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If you’re a sports enthusiast, or even a sports player, chances are you’ve heard of advice to make sure you always have fun while playing but also keep yourself safe. The word “safe” is tricky to understand as it depends on the sport you’re playing, but the message is the same: you have to be wary of injuries that may turn an otherwise fun match into a horrifying inconvenience.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the growing popularity of sports activities also indicate that injuries related to sports are also on the rise, particularly among children and young adults. In fact, injuries from both unorganized and organized sports events account for an estimated 775,000 and 3.2 million visits to the emergency room each year for children 12 to 17 and 5 to 14 years, respectively. While you may be older than this age group, the risks of injuries are still particularly high in contact sports such as soccer, baseball, basketball, and football. Here are some injuries you may have to be wary of:
- An articular cartilage injury is an injury along the cartilage located at the ends of your bones. It’s frictionless, and it’s responsible for regulating smooth movement along our bones. Unfortunately, injuring these is discouraged as modern medicine has yet to find a way to replicate the previous appearance of these bones, and as such imperfect repairs can cause recurrent swelling and arthritis. If it’s possible to exercise regularly and keep off the extra pounds, then it’s recommended.
- A rotator cuff tear is a tear on the rotator cuff, which is an essential part of moving our shoulders. While these injuries are more likely to happen to people over 65, players who do a lot of improper form with shoulder movements are at risk of these injuries. If there’s an opportunity for you to properly train your shoulder muscles, do so.
- An Achilles tendon tear and hamstring injuries are common in the realm of sports, but treating them and recovering from them can take time. Operations related to the two injuries may be easy to conduct, but rehabilitation might take a lot more time.
- A groin strain isn’t a common type of injury for players, but this is likely to cause a lot of inconvenience. If you suffer a groin strain, chances are these can be recurring situations, and it can be quite a hassling thing for you in the long run. Avoiding this takes flexibility, and make sure you don’t neglect proper stretching before and after your workouts.
- An ACL tear might be common among athletes, and reconstructive surgeries are available should you get yourself injured, but if there’s an opportunity for you to avoid these extra costs, then do so. This can be done by proper calf, quad, and hamstring stretches and exercises. Sometimes these things seem to be “unnecessary,” but stretching all parts of your body properly before conducting exercises can spell the difference between a hassling injury and a comfortable time playing.
Conclusion
No matter how “perfect” you feel your form is, the risk of injuries and disabling accidents in a match are always evident for sports players that are very “into” the moment. Keeping yourself safe is a matter of being vigilant and alert of yourself, of others, and your surroundings at all times. The above tips may hopefully give you a heads up as to what injuries and accidents you should be wary of in order to avoid complications with your body and the sports you love.
