Sports Injuries
Sports injuries are injuries caused by playing sports or doing exercise. The injuries can vary in severity, from a sprained ankle to a dislocated shoulder or even a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Sports injuries are often caused from overuse and over-training, such as runner's knee or tennis elbow where the player pushes their body to the limit. Sports injuries can also occur due to under-training, poor training practices, not wearing the correct footwear, not warming up and cooling down properly and not stretching.
Physiotherapists often see injuries while they are in the acute phase (this is the first 48 to 72 hours). Initially sports injuries should be treated with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). The sports injury should then be assessed by a physiotherapist as early as possible who will accurately diagnose and treat the injury. Many injuries can cause long-term problems if they are not managed correctly so having your injury looked at immediately is important.
One of the important aspects of physiotherapy management is helping you to learn self-care. This may be in the form of exercises, strapping/ bracing, learning how to modify your activity to reduce overstressing your injured part and learning self treatment strategies. It is important that if you injure yourself playing a sport; don’t continue to play, use the RICE principles mentioned and make an appointment with your Physiotherapist.
