Sustaining a healthy lifestyle means balancing a nutritious diet with plenty of physical exercise - but what if participating in your favourite sport has left you feeling worse for wear? Unfortunately, sports injuries are more common than you might realise, and while some can be treated quickly and easily, others are more severe.
The risk of injury shouldn’t stop you from getting your heart pumping and muscles moving regularly, but it is important to recognise some of the physical symptoms of the most common sports injuries. Here are seven of the most common ailments you might experience if you exercise or play sports regularly - and how sports injury treatment could help!
Seven common sports injuries and how sports injury therapy could help
Pulled groin muscles
Pulled groin muscles are very common amongst people who exercise regularly. Your groin muscles are activated whenever you use your hip adductors, which could be when running, swimming, dancing, playing football, playing tennis or participating in any sport that requires jumping, lunging or crouching. You could even pull a groin muscle while doing DIY or cleaning the house, making this one of the most commonly reported physical activity injuries.
Pulled groin muscles can be painful but rarely develop into long-term problems. Typically, pulled or torn groin muscles will repair themselves after a few days of rest. You can also ease aches and pains by applying an ice pack to the area, but rest is the most effective treatment!
If you regularly experience aches and pains as a result of tight muscles, consider seeing a sports massage therapist for advice. Deep tissue sports massage can help to relieve tension and prevent tight muscles from causing back pain.
Hamstring strains
Like pulled groin muscles, pulled hamstrings are one of the most common sports injuries. Any sports or physical activities that require you to bend your legs engage the hamstring muscles and tendons, but if they are pulled too much they can snap and tear. Depending on the severity of the injury, you may feel some tenderness in the back of your leg, or it may feel bruised and swollen. If you are concerned about a serious hamstring injury, it’s always best to consult a GP.
However, most hamstring injuries will heal within a matter of weeks. If you have hurt your hamstring, you should take some time away from strenuous exercise and sports and instead spend time resting. Elevating your leg and applying ice to the affected area can also help to alleviate aches and pains.
If you are suffering from a chronic hamstring strain, you may want to visit your local sports injury therapists. Sports massage therapy and stretching could help to speed up the recovery process and prevent future injuries.
Shin splints
If you are a keen runner, you may have dealt with shin splints before. Shin splints refers to the pain or soreness you might feel along the front of your lower leg after making impact with a hard surface. People usually experience shin splints after jogging on pavements or after periods of inactivity. Luckily, shin splints are rarely serious, but severe pain may be caused by small breaks in the shin bone. If the pain persists after a few weeks or you think you are dealing with a stress fracture, it’s important to see a doctor.
Otherwise, mild shin splints tend to get better after a couple of weeks of rest. Painkillers, ice, compression and gentle stretching can also help to ease the pain of shin splints following a run!
When exercising, you should also make sure you are wearing the correct footwear with lots of foot and ankle support to protect your shins against impact.
Tennis elbow
Tennis elbow is another common sports injury, aptly named because it’s often reported by tennis players. You might develop tennis elbow by overusing the muscles and tendons surrounding the elbow joint, which include those responsible for moving your elbow, wrists and fingers. The symptoms of tennis elbow include pain below the bend of your elbow, pain when lifting your arm or pain when moving your forearm.
Unfortunately, tennis elbow can be a long-lasting problem. In some cases, you may even feel the effects of this sports injury for up to two years. However, reducing inflammation with anti-inflammatory medicine, ice packs and rest can help to ease the symptoms.
Sports massage is another effective treatment for tennis elbow. Trigger point therapy can be used to relieve tension in the muscle and regain motion in the tendons, helping to speed up the recovery process and prevent future injuries.
Sciatica
A sports injury commonly reported by cyclists, sciatica is the term used to describe lower back pain that can be felt throughout the buttocks and legs. It is caused by pressure placed upon the sciatic nerve, which may be caused by a slipped disc or muscular tension. Cyclists often get sciatica because of the pressure put upon the base of their spine and tailbone, but it’s also common amongst runners, footballers and gymnasts.
Gentle exercise, stretching and anti-inflammatory medicines are all recommended treatments, but you may also benefit from specialist sports injury therapy if you are dealing with painful sciatica. By relaxing the muscles surrounding the sciatic nerve, deep tissue sports massage and trigger point therapy can reduce pressure and alleviate aches and pains.
Achilles tendon injury
Tearing or straining the Achilles tendon can be quite a common issue amongst athletes, especially runners, dancers, football players, basketball players, tennis players and endurance athletes. The Achilles tendon stretches from your heel to your calf muscles and is what allows you to point and flex your toes. If it tears, you may feel pain above your heel when you move your toes. You might also feel tenderness or swelling.
A severe Achilles tendon injury, such as a tendon rupture, may require surgery. However, in the majority of cases, resting your foot and applying ice to the affected area should soothe the pain and allow your tendon to heal. Sports massage can also be used to alleviate the pain of Achilles tendon-related injuries and to prevent any musculoskeletal pain caused by extra pressure being put on the unaffected leg.
Rotator cuff injury
Rotator cuff injuries can be common amongst people who take part in sports that require repeated shoulder movement, such as basketball, golf, swimming and tennis. The rotator cuff is the group of tendons and muscles surrounding your shoulder, so any movement that puts pressure on this area can cause tears and strains. If you have a rotator cuff injury, you may notice pain when moving your arm, an ache in your shoulder or weakness in your arm.
The treatment you require will depend on the severity of the rotator cuff injury. There are two main types of injury: acute, which is caused by an isolated incident, and degenerative, which is caused by repetitive strain and overuse. Acute injuries should heal fairly quickly with anti-inflammatory medicines, rest and gentle stretches.
On the other hand, degenerative injuries may benefit from restorative exercises and sports injury treatment, such as myofascial release. This can ease stiff muscles, stimulate circulation and prevent future injuries.
Looking for full-body sports massages, trigger point therapy or myofascial release in Sheffield? Look no further than your local chiropractors
At The Hillsborough Chiropractic Clinic in Sheffield, we are proud to specialise in sports injury treatment, including sports massage, alongside chiropractic care services. Whether you are suffering from chronic back pain or you require trigger point therapy for tennis elbow, you needn’t look further than our team of professional and compassionate chiropractors and sports injury therapists.
To learn more about our chiropractic services or sports massage prices, don’t hesitate to contact us today. We will discuss your symptoms in detail, book a consultation and identify the most appropriate treatment for you.
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