Sporting injuries can be difficult to prevent and nobody wants to end up with pulled muscles or broken bones – Marese Deely shows you how your man can reduce the risk of unwanted injuries without reducing his enjoyment
You can’t turn on a match these days without seeing a scrum resulting in a bloody nose or a football player gently trip and double over in ‘agony’ – let’s face it, some injuries are real and some are not. Different sports result in varying typical injuries, so we’ve taken the most popular sports and pinpointed which injuries are likely to transpire from participating in them, how you can treat them and most importantly, what you can do to help prevent them from happening in the first place.
Football
Football is a high impact contact sport and therefore has a high injury rate. The most common areas injured are the knee, ankle, thigh, calf and shoulder.
> Ligament ruptures: Occurs with twisting of the knee when kicking the football, especially if the knee is impacted upon when it is slightly bent.
> Ankle sprains: Common, especially if the player goes over on the ankle so the foot faces inwards, damaging the ligaments on the outside of the ankle.
> Dead leg or contusion: Common after impact to a muscle, especially the thigh, and causes bleeding and muscular damage.
> Hamstring strains: Occurs when the player sprints or suddenly changes direction, tearing one of the hamstring muscles at the back of the thigh.
> Groin strains: Occurs when the player sprints or suddenly changes direction, tearing one of the adductor muscles.
These strains are graded 1-3, depending on the severity of the injury with Grade 3 the most serious.
Rugby
Rugby is a physically demanding and vigorous sport and players face similar injuries to footballers. In addition, the risk of bruising, head, face and hand injuries is higher in this category because of the level of force.
> Ligament ruptures: Common in the knee because of tackles, force and the sudden changes in direction.
> Hip pointer injury: Occurs as a result of an impact to the iliac crest, often by a helmet and is extremely painful, causing bruising and bleeding to the abdominal muscles.
> Shoulder injuries: Frequent, especially following impact. An AC joint or shoulder separation, a dislocation of the shoulder and a rotator cuff injury are risks because of the aggressive style of rugby so always wear protective equipment.
> Nosebleeds: Wear protective athletic equipment, while playing sports. If you experience nasal bleeding anytime, don’t neglect it. Consult the doctor to get proper medical treatment and to prevent nosebleeds in future.
> Concussions: Seek medical help if you experience a headache, a ringing in the ears or dizziness following a blow to the head.
Running
> Iliotibial band syndrome or runner’s knee: The function of the Iliotibial band is to extend (straighten) the knee joint and abduct (move sideways) the hip. Symptoms of runner’s knee include pain on the outside of the knee and during flexion or extension of the knee, and weakness in abduction of the hip.
> Achilles Tendonitis: The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon at the back of the ankle and provides the push off phase of walking and running. The condition can be acute or chronic and is often difficult to treat. It can be caused by an increase in activity, especially with distance, speed and hills, and less recovery time.
Cycling
As cyclists tend to be on the open road, they are at risk of collisions with vehicles and injuries sustained from falls. Here are some other injuries that are frequent among cyclists.
> Knee pain: Extremely common and can be as a result of runner’s knee, chondromalacia (softening and deterioration of the kneecap) or osteoarthritis of the knee (wearing away of joint cartilage).
> Abrasions and road rash: Result from falls from the bike onto a hard surface.
> Ulnar neuropathy or hand numbness: Associated with pressure on the handlebars for long periods of time. Symptoms include pain and numbness of the small and ring finger.
Tennis
> Carpal tunnel syndrome: Caused by compression of the median nerve in the wrist and can feel like an ache in the wrist and forearm, weakness in the fingers and hand or a pain in the forearm, elbow or shoulder. Repetitive use of the wrist can induce it and it is three times more common in women because they have a smaller carpal tunnel.
> Tennis elbow: Gets its name because it frequently afflicts people who play tennis but hold their racket incorrectly. It also occurs from repeated extension (bending back) of the wrist against resistance..
How to prevent injuries
> Warm up. Jog, skip or stretch to warm your body up – muscles work better at 40°C. You will also increase the blood and oxygen flow to your muscles and increase your joint motions, which will reduce your risk of tearing ligaments and muscles.
