Common Injuries Faced By Athletes

When athletes begin training for sports and events and put themselves under the pre-requisite training for such an event, they might experience pain as a result of bone mass increase in areas of maximum stress. If however, the training and exertion is too rapid, the bone might begin to fail and the stress reaction might cause the bone to pain and eventually it can cause fracture in extreme cases.

The athlete will experience unbearable pain at night before such a stress fracture happens. An X-ray is needed to determine, if such a stress fracture has developed and the extent of the fracture. Prior to the fracture, the areas affected will develop black or blue bruising.

Hip bone is often the site of injury and many different factors may cause trauma to it. Stress fractures are caused by prolonged and repetitive injury and are common in long distance running athletes. Hip impingement might result from abnormally shaped hip bones wherein the bones grind against each other and deteriorate the connecting joint. The iliac crest (present in the greater pelvic part) of the hip bone impacting the muscle overhead, can lead to hip pointer injuries.

1. Osgood Schlatter Disease is a condition affecting children, mostly boys who participate in athletics, due to overuse of muscles. The patellar tendon and surrounding tissues get inflamed and with proper rest, ice compression, and elevation of the knee, it can be treated.
2. Premature osteoporosis is a condition that affects female athletes in particular due to low calcium levels and menstrual dysfunction which hamper the body’s bone building process.
3. Over training in male athletes may lead to osteoporosis due to reduced testosterone levels.
4. Osteopenia or the loss of bone in athletes may result due to over training and psychological stress. The calcium is mainly reabsorbed from the ‘cancellous bone’ (bone tissue that has a structure similar to a mesh, containing many pores) in the femur.
5. Most athletes suffer from low bone density and in extreme cases, this might lead to osteopenia. Cyclists are found to have the highest loss of bone density amongst athletes. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Orthopedist.