Most Common Sports Injuries

Chiropractors encourage everyone to remain physically active. Sports are great for teaching teamwork, commitment, and discipline in addition to helping everyone stay in shape. At the same time, sports injuries are unavoidable. No matter what game you play, you might get hurt.

While many people think of injuries as being limited to contact sports, the reality is that all sports can lead to injuries. These might include repetitive use injuries, ligament sprains, and other non-contact injuries.

The good news is that a skilled chiropractor can help you recover using non-invasive treatments. Chiropractors strive to treat the underlying cause of your injury to help you prevent injuries from returning in the future.

What Are Some Common Sports Injuries?

Common Football Injuries

Football is a contact sport so there are a variety of sports injury examples that chiropractors encounter regularly. If you have suffered a football injury, a skilled sports injury chiropractor can help. Some of the most common football injuries that chiropractors treat include:

• Stinger: A stinger is the colloquial name for a pinched nerve. If a football player suffers a blow to the head or neck, one or more nerves in the shoulder or neck might get compressed. As a result, this nerve can become irritated and inflamed, leading to shooting pains and weakness that travel in the path of the nerve. Usually, this travels through the neck, into the shoulder, and down the arm. Chiropractors can locate the pinched nerve and use adjustments and manipulations to free it, treating the injury.

• Paraspinal Muscle Strain: This is one of the most common causes of back pain. While playing football, athletes might suffer a blow to the back that leads to severe soreness on the sides of the vertebrae. The most likely cause of this type of pain is a paraspinal muscle strain. The paraspinal muscles support the back, so this type of injury might also stem from overuse issues.

• ACL Sprain: Finally, football can also lead to serious knee injuries. A blow to the side of the knee could lead to an ACL sprain or tear. If you have suffered an ACL sprain, chiropractors can help you recover in a non-invasive manner. If you tore your ACL, they can also assist you with physical therapy after you get it repaired.

Common Basketball Injuries

Sometimes going hard in the paint ends poorly. The reality is that injuries stemming from basketball are very common. Some of the most common sports injuries that are encountered involving basketball include:

• Ankle Sprain: This is arguably the most common injury that people suffer while playing basketball. When you jump in the air, there is a chance that you might land on someone’s foot or the side of your own shoe. You end up rolling your ankle laterally, leading to an ankle sprain. Chiropractors have the ability to examine the ligament and help you come up with an effective treatment plan.

• AC Shoulder Joint Sprain: A sprain of the AC joint is another common basketball injury that we see. If you dive on the floor for a loose ball, you are probably extending your arm. Someone could land on your arm in the process, spraining the acromioclavicular joint, also called the AC joint. This can lead to shoulder pain, weakness, and reduced mobility. Chiropractors can examine the joint and help you develop a well-rounded treatment plan.

• Head Injuries: Finally, head injuries in basketball occur from time to time. This could be due to a collision on court involving two players or a slip and fall accident on a slick gym floor. Doctors can take a look at your head and neck, diagnose the injury, and come up with a treatment plan.

Common Baseball Injuries

There is almost no contact in baseball; however, injuries can still happen. A few common baseball injuries include:

• Rotator Cuff Strain: The overarm motion in baseball can strain one of the muscles of the rotator cuff. Marked by shoulder pain and weakness, chiropractors can take a look at your arm, diagnose the injury, and treat it using a combination of techniques.

• UCL Sprain: Also called the Tommy John ligament, this is a common injury in pitchers. A skilled sports injury chiropractor can take a look at your elbow, examine the ligament, and advise you on your treatment options.

• Knee Sprain: If you slip and fall rounding a base, you might end up with a knee sprain. This could impact multiple ligaments. A chiropractor can help diagnose your injury, help you treat it, and get you back on the field quickly and safely.

Common Golf Injuries

While, like baseball, golf is also a no contact sport, a full power golf swing asks a lot of the human body, and even slight imperfections in the form of your swing can cause issues throughout your body.

• Lower Back Strain: The natural motion of a golf swing can put large amounts of stress on the muscles of the lower back and the spine itself. Overcontorting your body during your swing can cause even further damage. Strains and sprains to the lower back are a common result of the torque applied to the lumbar area during a golf swing.

• Elbow Tendinitis: Often referred to as "golfer's elbow," elbow tendinitis (medial epicondylitis) causes soreness and inflammation to the outer or inner tendon of the elbow. A typical golf swing requires a forceful bending of both elbows, and the repitition of this motion, swing after swing, can eventually cause this swelling of the elbow tendons.

• Wrist Strain: While a proper golf swing allows for minimal movement of the wrists, injuries to the wrist are still fairly common simply due to the force of impact that wrists endure at the moment of impact, where the club face meets the ball.

Common Tennis Injuries

Tennis is a fantastic sport for getting full body exercise and burning tons of calories, but it is not without injury risks. Similar to golf, a tennis swing requires perfect synchronicity of multiple muscle groups, and poor swing form can, over time, wear your body down. Unlike golf, tennis also requires lots of quick movements, burts of speed, and instantaneous changes in direction, that can cause additional stresses to your body's lower half.

• Rotator Cuff Tendinitis: The rotator cuff consists of muscles and tendons that originate from the shoulder blade and attach to the upper arm bone. As a result of overuse, you can develop inflammation of the tendons. Rotator cuff tendinitis in tennis players usually results from too much overhead serving.

• Tennis Elbow: Also referred to as lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overworked, often by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm.

• Tennis Toe: This injury can happen as the toes are jammed against the toe-box of your sneaker during tennis’ quick starts and stops. Tennis toe is a haemorrhage under the toenail that can be relatively painful.

These are just a few of the most common sports injuries. If you have suffered a sports injury, find a chiropractor near you to begin your treatment.