What are the 7 Top causes of sports injuries?

Generally, participation in sporting activities is associated with a relatively low frequency of injury.

However, the more sports activities you engaged in, the greater the chances you have for accidental injury. The type of sports activities you are involved in determine to a large extends your injury risk.

In this post, you should be able to explain what a sports injury is and know the 7 top causes of sports injuries.

Also read: What are the 6 importance of first aid?

What is Sports Injury?

Sports injury is an injury that occurs during sporting activities or exercises. This includes injuries affecting participation in sports and exercise and affecting athletes of all ages and all levels of performance. Most sports injuries are specific to the sports and the level of participation.

For example, soccer players have a high risk of ankle or knee injuries resulting from tackle, while runners will be lower limb injuries usually resulting from overuse. Sports injuries have rendered many athletes unfit to participate in future sports activities.

Sports injuries simply mean any damage done to any body part while engaging in sports activities. This damage could be minor or major. Major injuries such as dislocations or fractures, and could render an athlete temporary or permanently unfit for future sports competitions. Minor injuries like abrasions or minor cuts should be taken care of on the spot and the casualty goes back to the field of play.

Read on: What are the golden rules for first aid?

7 Top Causes of Sports Injuries

Injuries are more likely to occur where competitions are keenly contested and if the sport is rough. However, sports injuries could occur as a result of any of the following factors:

1. Human error

2. Imbalanced Training Sessions

3. Overtraining

4. Faulty equipment and facilities

5. Ignorance

6. Act of God

7. Improper Rehabilitation

1. Human Error: It could be a result of a lack of perfection in a skill before participating in that particular sport. It could also result from a lack of attention while the game is being played.

2. Imbalanced Training Sessions: Have you ever been to a gym and see a person that has a chiseled upper physique, however, when looking upon their lower extremities you think “whoa what happened?” That person consistently skips leg day.

Similarly, athletes can get carried away with focusing too much on a particular muscle group and neglect the corresponding antagonistic muscle groups which can lead to a deformity in the long run.

For example, only working the pectoralis muscle group while neglecting the back and muscles of posture will lead to a kyphosis or hunched over back deformity.

Furthermore, for athletes like volleyball or baseball players, the accessory muscle groups are crucial to their everyday performance.

So in addition to working their lattisimuss dorsi or biceps, they cannot neglect their rhomboids, teres minor, major, nor trapzezius. Review with your coach exercises and stretches one can do for a balanced regimen.

3. Overtraining:Overtraining is the most frequent cause of injuries associated with physical or fitness activities and it affects a lot of athletes. Enthusiastic but fat or obese beginners often injure themselves by doing too much and too soon exercises.

Experienced athletes also develop overtraining syndrome by engaging in systematic and progressive increases in training without getting enough rest and recovery time. This will definitely affect performance and training sessions will become increasingly difficult.

It is pertinent to note that adequate rest, good food and rehydration are very important to sustain or improve fitness levels. It is good to always pay attention to your body’s warning signs.

To avoid injury to a particular muscle group or body part, varying your fitness activities will give muscles and joints the needed rest. Setting realistic but challenging fitness goals can help you stay motivated without overdoing it.

Overtraining injuries occur most often in repetitive activities like running, bicycling and step aerobics. It is advisable that common sense should be applied for you to remain injury-free.

4. Faulty Equipment and Facilities: These include using unsafe materials for any sport such as faulty vaulting boxes, beams, sticks and bars. Poor facilities include undulating (uneven) playfields, slippery or wet surfaces or rough grounds.

5. Ignorance: To think that a common sports injury sustained while practicing during a high impact activity will simply go away on its own is both foolish and dangerous. The mantra of “walking off” an injury is blasphemous in the medical literature and can even produce further damage and injury. See your local podiatrist to determine the grade of your injury, and they can come up with a plan of relative rest or safe alternating exercise activities while you recover.

6. An act of God:This may include any accident that occurs irrespective of all the precautionary measures taken by the coach and athletes to prevent injuries.

7. Improper Rehabilitation: When common sports injuries are sustained and patients are in the rehab phase, it is important that the therapists bear in mind that the athlete has to overcome two challenges. The first is complete healing of the damaged structure and tissue, and second is reconditioning of the musculotendinous complex. So early on, modalities should include: stretching, range of motion, gait training, iontophoresis, electrical stimulation, shockwave therapy, PRP, Amnio therapy for example. Afterwards, their regimen should focus on sport specific muscle strengthening exercises.

Also read: 5 Key Principles of First Aid

Conclusion on the 7 top causes of sports injuries?

In general, popular recreational sports activities such as walking, jogging, and tennis, swimming and bicycling have a much lower injury rate than do intercollegiate sports such as gymnastics and football or intramural sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer.

In choosing your sports activities and developing a workout schedule, a lifetime of injuries-free, enjoyable sports activity should be foremost in your mind.

Having gone through this article you have learnt what sports injuries is, you have also learnt the causes of sports injuries such as: