When we were small our parents used to advise us a lot and even punish us when we injured ourselves but we never stopped playing, no matter what. Today we at Malla Reddy Narayana, are here to support your resolve with Everything About How to deal with sports injuries so you don’t let the fun stop ever again. So let’s start with what are the key causes resulting in injuries during sports.

1.) Excessive activity after a long period of inactivity – This happens when we put our muscles under excessive strain, without any prior endurance training, it’s like running a marathon after being bedridden for a year.

2.) Exercising without proper warm-up – Warm-up is the most ignored activity among the general public, hence it’s the most common reason for muscle strain. Can you start your bike after letting it stand in cold throughout the night? The same goes for your muscles!

3.) Sports Accidents – This factor isn’t in our control, this is purely coincidental, and only precautionary measures can be taken for it, hence playing as per the expert guidance and maintaining proper posture is the only thing we can do.

What are the types of Sports Injuries?

Injuries incurred during sports can be categorized into various types, here are the most common injuries that most sportsmen have experienced at least once in their lifetime.

1.)  Soft Tissue Injury: It refers to the damage of muscles, ligaments, and tendons anywhere throughout the body. It is further sub-categorized into two types – Acute and Overuse Injuries.

2.) Fractures: Fracture occurs when there is a break anywhere in the bone into two or more parts. Fractures are of various categories viz. Open, Closed, greenstick and comminuted, etc.

3.) Sprains And Strains: Tearing or stretching of the tendon beyond its natural capacity results in tearing hence causing Strain. A similar condition when resulting in a ligament tear is known as Sprain.

4.) Dislocation: Injuries incurred during sports may also result in dislocation of a bone in the body. In this condition, a bone is forced out of the socket joint. This condition is accompanied by pain and swelling in most cases.

What Are The Treatment Of Sports Injuries?

Most of the sports injuries can be relieved and treated by the RICE procedure which expands as;

R – Rest, i.e. getting sufficient rest is necessary to aid in the process of healing.

I – Ice, using ice packs to relieve swelling in the area of injury to provide relief by reducing the blood flow in the area, apply an ice pack for at most 15 minutes at a time, then let the skin temperature return to normal before repeating.

C – Compression, an elastic bandage is wrapped around the affected area firmly so as o prevent swelling and fluid building up. The precaution to be taken while using a bandage is that it shouldn’t be too tight to cause discomfort.

E – Elevating an injury to a level above the level of the heart minimizes swelling by allowing fluid to drain away from the site of injury.

Follow the rice procedure for 48-72 hours after your injury. Generally, sports injuries start healing within 3 days, after three days the symptoms like swelling, pain, and bruising will subside. There are other methods like TOTAPS(Talk, Observe, Touch, Active Movement, Passive Movement, and Skill test) and No-HARM (No Heat, No Alcohol, No Running, and No Massage)

What are the precautions to be taken to avoid sports injuries?

The following steps are very useful in greatly reducing the risk of sports injuries

1.) Doing proper warm-up and cool-down.

2.) Using protective Gears.

3.) Always playing as per rules.

4.) Regular fitness training.

5.) Not Over-exerting the muscles.

When to seek professional medical help?

If following the given RICE method doesn’t provide any relief even after 3 days, or the symptoms start to worsen with time, it’s time to let the professionals handle the case. Don’t ignore symptoms, early diagnosis and quick action will get you back in the game sooner than ever, And if you ever require professional medical attention, we at Malla Reddy Narayana are always here to help you get back to the game in a much better form than you left, be it the game on the field or be it the game of life!