Sports injuries

Sports injuries and Sports accidents are physical damage of all kinds that recreational and competitive athletes incur when doing sport. The injury pattern differs considerably from injuries such as those that occur in everyday life. Taking all accidents as a whole, sports accidents account for 20%. This corresponds to an annual number of around two million Germans. A distinction must be made between overuse injuries and acute sports injuries. If overuse damage is subject to a rather insidious process in which the injury cannot be traced back to a real accident event (e.g. Achilles tendonitis), acute damage results from a sudden incident (e.g. a fall).

causes

Physiotherapy is particularly useful for sports injuries. Tense muscles are loosened, lactate is reduced, strains and small muscle tears are identified and treated at an early stage.

The causes of a Sports injury or one Sports accident can be very diverse. It can be seen that the causes of injuries in recreational athletes differ from those in competitive athletes. The injuries to be diagnosed in recreational athletes are often based on insufficient warming or a physical deficit of the athlete. Overestimating one's own athletic performance often leads to a decline in performance in the long run (e.g. endurance running, alpine skiing).

The result is incorrect practice of technique which can lead to serious injuries. In addition, inadequate or inadequate equipment (e.g. mountain biking) and the lack of special clothing (cold, wet, etc.) are responsible for many sports accidents. In contrast, sports injuries in competitive athletes are often due to excessive stress on the body and insufficient healing of an injury.

Frequent & typical sports injuries

Typical and common Sports injuries and Sports accidents are bruises and sprains (35.5%), sprains (28.4%) and injuries to ligaments, tendons and muscles (20.3%). Acute sports injuries are characterized by a clear event with an immediate onset of pain, a precise localization of the pain and the appearance of recognizable symptoms (swelling, bruising, reddening, etc.).

Bruises and sprains are typical consequences of a sports injury and are caused, for example, by a blow, impact or fall. In the case of a contusion, tissue is squeezed, whereas sprains (distortions) always affect a joint.

The affected ligament system is overstretched by excessive movement and small tears in the ligaments are the result. The resulting leakage of blood plasma into the tissue creates swelling, redness and bruising.

Stretched ligaments or tears in the shoulder, knee, finger, etc. are also often caused by uncontrolled movements that go beyond the normal range. Practically every sport has its typical injury patterns and overload symptoms. So an overload of individual muscle groups for hours with monotonous movement sequences is inevitable. Depending on the sport, ligaments, tendons and muscles are stressed differently. Injuries to legs and feet occur during sports such as Squash, soccer or skiing are particularly popular.

The rupture of the Achilles tendon, for example, causes a loud, whip-like sound. Sports that primarily involve the upper limbs such as shoulders, arms and hands are also more susceptible to injury (e.g. torn tendon of the fingers from a volleyball attack).

Symptoms, ailments & signs

A wide variety of injuries can occur due to numerous sports and the associated strain on bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Often the symptoms that occur allow a quick conclusion about the type of injury. A cruciate ligament tear in the knee often makes a clicking sound.

A significant swelling forms on the knee, and bruises can also be seen. The lack of joint stability makes walking unsteady. Symptoms of a ruptured muscle fiber are suddenly felt sharp pain and, after a short time, extensive bruises.

The affected muscles can no longer be loaded. Signs of a meniscus injury are severe, sharp pain and swelling in the knee area. If the medial meniscus is injured, pain is evident when bending and twisting. If the gap between the upper and lower leg hurts, this indicates an injury to the external meniscus.

A bruise is a painful swelling with a bluish discoloration. Symptoms of a bruised shoulder may appear as an abrasion, bruise, and bruise. The affected shoulder can only be moved to a limited extent due to the pain. A crunching sound, swelling, bruising and severe pain indicate a broken tibia.

If the bridges are displaced, deformations of the lower leg can be detected. An open fracture is visible through a soft tissue wound on the outside. Symptoms of a concussion include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and headache. The person affected may have lost consciousness for a short time and may complain of gaps in memory.

Complications

Complications after sports injuries usually arise when the injury is inadequately treated or training is restarted too early. During the healing phase of injured muscle fibers, connective tissue is transformed into scar tissue, which is far less elastic than muscle tissue. Too early and severe exposure leads to further tears and bleeding, which result in new scarring.

In the long term, this significantly limits the performance of the muscle and can often only be restored with the help of surgical removal of the scar tissue. Extensive bruises and bruises are often associated with intramuscular bleeding, which, if left untreated, can cause chronic inflammation in the injury area. Under unfavorable circumstances, this results in calcium deposits that can ossify and impair mobility (myositis ossificans).

