Whether a sport injury is acute or chronic, it can usually be classified as a soft tissue or a hard tissue injury. Soft tissues that are susceptible to sport injuries include skin, muscle, joints, tendons and ligaments. Hard tissue refers to bone. Soft tissue injuries are the most common, but severe injuries can involve both hard and soft tissues.
Acute Injuries
Some sport injuries occur suddenly as a result of collisions, falls, impacts or unnatural, awkward movements. Typical examples include a cut sustained while boxing or competing in another martial art, being hit by a baseball, falling while skating and twisting an ankle while running. In addition to cuts and sprains, the list of acute injuries includes strains, muscle pulls, bruises and broken bones.
Chronic Injuries
Another category of sport injury includes injuries that result from repetitive movements of muscles and/or joints over time. There are three possible reasons these types of injuries may occur. The first is that the athlete used improper technique that placed stress on a susceptible part of the body such as a joint, tendon, muscle or bone. The second is that the athlete reinjured a previously injured structure. The third is the presence of an anatomical abnormality that makes the athlete susceptible to injury.
Common Sports Injuries
Head injuries such as concussions occur in contact sports like American football. Sprains, strains and blisters may affect athletes whose sports involve running or rapid shifts in direction, such as track and tennis. Cuts and bruises can result from falls, or accidental or deliberate contact with a competitor. Sensitive, inflamed tendons, or tendinitis, can result from repetitive motions that are sometimes improperly performed.
Special Sport Injuries in Children
Like adults, children can suffer from common sports injuries such as strains, sprains, cuts and bruises. Children also may be vulnerable to particular injuries because their bodies are still growing. According to the England's National Health Service, children are susceptible to some special injuries following trauma affecting muscle and bone. For example, the growing ends of bones can sustain damage, as can their growth plates. Also, a major muscle can separate or pull away from the point where it and a tendon attach to a bone. Finally, stress fractures or injuries resulting from overuse can affect the bones, cartilage, muscle and tendons of the arms and legs.
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