Sports injuries
Sports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities. In many cases, these types of injuries are often due to overuse or acute trauma of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner’s knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form of repetitive stress injury at the elbow. Other types of injuries can be caused by a hard contact with something. This can often cause a broken bone or torn ligament or tendon.
Injuries are a common occurrence in professional sports and most teams have a staff of Athletic Trainers and close connections to the medical community. Controversy has arisen at times when teams have made decisions that could threaten a players long-term health for short term gain. < Definition from WIKI>
Classification / Symptoms in Sport injuries?
Traumatic injuries
- Association football, rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football, Gaelic football and American football These injuries range from bruises and muscle strains, to fractures and head injuries. A bruise or contusion is damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues. A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and a ligament sprain is a small tear of ligament tissue. The body’s response to these sports injuries is the same in the initial five day period immediately following the traumatic incident – inflammation. Inflammation is characterized by pain, localized swelling, heat, redness and a loss of function
Overuse injuries
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), swimmer’s shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis and impingement), Golfer’s body, Little League elbow, runner, jumper’s knee (infrapatellar tendinitis), Achilles tendinitis, youth pitching elbow and shin splints, etc.
The most common sports injuries in the body are
- Sprains and strains
- Knee injuries
- Swollen muscles
- Achilles tendon injuries
- Pain along the shin bone
- Fractures
- Dislocations
Sport injuries with Acupuncture?
Many injured athletes use acupuncture for relief. Acupuncture is used effectively to reduce the pain and inflammation of sports injuries. It has also been shown to increase range of motion and accelerate healing time. Acupuncture can benefit sports injuries at any stage: to prevent, to treat acute pain, swelling and spasms, and to address conditions that make athletes vulnerable to re-injury. Studies have shown that acupuncture increases blood circulation to specific areas of the body, which not only promotes healing of sports injuries but could also boost athletic performance.