Dillon Lee
M. Totherow English 3- Block 2
25 March 2013
Common Sports Injuries Sports injuries are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. Some are from accidents; others can result from poor training practices or improper gear. Some people get injured when they are not in proper condition. Not warming up or stretching enough before you play or exercise can also lead to injuries. Sports related injuries can affect the life of any athlete in a variety of ways. The most common injuries that occur in sports are muscle pulls or strains. This injury can happen to any muscle in the body. It can happen no matter how you warm up or cool down. An athlete can suffer this by overuse, fatigue, or just taking a fall. Athletes cannot really avoid this injury but the best way to prevent this injury from happening is to get your muscles on a regular routine. If an athlete pulls or strains a muscle the best treatment for this would be to rest it and apply ice to it for the first few days. Then when the pulled muscle is tolerable the athlete should start stretching it and getting it back on a regular routine. Katie Hodges said “if you do not stop playing when you pull or strain a muscle you may end up tearing the muscle causing you to be out for a long period of time.” She strained her ACL playing soccer and didn’t tell her coach that she had done it. She kept playing and practicing on the strained muscle, and she took a fall in a game and completely tore her ACL. This is causing her to be out for at least one year due to surgery and having to rebuilding strength in her leg. After six months she is still to this day going through physical therapy (Hodges). One of the most common injuries that tennis players, baseball pitchers, and weight lifters have is tennis elbow (Cell Health Make Over). Tennis elbow is a form of tendonitis that is derived from swelling and tenderness on and around the tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle (small bony part on the outside of your elbow). These tendons are located in your forearm and are used for extension of your wrist and fingers. An athlete can prevent this injury by doing wrist curls, flexing the wrist forward while holding a light dumbbell, and reverse wrist curls. One can also simply squeeze a soft rubber tennis ball. Tennis elbow treatment is most often successful. The most important part of treatment is tendon rest. A long rest from aggravating activity allows the small tears in the tendon to heal. Depending on how severe your condition is, you may need to rest your tendon for weeks to months. Surgery is a last resort if other treatment is not helpful. The most common injury that runners and soccer players get is called shin splints (Bird). Shin splints are injuries to the front of the outer leg. While the exact cause is not known, shin splints seem to result from inflammation due to injury of the tendon and adjacent tissues in the front of the outer leg. To prevent from getting shin splints one should wear shoes with an arch support to prop up the foot and limit excessive pronation pull on the tendons. To heal this injury the athlete should just rest the shins until they are tolerable. A sprained ankle is another common injury that occurs during sports. Most common ankle sprain is when the foot is twisted, and rolls to the outside and sprains the support ligaments on the outside of the ankle. To prevent from spraining the ankle athletes should jog for two to three minutes before their event. Also wear shoes that are specifically for one’s foot type. R.I.C.E is the best way to treat a sprained ankle. When the ankle is tolerable the athlete should start range of motions and strengthening exercises. Sports injury treatment comes in a variety of forms and athletes are always looking for new ways to get themselves back training and competing as quickly as possible. When at home and one cannot go to a specialist or someone that deals with injuries on a daily base,