Sports injuries are common and vary from a muscle strain to ligament sprains and broken bones.
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Common Sports Injuries
- Sprains: Stretching or tearing of ligaments, often affecting the ankle, knee, or wrist.
- Strains: Injury to muscles or tendons caused by overstretching or overuse.
- Fractures: Broken bones resulting from impact or stress.
- Dislocations: Bones forced out of their normal position in a joint.
- Tendonitis: Inflammation of tendons due to repetitive movements.
- Stress fractures: Small cracks in bones from repetitive impact, common in runners.
Initial Management (RICE Principle)
- Rest: Avoid activities that cause pain or may worsen the injury.
- Ice: Apply ice packs for 15–20 minutes every 2–3 hours to reduce pain and swelling.
- Compression: Use bandages or supports to limit swelling.
- Elevation: Keep the injured limb raised above heart level when possible.
When to Seek Medical Help
- Severe pain, swelling, or inability to bear weight.
- Obvious deformity or suspected broken bone.
- Numbness, weakness, or inability to move the joint.
- Persistent pain or swelling that does not improve with rest and self-care.
Rehabilitation and Recovery
- Physiotherapy can help restore strength, flexibility, and mobility.
- Gradual return to activity is important to prevent re-injury.
- Specific exercises may be prescribed to support recovery.
- Patience is key—rushing recovery can increase the risk of long-term issues.
Prevention of Sports Injuries
- Warm up properly before physical activity and cool down afterwards.
- Use correct techniques and equipment for your sport.
- Increase training intensity gradually to avoid overuse injuries.
- Wear appropriate footwear for your activity.
- Maintain good general fitness, strength, and flexibility.
- Listen to your body—stop if you feel pain or discomfort.
Learn more
Tendon Injuries.
Tendon injuries often occur after a sudden force is applied, whether sprinting, jumping, or by a simple fall.
The most common injury is the Achilles tendon, and occasionally patella, quadriceps or biceps tendon. The Achilles has an option of non operative management in a large number of cases, but ruptures of other tendons often need surgery to get the best outcome.
Sports injuries mainly include ligament injuries such as the anterior cruciate, or lateral ligament injuries of the ankle following an ankle sprain. Other sports injuries include cartilage injuries, meniscal injuries, or upper and lower limb fractures.
Initial investigations confirm the severity of the ligament injury, then we can discuss options on which way to go. Most ankle ligament injuries can be managed without surgery for the first few months, then only need surgery if they are persistently unstable or painful. Other ligament injuries often need a surgical option but can be trialled with a course of non-operative management depending on the activities you wish to get back to.
Ankle Sprains.
Ankle sprains caused by twisting the ankle inwards, or an inversion injury, is very common.
If the bone doesn’t break, there’s often a ligament injury.
There is no indication for surgery in the first few months as around 85-90% will get better with ankle braces and physio, but in the remaining cases with persistent instability, surgery is required. We look inside the ankle at the same time with minimally invasive keyhole techniques and manage any cartilage conditions or tendon injuries. The ankle ligament is repaired then reinforced with an internal brace or fibretape to help you rehab quicker and give a stronger repair.
Following surgery most patients go into a plaster for 2 weeks, then start physiotherapy in a moon boot. We aim to get most people back to sport by around 10 weeks post surgery.