Sports injuries are injuries that are caused by participation in a sporting event. In many cases, these types of injuries are due to overuse of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form a repetitive stress injury at the elbow, although it does often occur with tennis players. Other types of injuries can be caused by a hard contact with something. This can often cause a broken bone or torn ligament or tendon.

Sports injuries can be broadly classified as either traumatic or overuse injuries. Traumatic injuries account for most injuries in contact sports because of the dynamic and high collision nature of these activities. These injuries range from bruises and muscle strains, to fractures and head injuries.

A bruise or contusion is damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues. A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and a ligament strain is a small tear of ligament tissue. The body’s response to these sports injuries is the same in the initial five day period immediately following the traumatic incident - inflammation.

The inflammatory stage is therefore the first phase of healing. However, too much of an inflammatory response in the early stage can mean that the healing process takes longer and a return to activity is delayed. The sports injury treatments are intended to minimise the inflammatory phase of an injury, so that the overall healing process is accelerated.

What Can A Chiropractor Do For Me?
Just like a personal injury, your chiropractor is trained in diagnosing problems in your body. Once this investigation is completed, the doctor will determine which areas of your body are deficient in their functionality. He/she will initially check your nervous system, which is the Master Controlling System of your body, to determine what nerves may not be performing properly. This enables your body's natural ability to recuperate from your damages and dysfunction.

Not only can these treatments speed up your recovery, but they can help minimize pain, discomfort and time away from your athletics. Chiropractic can also help enhance athletic performance by allowing your brain to send proper signals the body thus enabling you to increase strength, mobility and dexterity.