If pain and restricted mobility persist for weeks, surgery must be considered. Taking blood-thinning medication promotes the occurrence of a compartment syndrome after a muscle contusion: Massive bleeding into the muscle can damage nerves and blood vessels, and adequate supply of the muscle is no longer guaranteed.

Muscle tissue death can usually only be prevented by surgery. Complications from broken bones can be inflammation, wound healing disorders, symptoms of paralysis and impaired sensitivity. In rare cases, those affected develop Sudeck's disease as a long-term consequence, which is characterized by severe pain, sensitivity to touch and restricted mobility.

When should you go to the doctor?

If you have suffered a sports injury, you should always consult a doctor to clarify the symptoms. There may be deeper injuries that initially go unnoticed. In the long term, however, they can lead to permanent impairment. In order to avoid secondary diseases or lifelong damage, it is advisable to clarify the injuries suffered in good time. If existing complaints increase in scope and intensity, a doctor's visit is necessary as soon as possible. If there are restrictions in movement, open wounds, pain or swelling, a doctor is required.

A diagnosis is necessary and an individual treatment plan must be drawn up. Particular caution is required with open wounds, in severe cases it can even develop. There is thus a potential risk to the life of the person concerned. Sterile wound care is necessary to prevent blood poisoning. Competitive athletes, in particular, should consult a doctor even if they have minor sports injuries. An emergency doctor is required in the event of impaired consciousness, circulatory failure or increasing dizziness.

There are internal injuries which, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible damage. In the case of minor as well as severe sports injuries, the current state of health should be checked through an extensive examination. This is the only way to rule out the possibility of long-term disturbances or a decrease in physical performance.

Doctors & therapists in your area

prevention

Sports injuries and Sports accidents can be prevented in different ways. However, one hundred percent injury prevention can never be achieved. The risk of injury is only reduced.

Sports injuries often result from false ambition, overzealousness and overload, overestimating one's own abilities or poor or missing material conditions. This is especially true for recreational athletes. If these components are given sufficient attention, the risk of physical damage is minimized many times over. The so-called stretching, or also known as warm-up, active warming up of the muscles is nowadays controversial in science. Therefore, everyone should assess for themselves whether and when a warm-up makes sense for their sport (e.g. gymnastics, ballet, etc.).

The most effective method to protect your body from sports injuries is strength training that accompanies sports. Strength training increases your performance, the muscles protect the joints and thus reduce the susceptibility to injuries. It should be noted that strength training includes the sport-specific, mainly stressed muscle groups.

However, the secondary stressed muscles should not be disregarded to prevent muscular imbalances. For example, strong core muscles are required in almost every sport. Arms and legs, on the other hand, can only optimally and effectively develop strength against external resistance if the torso offers them a stable abutment. Through the use of strength training, in addition to building up strength, the interaction of strength, endurance and coordination is achieved and, in addition to preventing injuries, also contributes to increased performance.

Aftercare

Muscles are broken down by protecting the affected body part after an injury. Therefore, caution is required when resuming training. The previous performance limit must first be reached again slowly. Excessive stress should not take place during the first training units.

Exercise with reduced intensity can be used to build muscle after an injury. In many cases, physiotherapy is also useful, in which the muscles affected by the degeneration are specifically trained. A sufficient warming up of the muscles should always take place before the actual sport anyway.

After a sports injury, it is even more important and therefore not to be neglected. After the training unit, a so-called “cool-down” can take place, during which the muscle is still stressed for a while in the lower intensity range. This prevents unhealthy shortening of the muscle.

Depending on the location of the injury, wearing a supportive bandage can prevent further injury. However, it should be noted that the support function may under certain circumstances result in less muscle training. A combination of moderate training and targeted physiotherapy exercises is usually the best choice.

You can do that yourself

Sports injuries are a common phenomenon, especially among active athletes, and can be easily treated with self-help. However, a prerequisite for self-help is that if a breakage or crack in a structure is suspected, a doctor must be consulted and such a diagnosis confirmed or ruled out.

Sports injuries are often associated with pain and swelling, which should be curbed immediately. Cooling is an important factor in this context. It is important to ensure that ice is not placed directly on the affected area like a joint in order to avoid superficial injuries to the skin area. Elevating the joint is also helpful as it reduces blood flow and this can often prevent large-scale swelling.

Wounds must be treated in such a way that not only the bleeding is stopped, but also that there are no particles such as dirt or broken glass in them. In this way, regeneration can be accelerated and the risk of infections in the affected area is often significantly reduced. Bandaging larger wounds is important. Protection is very important in the context of self-help. Athletes in particular tend to return to training and competitions too early when they have sports injuries and run the risk that the old injury may make itself felt again.