Sports Injuries - How To Avert Pain?

How should you approach pain caused due to sports injuries?

Sports injuries can happen to any person who engages in sporting activities. These affect full-time athletes as well as those who partake in sports and exercising on an occasional basis. Most sports injuries are acute and affect the muscles and skeletal system. Usually, they are not chronic unless caused by a grave accident or left untreated.

The most common types of injuries caused due to sports are as follows:

•  ankle sprain
•  wrist sprain
•  concussion
•  knee injury
•  tennis elbow
•  hamstring pull
•  cartilage damage

Treatment of sports injuries depends on a number of factors such as the type of injury, part of the body affected, the intensity of the pain, and the patient's age and medical history.

Accordingly, the most common ways of approaching the pain caused by sports injuries are:

1. Immediate remedies: Several quick aid, home remedies are used to treat pain that is caused by minor injuries to muscles, such as sprains and strains. It involves alleviation of pain through rest, using ice packs and hot water bags, wearing supports and elastic compression bandages.
2. Medication: Many medicines such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills, creams and sprays effectively reduce pain caused by sports injuries. In extreme cases, morphine and codeine are also prescribed.
3. Physical therapy: A number of injuries can be treated and cured through certain exercise and workout routines. These aim at stretching and strengthening the affected area to provide pain relief through increased flexibility and muscle activity.
4. Injections: Various substances and chemical compounds can be injected into the injured area which works on the affected ligaments, tendons, and cartilage to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
5. Surgical procedures: This is generally resorted to in case of damage to the skeleton in the form of broken bones and cracked ribs.
6. Interventional Pain relieving procedures: These include regenerative or stem cell therapy, and neuromodulation techniques using radio frequency current. They may result in the best results without any tissue cutting or damage. A pain specialist may be able to help you best in that case.

Devising the exact treatment method requires a thorough examination of the injury. Diagnosis can only be provided after taking into consideration the many factors that affect treatment. The method of treatment varies from case to case and consequently, the recovery time also differs.