Sports Back Injury

Exercise is considered important by people to stay fit and sports are taken as the best option to keep the body in shape. Sports injuries are a part of the players’ life who participates in various organised sports, trainings, fitness programs and other activities. These injuries occur because of various reasons such as improper training, improper usage of equipments and lacking the required footwear. Back injuries basically include fractures, sprains, contusions and strains caused by twisting the body or stretching the muscles more than required while bending or lifting. The back injuries generally take place in sports like football, skating, gymnastics, basketball, running, weightlifting, golf or baseball.

It has been seen that up to 20% of the sports injuries are in lower back or neck. Sports like running, weight lifting cause damage to the lumbar spine (lower back). Cervical spine is at risk while playing contact sports such as hockey or football. Sport injuries can be avoided if it is taken to be as a part of the game to be played with rules. Avoiding injuries is the best way to deal with the sport injuries.

Sport injuries are broadly divided in two categories that are acute and chronic. A sportsperson should know the difference between the acute and chronic pain. While soreness is temporary pain, the chronic continues over a greater period of time. The acute injury includes the fracture, sprain, contusion and strain while the chronic includes the stress fractures, tendonitis and epiphysitis. Weightlifting and bodybuilding can strain the muscles and result in stress fractures.

A warm up exercise helps to prevent the sports back injury before beginning to play. The warm up is for the muscles that would be used while playing and it also prepares the back for the stress that would be laid at the time of playing the sport. Warm up has various advantages which can help preventing the sports back injury. One of the major factors is that warm up increases blood circulation to muscles of the back. It also stretches the lower and upper back related muscles.

In case of a worse injury, the person should see a doctor if the pain persists over a period of time. One should stop playing immediately after the injury is detected. If the injury becomes complicated it is considered best to see a doctor who specialises in sports injuries. Sports medical doctors don’t let the players practice until the doctor makes sure that the player has recovered so that it does not happen again.