Common sports injuries can happen to anyone, whether you are a professional athlete, weekend sports player or just like to get regular exercise. Learn which injuries are the most common and what you can do to get on the road to recovery.
Ankle Sprain
An ankle sprain can occur during physical activity if you land incorrectly on the foot. The tissuesor ligaments in the area become injured and inflamed. The best thing to do is ice the area, wrap the ankle, elevate it and rest. Be careful not to return to activity until fully healed so as to not sprain your ankle again
Back Pain
This type of injury usually is in the lower part of the back. Injury occurs from lifting heavy weights improperly or even doing exercises incorrectly.
To start healing, it is best to rest and use a combination of cold and hot therapy. Then start your activity at a low level and gradually increase until you are back to your old routine.
Pulled Hamstring
Pulling your hamstring is a very common injury as it can happen when running, jumping or kicking. An injury to this area means the muscle was stretched too far. The severity of this injurycan be just a pulled muscle to actually tearing the hamstring muscle.
Recover from this injury means taking it easy, doing isometric exercises at first, then little by little adding weights until you get back to your normal routine.
Plantar Fascitis
This injury can occur when there is repeated force placed on the foot such as running. This causes the tendon that runs along the arch of the foot to become inflamed. Once the tendon is irritated, a sharp or dull pain can be felt when walking or running.
Rolling the foot back and forth on a ball or tube can help stretch out the foot and lessen the pain over time. Also, getting shoes that provide more arch support could prevent further injury.