If you are into fitness and sport you’ll probably have experienced a few strains and pains now and again. It’s frustrating as it sets you back when you’re itching to keep exercising.
By Siobhan Harris WebMD Feature
Medically Reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks
If you are into fitness and sport you’ll probably have experienced a few strains and pains now and again. It’s frustrating as it sets you back when you’re itching to keep exercising.
It can happen regardless of your fitness level. It may be a certain movement or event that causes an injury, or more likely it’s a cumulative effect injury.
“Injuries can be traumatic, caused by sports like rugby or football for instance, or ‘atraumatic’ caused by a repetitive strain when the body can’t tolerate what’s being asked of it and it gives pain as a kind of alarm system,” says Jack Chew, a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist and spokesperson for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
Sprains are ligament injuries – they are the bands connecting bones in a joint. If they are stretched suddenly past their limits it deforms or tears them.
Strains are injuries to muscle fibres or tendons, which anchor muscles to bones. Strains are pulled muscles as over-stretching or overuse of a muscle causes tears in the muscle fibres or tendons.
Warming up before sport or fitness is recommended whatever your activity. It helps get your body ready for exercise. A cool down and stretching afterwards increases flexibility and may reduce the risk of muscle soreness.
So what are the most common fitness injuries and how do you avoid them?
