There are a large number of common sports injuries that we are likely to experience at some point in our life. Despite great effort, people who participate in sports, from time to time, will become injured. The good news is that we can often identify common types of sports injuries and we now have the knowledge of how to optimise recovery and sometimes prevent them. Today, the team at Colchester Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic are going to have a brief look at the most frequent sports injuries we see and deal with and provide some insight into how you can put yourself in the best position to avoid them. 

In sport or exercise injuries can be either traumatic or non traumatic. Non-traumatic injuries often involve an overload of musculoskeleral tissue which can cause tissue to react and cause pain. Traumatic injuries involve forces which damage tissue and result in inflammation due to the break down of injured tissue before it can then can be rebuilt. Taking preventative measures to protect against non traumatic injury is easier to do than traumatic injuries due to the nature and unpredicatability of traumatic injury. Examples of some of the common traumatic and non traumatic injuries that we see at the clinic are listed below.  

 

The vast majority of the time, the most effective sport injury prevention is to not push yourself too far beyond your limits or capabilities and ensure you ease yourself into any activity or exercise. If you are wanting to increase your level of exercise, considering the amount of exercise your body is use to on a weekly basis can be helpful. In general, soft tissues of the body can adapt up to a 10% increase in loading. So if you are running 10 miles per week and want to increase mileage, aiming for 11 miles the following week is unlikely to cause any significant issues. Using tech like sports watches and phones can be helpful in determining weekly step load, which can be increased by 10% if you are wanting to increase the amount of walk/running exercises you are doing.  

 

Post and pre workout stretching can be helpful in getting your body ready for and to recover from exercise. We would encourage you to try to make pre exercise stretching more active (moving in and out of the stretch) rather than holding it for too long. Equally, having a warm up routine before engaging in any activity can be hugely beneficial. As stated, injury is part and parcel of sport: especially if you engage in high activity or contact sport. It can not always be prevented, but you can equip yourself so you are less likely to experience it. 

If you are having issues with persistent sport or exercise related injuries, we would advise you to speak to a professional. Our team are experts in injury prevention, and can offer you practical and effective advice for avoiding pain and discomfort. Not only this, but our physiotherapists are qualified to tackle and treat a range of injuries. If you require any more information about our services, reach out today or give us a call on 01206 579631.