> Wear protective clothing. Depending on the sport, protect yourself from injury with gum shields, scrum caps, shoulder pads and shin pads.
> Eat nutritious food and stay hydrated. Eat a balanced diet to keep your muscles strong. Plenty of water will also increase the blood flow to your muscles and keep you hydrated.
> Train properly. Ensure you allow yourself to recover from training or you will increase your risk of injury, and make sure you get plenty of sleep.
> Cool Down. Jog, walk or stretch to gradually lower your heart rate, remove waste products such as lactic acid and reduce the risk of muscle soreness.
Most common injuries and how they are treated:
Alison Quinn, Head of Physiotherapy at the Santry Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin.
“Any sport can cause injury but generally they fall into two categories: overuse injuries and acute injuries. Overuse injuries are caused by a series of repetitive loading from doing the same movement over and over again. Acute injuries are usually caused by a sudden force or trauma. Both types of injuries cause loading to a body part resulting in sprains and strains of soft tissue (i.e. muscles, tendons, ligaments), minor or major fractures or progressive bone or cartilage problems.
Some of the most common injuries that I see in men include knee injuries, for example, torn cruciate, knee cap pain (patella pain), ankle sprains or Achilles tendon problems, groin strains, muscle strains including hamstrings, quadriceps and calves, shin splints, shoulder pain including dislocations, muscle tears and back pain.
In my experience, people do not hold stretches for long enough and therefore should time themselves using a watch or clock. It is generally recommended to do three 30 second stretches about 15 minutes prior to sport in order to receive the most benefit. If you have an ongoing issue or acute injury, it is best to get assessed by a professional like a Chartered Physiotherapist who specialises in sport rather than allowing the tissue to heal itself as it may not heal in the correct alignment. Subsequently the same area can get injured over and over again because the root cause of the injury has not been sorted. This can lead to chronic weakness and pain and as a result, the person may have to withdraw from sport temporarily or permanently.”
www.sportssurgeryclinic.com
David Murphy from The Pain Relief Centre, Kildare.
“The most common type of sports injuries that I encounter at the Pain Relief Centre are calf and hamstring related and also lower back pain and sciatica problems. Knee and shoulder issues also are very common among GAA and rugby players.
We use Neuromuscular Therapy/Physical Therapy on the majority of patients, which entails deep tissue massage as well as stretching techniques to ease the pain of our patients and restore full range of movement. We also offer a technique called Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) which is a new, exciting and non-invasive way of treating nerve and muscle pain, from chronic pain to post-operative recovery. FSM can also be used to treat a diverse range of conditions from shingles to kidney stones and many others.
In the sports arena, the main benefit of FSM is in getting players back in action in as short a timeframe as possible. One intercounty player was back playing six days after pulling a groin muscle, which is extremely fast. Another All Ireland winning minor captain attributed his final year playing senior football to the work we did with him using FSM and alleviating his hip pain. He had a hip operation prior to being treated at the Pain Relief Centre and wanted to play for one more year to try and help his club win the county title.
Treatments can be intense for athletes and sportspeople who want to get back playing and training quickly and they often will attend three times over a period of 10 days but other clients typically attend once a week for three or four weeks depending on the length and severity of the condition.”
Until medical attention arrives, remember RICE!
Rest – Prevents further injury
Ice – Limits swelling and provides short-term pain relief
Compression – Wrap an elastic bandage around the swollen area
Elevation – Raise the injury above the level of the heart to reduce swelling (prop it on some pillows).
Make sure to stretch
Stretching not only warms the body up and prepares it for exercise, but it also helps to minimise Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). While you may feel on top form after exercising, you won’t feel any microscopic tears in the muscle for 24-48 hours after exercise, which explains why we wake up so sore the next morning!
MORE INFO
The Pain Relief Centre
1F Shawlocke View
Kilcock
Co Kildare
Tel: 01 6519935
www.painreliefcentre.ie
Sports Surgery Clinic
Tel: 01 5262000
www.sportssurgeryclinic.com
