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Enjoy the fun of moving and the benefits of exercise during summer without the injuries.
Posted on
27 June 2017
| Last updated on 30 January 2018
Being active is what our bodies were designed to do and thus sports and exercise have many benefits for the body and mind. Exercise decreases stress, improves muscle tone and body weight, maintains joint flexibility and has a positive effect on cardiovascular fitness. There are also social and cognitive advantages of interacting with other people in a relaxed and stress-free manner.
However, there is the possibility of developing a sports injury when we start participating in active sports and our goal should always try to be to minimise or eliminate these injuries. They are divided into 2 main categories:
- Over-use injuries
- Trauma
Overuse injuries occur from repetitive movements or training harder or longer than the body can cope with. This leads to small injuries and inflammation in the soft tissue or bones and pain gradually increases over time.
Some common overuse injuries include:
-
Shoulder Impingement
This occurs in sports with overhead activities such as tennis or swimming. The muscle gets pinched between the bones causing swelling and pain. This results in pain when lifting the arm and is usually worse between 60-120 degrees of movement
-
Tennis/Golf Elbow
Inflammation of the muscles at the elbow resulting from overuse leads to this painful condition. These muscles actually control hand grip strength and wrist movement. Golfers elbow refers to the inner elbow and tennis elbow refers to the outer elbow.
-
Hip Bursitis
A bursa is a small bag of fluid found in a joint that lets muscles move easily and safely over a bone. If there is friction from overuse or training, the bursa is irritated and swells causing pressure and pain in the joint. It is common in the hip but can occur in the shoulder and elbow as well.
-
Jumper’s Knee
Also known ad patella tendinitis, this injury occurs often in sports that involve running and jumping. The tendon that attaches the kneecap to the shin can become inflamed and swollen. Pain occurs when trying to walk or even just to extend the knee.
-
Shin Splints
This is a general term for pain in the lower leg. It can be caused by various injuries, but the most common cause is inflammation of the tibialis muscle. Other causes of shin splints are stress fractures of the shin bone or a compartment syndrome. This occurs when the soft tissue is too tight and the blood vessels and nerves are compressed during exercise, causing pain.
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How to treat overuse injuries:
- Rest from the activity
- Ice
- Compression
- Anti-inflammatory medication or gel - consult with your physio or doctor
- Retraining the injured area slowly
- Modifying your exercise routine or equipment
Enjoy the fun of moving and the benefits of exercise. If you have any questions about starting an exercise program or there are some aches and pains come visit your sports physiotherapist and they will get you going.
