While debates about fitness may rage, around 232 million Americans play some kind of sport or otherwise engage in physical activity during an average year. Granted, that includes people who play basketball every weekend and people who might play volleyball once a year.
Yet, with so many people participating, the odds of suffering one of the common sports injuries go up. Of course, that does beg the question:
What are the most common sports injuries?
If you’re curious, keep reading for our guide to the kinds of sports injuries you’re most likely to see or even suffer.
Table of Contents
Joint Injuries
Sports and even regular exercise involve a lot of repetitive actions. More to the point, most sports happen on hard surfaces. That combination makes joint injuries not only common but predictable. Some routine joint injuries include:
- Tennis Elbow
- Runner’s Knee
- Jumper’s Knee
- Rotator Cuff injuries
In many cases, you see swelling, although injuries to the cartilage, ligaments, and tendons can happen. Treatments can range from rest to anti-inflammatory medications and surgery.
Head and Neck Injuries
Head and neck injuries are some of the more common types of injuries in dangerous sports. Dangerous sports typically include any kind of contact sport, such as football, boxing, and hockey. Since these sports often include hard impacts or intentionally connecting with the head, injuries like concussions, sprains, or even bone dislocations.
Treatments can vary substantially based on the injury. For example, the main treatment for a concussion is simple rest. For neck injuries, the treatments may include:
- Rest
- Icing the area
- Medications
- Physical therapy
- Surgery
You can head over here for more about neck pain treatment.
Groin Pull
Playing sports often comes with a lot of side-to-side movements. For example, you might move laterally to catch a basketball pass or to throw a football. Unfortunately, these lateral movements increase the odds of a groin pull.
While painful, groin pulls will generally resolve themselves. All most people need is a bit of rest, icing, and judicious stretching exercises after a few days.
Shin Splints
Most sports require a fair amount of endurance. One of the best kinds of endurance training is running. Unfortunately, a lot of running can also lead to shin splints.
Shin splints happen when the muscles and connective tissues around your shin become inflamed. While shin splints can produce a lot of pain, it is a temporary affliction in most cases. A bit of rest will typically solve the problem.
Common Sports Injuries
To some extent, what qualifies as common sports injuries depends on the sports you play. If you participate in contact sports, for example, you run a fairly high risk of head and neck injuries.
If you play basketball or tennis, you run a much higher risk of things like shin splints and groin pulls. However, almost anyone who regularly participates in sports can face a joint injury, such as tennis elbow or runner’s knee.
Looking for more health-related information? Head over to our Health section to check out some of our other posts.
