Each year, thousands of Canadians are hospitalized as a result of a sports injury. Sports injuries can be devastating, especially to professional athletes or those who use sports as their primary means of stress relief.
Chronic Injuries Vs. Acute Injuries
Usually, an acute sports injury, such as a sprained ankle, will make itself known by causing serious pain or some other issue with how the body functions. Chronic sports injuries such as stress fractures are not so obvious. They develop over a period and therefore may not cause immediate pain or problems.
Chronic sports injuries can fly under the radar easily. They can be dangerous because they may not ever get treated, or not get treated soon enough. “Chronic injuries are lifestyle-threatening as they restrict you from participating in many things,” according to Singapore Sports and Orthopaedic Clinic.
Sportsmen and sportswomen can protect themselves from chronic sports injuries by regularly performing sports injury self-assessments.
“In Ontario (between 2015 and 2016), the number of hospitalizations due to sports injury was 6,071, and in Manitoba, the number of cases was 1,016.” — Statista
Do You Have a Sports Injury? Here are 3 Signs You Might.
If you’re wondering if you have a chronic sports injury, ask yourself these three questions:
- “Do I ever feel a dull ache anywhere in my body when I am at rest?” — Aches and pains are a normal part of life. However, when you are regularly experiencing a dull ache in the same area of your body, you might have a chronic sports injury.
- “Is there swelling in any area of my body?” — Have you noticed that a part of your body seems swollen? If so, understand that this can be a chronic injury revealing itself.
- “Am I experiencing pain consistently when I perform a specific activity?” — Do you experience pain when you sit, stand or bend a certain way? Feeling pain when performing specific activities can indicate a chronic, sports-related injury.
Asking yourself these simple sports injury self-assessment questions every so often will help you catch a chronic injury and seek treatment for it before it becomes a major issue. If you play sports and answered “yes” to any of these questions, consider contacting a physiotherapy office near you to set up an evaluation.
“Some common examples of chronic injuries are stress fractures, tennis elbow, shin splint, runner’s knee and heel inflammation. These injuries are commonly related to one of the following – improper technique, trying to progress too fast or overdoing certain motions while playing a sport.” — Health Plus
Live Near Winnipeg? Get Help For Your Sports Injury Today.
If you feel you may have a sports injury and live near Winnipeg, contact Elite Sports Injury Physiotherapy Clinics.
What are some ways you prevent sports-related injuries?