Sports injuries: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Regular physical exercise strengthens health and gives a sense of satisfaction, but people who deal with them regularly, there is a risk of injury, in particular, caused by physical overload.

Participation in sports always implies a risk of injury. Most injuries occur not only in athletes, but can also occur in everyday life.

In most cases, depending on the mechanism of production, there is a trauma of overexertion, dull trauma and acute tears (stretching) of soft tissues.

Overexertion is the most common cause of sports trauma; it can injure muscles, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, articular bags, fascia and bones in any combination. The risk of injury from overexertion depends on the complex of interactions between human and external factors. Human factors include muscle weakness and inelasticity, weakness of the joints, previous injuries, fragility of the bones and asymmetry of the limbs. External factors include mistakes during training (for example, exercises without sufficient time for rest, too heavy load, training one group of muscles without training the muscles-antagonists, excessive number of identical movements), environmental conditions (for example, excessive running time on treadmills or on the street) and the characteristics of the simulators (for example, unusual or unusual movements, as, for example, on the simulator for elliptical movements). Runners are most often injured if the intensity or duration of the race increases too fast. Swimmers are not prone to injury from overexertion, but there is a specific risk of injury to the shoulder joints that provide the basic movement.

Dull athletic injury causes concussion, brain concussion, fractures and other injuries. The mechanism of such an injury usually involves power collisions with other athletes or objects (for example, when striking at the feet in football or throwing them overboard in hockey), falls and directed shots (for example, in boxing and martial arts).

Dislocations and tears (sprains) usually occur with occasional strong stress, most often when running, especially with a sudden change of direction. Such injuries are also common in strength training, when a person quickly drops or sharply lifts a load instead of moving smoothly and slowly.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Sports Injuries

Trauma always causes pain of varying intensity. Symptoms may be absent or include any combination of soft tissue edema, hyperemia, increased local temperature, certain soreness, ecchymosis and loss of mobility in any combination.

The diagnosis is established on the history and medical examination. The circumstances of the injury should describe the movements and physical stresses during activity preceding the injury, establish the time of onset of pain, the extent and duration of it before, during and after physical activity. Patients can perform additional research methods (for example, radiography, CT, MRI, bone scanning), as well as consult a narrow specialist.

Treatment of sports injuries

Immediate treatment of most acute sports injuries includes rest, ice, a pressure bandage and the elevated position of the injured limb. Peace prevents the increase in the amount of injury. Ice (or ice packs that need to be used properly, as they can damage the skin) causes vasoconstriction and reduces swelling, inflammation, and tenderness of soft tissues. The pressure bandage and the elevated position of the limb reduce soreness and swelling. Elastic bandage can be applied around a hermetically sealed packet of ice in order to keep it in the right place. Bandage should not be imposed too tightly to not cause a violation of blood circulation. Ice and elevated position of the injured limb should be used periodically for 24 hours after acute injury.

For anesthesia, NSAIDs are usually used. However, if the pain persists> 72 hours, you should consult a specialist. With constant pain, oral or injectable forms of glucocorticoids are sometimes prescribed; they are prescribed only by a doctor and only if necessary, because glucocorticoids can delay the restoration of soft tissues and sometimes weaken the damaged tendons and muscles.

Usually injured athletes should avoid the specific physical activity that caused the injury, until complete recovery. However, in order to reduce the likelihood of re-injury, they can engage in cross-training (i.e., perform various similar exercises that can not cause re-injury or pain). Return to full activity should be phased. Athletes should be sent to a phased program to restore flexibility, strength and endurance. They also need to feel psychologically prepared to start the session in full force.

Prevention of sports injuries

By themselves, physical exercises help prevent injury, because tissues become more resilient and resistant to the external effects that they experience during different activities. At the beginning of the exercise should be of low intensity to strengthen weakened muscles, tendons and ligaments. The general warm-up raises temperature, plasticity, force and stability of muscles to traumas; it also enhances performance by improving mental and physical fitness. Stretching lengthens the muscles, therefore, they can develop more strength, although performing warm-up exercises with light weight has the same effect. Cooling can prevent dizziness and fainting after exercising aerobic exercise, helps to remove metabolic products, such as lactic acid, from the muscles and bloodstream. Cooling also helps slowly and gradually lower the heart rate to a _resting heart rate , which is important for patients with cardiac dysfunction. Cooling does not prevent muscle pain, caused by damage to muscle fibers, in the days that follow.

Injuries due to excessive pronation (rotation of the foot inside while wearing weight) can be prevented with strengthening shoes or special orthoses (elastic or semi-rigid).