Sports are an important part of maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle. However, the blunt trauma and stress placed on your body during a sports activity can also do severe damage. Injuries can occur because of poor conditioning and lack of preparation, but even athletes who are at the peak of their physical prowess often put their bodies in the most danger and become susceptible to injury.
Causes
One of the most important reasons why people join a sport---the opportunity to test their physical abilities in competition with others---is also one of the primary reasons why injuries often occur. Exhausted, overworked muscles stretched and tested to their limits are much more likely to become injured. Two other main causes of injuries during contact sports include pressure placed on the bones and severe blows to the head. For these reasons, sports can be dangerous to your health and should be approached with prudence and preparation.
Preparation
Many factors can exacerbate the chance of an injury, but poor training and bad form can be overcome with coaching. The athlete, however, should always be prepared for the sport. Much of this involves staying in shape and using proper gear. Before playing, it is essential to warm up and stretch to loosen your muscles. It is also true, however, that injuries are sometimes the result of random, unpredictable events.
Effects
According to Medline Plus, the most common sports injuries involve some kind of damage to the muscles or bones. A sprain is one of the most likely kinds; it involves a stretched or torn ligament, which is the tissue connecting the bone to the joint. Another kind of injury is a strain to the tendon, the tissue that connects muscle to the bone, or the muscle itself. Other common injuries include bruises, knee injuries, swollen muscles, Achilles tendon injuries, shin bone pain, fractures and dislocations.
Number of Injuries
The University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System states that more than 10 million sports injuries occur each year. Injuries can happen in every possible situation, from youth leagues to professional sports to backyard games. About 95 percent of these injuries are minor traumas to soft tissue such as a bruise, strain or sprain.
Warning
Because sports injuries can run the gamut, treatments can differ radically. Most treatments involve RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Others involve surgeries. Sports injuries tend to heal over time, but serious injuries can linger for the rest of your life, causing pain or the destruction of ligaments and cartilage.
Blows to the head are perhaps the most pernicious kind. Concussions cause momentary disorientation and memory loss, but permanent brain damage also can occur. One type of brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been identified in the brains of longtime professional football players and boxers, causing dementia and cognitive impairment from repeated trauma to the head over the course of many years.
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