Common Sports Injuries: Causes and Symptoms

Physical activity is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle, but individuals who engage in an active lifestyle are also at a greater risk of sustaining sports injuries. Athletes must follow proper training techniques to acclimate the body to the additional stress placed on it, and it is crucial that they seek medical counsel at the first sign of pain and/or sports injuries. Even the most highly skilled athletes, who think that they are in tune with their bodies’ functioning, are susceptible to sports injuries, with many sports injuries originating in, or relating to, the lumbar spine.

Some stubborn athletes convince themselves that sports injuries can heal on their own, and play through the pain, tolerating constant low back pain and other symptoms. They may find temporary relief by taking over-the-counter pain medication, but if left untreated, sports injuries can worsen. Athletes may be unknowingly hurting their careers more than they realize and potentially inflicting irreversible damage on their bodies by refusing to acknowledge sports injuries when they materialize.

Sports injuries can most often be classified as one of two types, overuse or macrotraumatic. Overuse injuries occur when a bone, muscle, or tendon tissue is unable to cope with repeated stresses, and results in pain and/or inflammation over time. With age, athletes become more prone to overuse sports injuries, as their tissues are not as adept at repairing themselves and degeneration begins to take a toll on the body.

Macrotraumatic injuries, on the other hand, are caused when tissue is acutely overloaded on a single occasion, leading to failure. Common macrotraumatic injuries include muscle strains, ligament, tendon, and cartilage tears and bone fractures, to name a few.

It is important to note that sports injuries generally result from a combination of macrotraumatic and overuse injuries, and do not typically appear because of one or the other independently. For example, macrotraumatic injuries can lead to the detection of overuse injuries, which may go unnoticed by athletes for months or even years. Likewise, overuse injuries make athletes’ bodies more vulnerable to macrotraumatic injuries by weakening overall performance.

The precursor to spondylolisthesis, or spondylolysis, is one of several sports injuries that athletes may face throughout the duration of their careers. Spondylolysis is the technical term for a stress fracture in one of the vertebra of the spinal column and it may or may not result in visible symptoms. It is commonly seen in athletes who participate in sports like gymnastics, volleyball, football and weight lifting. These sports, in particular, require frequent hyperextension of the lumbar spine. If spondylolysis goes so far as to allow a vertebra to slip forward, spondylolisthesis may result. As the vertebra starts to slip further forward, nerve roots may be pinched and lead to symptoms like radiating back pain down the buttocks, legs, and feet, and numbness and tingling in the legs and feet.

In addition to spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, herniated discs may be classified as sports injuries. Herniated discs are bulging or ruptured vertebral discs that place pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots. Symptoms include numbness, pain, compromised reflexes, and tingling sensations in the arms and/or legs.

A board-certified physiatrist or other medical professional can recommend optimal courses of treatment for sports injuries, including medication, physical therapy, and epidural steroid injections. In severe cases, surgery may be advised as a last resort. As a professional or amateur athlete, you can never be too cautious about your health, and a heightened awareness about the state of your body can keep you on the right track to accomplish your fitness goals.