What Are the Causes of Sports Injuries
What Are the Common Causes of Sports Injuries?
Different sports injuries happen all the time – injuries are part and parcel of being a sports player. So, what are the main causes of sports injuries, and how do we reduce the risk of them?
When considering “what are the causes of sports injuries?”, it is important to note that common sports injuries are more likely to occur if you haven’t been regularly active, you haven’t warmed up properly or you play a high contact sport.
However, it should be said that whether it’s soccer, tennis or rugby, different sports injuries depend on the mechanics of the game and the surrounding environment. Therefore, to have a better chance of avoiding common sports injuries, NQ Physio Solutions will run you through just what are the causes of sports injuries.
What Are the Causes of Sports Injuries?
Some sports injuries are acute injuries, meaning the result of a sudden event that causes very noticeable symptoms almost instantly. Other sports injuries arise from overuse and improper recovery, eventually developing into a painful problem.
Sports players are vulnerable to common sports injuries such as sprains, strains, and fractures due to the stress placed on joints and muscles from regular sporting movements such as jumping, turning, sprinting, fast changes of direction and heavy impact. That’s just the nature of it. Other than this typical susceptibility, what are the main causes of sports injuries?
Lack of Conditioning and Poor Training
These risks are increased if you do not maintain healthy conditioning or prepare your body properly for physical activity. A lack of conditioning can result in muscle imbalances and will generally weaken your muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments.
When considering, “what are the causes of sports injuries?”, it is clear that poor training methods are a frequent commonality seen in common sports injuries. Ensure that all muscle groups are worked on equally to avoid imbalance. Also, training should not be at full intensity all the time, as this will develop wear and tear in your muscles and ligaments.
Regular stretching and effective warmups are needed so that your body can gradually prepare itself for increased intensity in tension and movement. Moreover, you need to give your body time to rest! Taking breaks helps athletes break through plateaus in training and decreases the risk of overuse injury.
Overtraining
In contrast, overtraining can lead to injury, and as such, it is important to regularly engage in effective rehabilitation to give your body time to recover. Likewise, rushing yourself back from a previous injury increases the likelihood of reinjury.
If returning from injury, make sure to gradually increase your training intensity with each session alongside coaching staff to rebuild strength in the affected area.
Poor Diet
Training without proper nutrition can cause loss of muscle mass and decreased muscle strength, increasing the likelihood of sports injury. Also, if your diet does not have enough carbohydrates, which are the primary source of your body's energy, you will become fatigued, resulting in a performance deficit.
Unavoidable Factors
Sometimes sports injuries are just plain unavoidable – caused by accident, heavy impact, or even just sheer bad luck. In addition, changes in playing surfaces may make you more susceptible to injury, as can low quality equipment or general dehydration arising from extreme climate conditions.
What Are the Most Common Sports Injuries & How Do We Prevent Them?
So, now that we’ve answered the question of “what are the causes of sports injuries?”, let’s look at the most common physiotherapy injuries we see. At NQ Physio Solutions, we regularly treat different sports injuries like:
- Ankle Sprains
- Hamstring Strains
- Groin Strains
- Stress Fractures
- Achilles Strains or Tendinopathy
- Neck Injuries
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Tennis Elbow
- Shin Splints
- Hand and Feet Fractures
- Concussion
After reading the above “what are the causes of sports injuries?” section, the direct correlation between these causes and common sports injuries is apparent. Most of these injuries arise from intense training, overuse, improper rehab, or strong impact. Only a few of these common injuries are acute and beyond our control.
To prevent strains, fractures, and sprains, one must supplement a nutritious diet with rest, practical training, proper equipment, and muscle strength-building exercises.
Have You Been Injured Playing Sport?
Do you need treatment for your sports injury? NQ Physio Solutions provide the leading sports injury treatment in Townsville. Our expert team of physiotherapists are proficient in understanding what the causes of sports injuries are, and how to treat them.
At NQ Physio Solutions, we tailor our treatment to your specific needs. So, whether you’ve suffered from injury or just want to improve strength and mobility, give us a call today on (07) 4729 0055 and book in an appointment.