Injuries are a part of playing sports. The most competitive personalities out there going as hard as they can are certain to lead to injury at some point.
But there are a few injuries that are far more common for athletes than they are for average, everyday people. Here are some of the most common sports injuries today.
ACL Strain/Tear
We hear about ACL injuries all the time, particularly in sports such as basketball and football. The ACL is perhaps the most important stabilizing ligament in the knee. Most of the time, injury to this ligament is from all the fast stops and quick starts in the games.
There is a lot of stress on the knee, so it comes as no surprise that there are more knee injuries in sports than in just about any other activity. Tearing the ACL requires surgery and several months out of the game, participating in aggressive physical therapy.
Concussions
This is something of a new injury, so to speak. For the longest time, concussions weren’t a thing in sports. It was “getting your bell rung.” But concussions are commonplace now with a plethora of negative symptoms.
Dizziness, confusion, headaches, sensitivity to light, delayed responses, and more are all side effects of concussions. We are also learning about the potential long-term impacts that repeated blows to the head can have on the brain.
Shoulder Injuries
There are a wide array of injuries to the shoulder from misalignments to strains, dislocations, and torn ligaments. The shoulder is considered to be one of the weakest joints in the body. It also faces a lot of force during most sports activities.
In baseball, shoulder injuries are common due to the amount of force generated from throwing. In sports like hockey and football, shoulder injuries are common due to the physical force from contact between players. In the end, it is one of the most common sports injuries, though with a little bit of physical therapy and surgery, there are faster turnaround times from injury nowadays.