Four Common Sports Injuries – How to Avoid Them and Recover

Spring sports season is here and student athletes are back on tracks, fields, and diamonds preparing for competition.

While it’s common to want to ramp up training right away for upcoming meets, matches and games on the schedule, working out too hard, too fast can lead to sports injuries that sideline players during the season.

According to Dr. Kylee Eagles, a primary care provider and sports medicine specialist at South Shore Medical Center, there are some simple steps athletes can take that help prevent injuries and keep them in the game.

• Make sure you warm up before practices and games and stretch afterward. 
• Hydration is essential.  Increase your water intake 24 hours before you play and again after the event.
• Eat more protein. Include protein in meals at least three times per day, and have both protein and a carbohydrate 30 minutes post-workout.
• Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night – that’s your body’s recovery time. After strenuous activity, it’s important to rebuild with rest, hydration and nutrients.
• Take 1-2 days off from your sport each week and do only light exercises such as walking or stretching.

Eagles recommends setting a training routine that intensifies gradually in duration and intensity and listening to your body before, during and after workouts.

“At the start of any sports season or training program, my advice for student athletes is to have fun and listen to your body,” she said. 

“We’ve become conditioned to ignore our body’s signals which often leads to injury.” 

Shin splints, pulled muscles, runner’s knee and trauma/contact injuries are among the most common student athlete injuries Eagles said she treats. She offers the following tips to avoid or recover from injury.

Shin Splints 

Shin splints are pain and inflammation occurring in the front of the shin or tibia and are a common injury for new runners. Shin splints can be caused by a sudden increase in the amount or intensity of exercise or repetitive stress to the area 

To prevent shin splints, start your running routine slowly and exercise at a comfortable pace.  Warm up before activity and cool down afterward. Wear supportive shoes, and strengthen the anterior tibialis muscle by doing toe taps or walking on your heels with toes up. Stretching your calf muscles is also important. Whenever possible choose softer running surfaces such as dirt trails or a track. 

To recover from shin splints, avoid activity that causes sharp pain. Stretch and foam roll the calf muscle, ice massage the shin, take anti-inflammatory medication and rest until there is no sharp pain while running. If the pain persists after two weeks, check with a sports medicine provider to make sure the injury is not a stress fracture.

Muscle Pull

A muscle strain or pulled muscle occurs when a muscle is stretched too much and a part of it tears. Muscle pulls can be caused by too much activity, insufficient warm up before activity and poor flexibility.

To prevent muscle pulls, warm up adequately before activity and cool down and stretch afterward. Ramp up physical activity slowly and stay hydrated before, during and after a workout.

To recover from a muscle pull, cold water submerge or apply ice to the muscle, massage and gently stretch the area, and stay hydrated.  The mineral magnesium and electrolytes can also help with muscle recovery.

Runner’s Knee

Runner’s knee is a patella tracking disorder in which the kneecap does not glide properly over the femur and instead grinds causing pain and inflammation. Runner’s knee can occur when there is an imbalance of tight and weak muscles and can cause the knee to buckle giving the sensation of falling forward or being off balance.

To prevent runner’s knee, cross training and stretching is recommended. Foam roll the outer quadriceps muscles. Strengthen weak gluteus muscles and your core. 

To recover from runner’s knee apply ice, rest and take an anti-inflammatory medication. McConnel taping or wearing a patellofemoral knee brace can also help in recovery. If the knee is not improving after a couple of weeks, follow up with your provider.

Contact injuries

Trauma or contact sports injuries can include fractures, sprains, strains, an ACL injury, meniscus tear or other torn ligaments, dislocations, contusions, concussions and more.

To prevent contact injuries, train for your sport and use proper technique when playing.  Follow the rules of the game, focusing on skill rather than contact.

To recover from a contact injury, seek medical attention to diagnose the injury. Use the RICE method: rest, ice, compression and elevate the injured area and use anti-inflammatory medications. Follow a recovery plan that may include physical therapy or exercises to help with healing. To avoid re-injury, return to sports gradually after following up with your provider to ascertain it’s safe to get back in the game. 

Kylee Eagles, DO is a primary care provider and sports medicine specialist at South Shore Medical Center in Norwell.  Learn more about Sports Medicine at South Shore Health.