Certain body parts tend to take more stress from sports than others. Since physical activities rely on moving joints, it’s often these joints and the tissues that support them that get injured the most.
Some of these include your:
- Achilles tendon. Your Achilles tendon is the thick cord that connects your calf muscles to your heel bone. Strain on this tendon can cause Achilles tendinitis or Achilles tendon rupture.
- Ankle joint. Your ankle contains three joints, as well as other bones, cartilage, ligaments, muscles and tendons. Common ankle injuries include ankle sprains and ankle fractures.
- Elbow joint. Your elbow joint is prone to overuse injuries from repetitive movements during sports. Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are two examples. You can also get elbow bursitis.
- Head. Less than 2 in 10 sports injuries are head injuries, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Most of these are minor, including nosebleeds and tooth loss, but they also include concussions.
- Knee joint. Your knee joint includes several ligaments that you can sprain. Examples include ACL tears and PCL tears. Other common knee injuries include jumper’s knee and runner’s knee.
- Leg muscles. Leg muscle strains are common, including groin pulls and hamstring injuries. A shin splint, which involves the soft tissues around your shin bone, is a common runner’s injury.
- Shoulder joint. Injuries to your shoulder’s rotator cuff, including tears and tendinitis, are sometimes called swimmer’s shoulder. Other shoulder injuries include fracture and dislocation.
Symptoms and Causes
What are common sports injury symptoms?
It’s not hard to tell when you’ve got a sports injury. You’ll usually get it while playing or working out. You’ll notice when what you’re doing becomes painful. You may also notice other signs of injury.
Common symptoms include:
- Muscle or bone pain (musculoskeletal pain)
- Bruises, color changes or swelling that you can see
- A bone or joint looking out of place (deformity)
- A hard time moving or putting weight on the body part
What causes sports injuries?
The most common causes of sports injuries include:
- Falls, which account for more than 1 in 4 sports injuries, according to the CDC
- Training too hard or too long (overexertion) or overestimating your abilities, which can cause injury
- Direct impact, which includes being hit by sports equipment or running into another player
