should consider undergoing physiotherapy at Vira Physiotherapy if you suffer from sports injuries.