The 3 Most Common Sports-Related Spine Injuries
Injuries are an unfortunate circumstance in athletics, yet one of the most effective ways players can protect themselves is with knowledge and understanding. All sports injuries are serious, but the ones involving the spine are extremely frightening. Knowing the top three sports-related spine injuries gives you a heads-up on what might be ailing you.
Lower Back Strains
A majority of people suffer from some level of back pain, making competition even more grueling. Adding a significant lower back strain or ligament sprain can leave you debilitated for a short period.
These sports injuries are most frequent among weightlifters, gymnasts, and golfers and may have you feeling like a shell of your normal self. With the amount of torque in a golf swing, the flexibility needed as a gymnast, and the shear strength a weightlifter demands, it’s next to impossible to fight through the pain and perform.
Some noticeable symptoms are extreme swelling and bruising and obvious weakening of the muscles. They steadily worsen when symptoms go untreated, often sidelining an athlete indefinitely. Therefore, it’s imperative that you don’t grind your teeth and tough them out if there is a severe injury.
Herniated Discs
Athletes bend their spines to varying degrees throughout training and competition. When the body rotates with a flexed spine, you stress the intervertebral discs. Overworked discs might begin to slip, resulting in a herniated disc.
Overtraining and shoddy techniques are at fault for this type of injury. Typical symptoms of a herniated disc include numbness around the spine and radiating pain. If treatment doesn’t alleviate your pain, surgery is a possibility.
Contact Stingers
Stingers are most common in contact or crash sports. When impact violently pushes an athlete’s head back or to the side, the cervical nerves might compress or overextend, causing pain to travel down one arm. Athletes who have experienced stingers describe the agony as a shock down their body that lasts anywhere from a few seconds to minutes.
A complete physical therapy program that concentrates on improving the neck muscles is the most effective strategy to avoid stingers. Furthermore, practicing good sport-related techniques is paramount to preventing these injuries. Stingers typically don’t happen for football players that know how to tackle properly.
The three most common sports-related spine injuries can happen to anyone, and finding the best treatment can get you back in the game. PRO-AM sports injuries clinic has the best injury doctors in the Las Vegas area to help diagnose and treat your injury. Don’t hesitate to contact us today to receive a consultation and figure out a game plan to get you back and better than ever.
