sports injury

Sports injuries are often similar to those sustained in the home or at work. However, there are some so commonly associated with sport that they have acquired special sporting epithets, such as runner's knee, swimmer's shoulder, and tennis elbow. In addition, an injured sports person may need different treatment from an inactive person: fitness prior to injury may subtly change the symptoms; the need to regain peak fitness may necessitate a different rehabilitation programme.

The risk of injury depends on the sport being pursued, as the following table shows:

From Birrer, R.B., Halbrook, S.P. (1988) Martial arts and injuries. Am J Sports Med. 16:408–10. In: Mellion, M.B. (1993) Sports medicine secrets. Hanley and Belfus, xxx Philadelphia. It may surprise readers to see the low incidence of injury associated with martial arts, but the table shows the number, not the seriousness. Sports injuries tend to be more severe in contact sports.

Professor Greg McLatchie Director of the National Sports Medicine Institute at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK, conducted a survey of the sites of sports injuries in 1600 patients:

Sports-related injuries are caused by three main groups of factors:

1. direct trauma (i.e. physical contact)
2. overuse (see separate entries)
3. environmental factors (those associated with extremes of weather, immersion in water, altitude etc.).

The risk of injury in seemingly innocuous activities such as aerobic dance and jogging, depends very much on environment. These activities subject the body to high impact forces as the foot strikes the ground. Therefore, the type of surface and the degree of protection offered by footwear are important. In addition, high impact sports tend to produce more overuse injuries than low impact sports such as swimming.

Sports injuries are more likely when there is a combination of factors in operation: for example, a rugby player is more likely to incur a knee injury when floored by a lateral tackle if it is a cold day, the pitch is frost-hardened, and the player's knee has already been weakened by overtraining or overplaying.

Many sports injuries are unnecessary and can be avoided by:

• ensuring that you are fit for your activity
• wearing the correct equipment
• being aware of environmental hazards such as slippery surfaces
• always warming-up and cooling down
• allowing your body enough time to adapt to higher levels of activity.

Most sports injuries involve strains, tears, and ruptures of muscle fibres, and are not life-threatening. Your chances of a speedy and complete recovery from these injuries improve if you receive quick, correct treatment. Most muscle injuries, such as bruises and strains, respond well to rest, ice, compression, and elevation (see RICE). Heat should never be applied to an injured muscle in the first 48 hours of injury.

A variety of unpleasant and even fatal conditions, including multiple sclerosis, osteomyelitis (bone inflammation), and bone cancer may first appear as an apparent sports injury. For this reason, if for no other, sports injuries should be taken seriously and medical advice should be sought if symptoms persist.