You’ve probably heard or read articles about the famous athletes who left their elite careers amid injury.

You might have thought, what a disgrace that someone so talented in a sport has to leave the field.

Sports injuries can take place at almost any athletic age and can sometimes have over-lasting effects.

Therefore, in this article, we will explore why long-term sports injuries occur in the first place.

If you are a proficient athlete or an amateur, you can suffer the so-called sports injury. In fact, even if you are an ordinary person who involves regular exercise or training, you can suffer from it. This can occur when you twist your ankle or land on the wrong foot while running.

When the pain from your sports injury remains for more than a week or two, it is time to see a sports injury pain management specialist. Early detection and proper therapy can help you ensure that this pain from your sports injury does not turn into any sort of chronic pain.

Why Long Term Sports Injuries Occur

A prominent sports physio Sydney notes that for athletes and other exercise enthusiasts, sports injuries are commonly caused by improper use of equipment, inadequate performance of warm-up exercises, overestimation of physical condition, strength, and resistance levels.

For ordinary people, sports injuries are the result of landing with the wrong foot when walking or running, poor ankle circumference, or the wrong way of lifting.

Whether you play soccer or boxing, you take one hit at a time, in every practice and in every game. Much of this contact involves your head.

Helmets help but don’t completely prevent injury. This can be a reason why long-term sports injuries occur.

As such, concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are extremely common in this type of contact sport. The problem is, even after the concussion has healed, the damage can still persist.

According to the medical journal Brain, athletes who suffer from a shock are more likely to develop cognitive problems than their peers who have never experienced a brain injury.

The likelihood of future problems also increases when it comes to arthritis. Your knees, shoulders, spine, ankles, and hips require extra to wear when you exercise.

Torn cartilage and tight ligaments are common injuries when you are an athlete. The National Center for Sports Safety has found that these injuries often contribute to the development of arthritis. However, with proper treatment by a sports doctor and adequate rest, the risk of arthritis can be reduced.

Sports injuries commonly fall into two categories, acute or chronic. These can result from direct impact, loading (applying more force to a joint than it can withstand), and overuse.

Acute Injury:

An acute injury is the result of an incident or accident that produces visible symptoms. For example, a slip, fall, rig, or collision can cause serious injury. While some accidents are only a part of the sport, others can be avoided with the right equipment.

Chronic Injury:

A chronic injury is a long-term injury. It can start with an acute injury that does not heal completely, or it can be caused by overuse or improper form. Athletes can play in pain, which can lead to chronic injuries. If you can find out the causes of chronic pain, you’ll get why long-term sports injuries occur.

Chronic pain is generally caused by an initial injury, such as muscle strain or sprained back. Chronic pain is believed to develop after nerve damage. Damage to the nerves makes the pain more intense and lasting. In these cases, treating the underlying injury may not resolve chronic pain.

Knee Injuries

Knee injuries are common in sports like soccer, rugby, basketball, and netball. Most knee injuries are incurred by an external force that bends or twists the knee in a way that was not anatomically designed.

The common causes of knee injuries are a twisting mechanism resulting from falls, sports, or accidents. A bent knee can damage ligaments and cartilage.

High-force injuries, such as sports-related injuries and traffic accidents, can alter various parts of some knee anatomy and cause multiple forms of knee injuries. Bursitis can be caused by arthritis, overuse, infection, degenerative joint disease, or gout.

Ankle Injuries

This injury is widespread in general. You don’t need to exercise to twist your ankle. An uncomfortable step or journey when walking or sliding on any wet surface can indeed cause this injury. If this happens in your sports training and you continue with the pain, it can be a reason why long-term sports injuries occur.

When you sprain your ankle, the ligaments rupture entirely or partially. Although these ligaments can heal gradually, there always remains an increased danger of repeated twists in the future.

Shoulder Injury

The structure of your shoulder joint is unique as it allows high mobility in multiple different planes. This will enable you to use your upper limbs for several sports and exercises. In addition, the soft tissue structures, such as the tendons and muscles, help you with stability.

These delicate tissues can be injured during sports, especially during severe impact on your shoulder. It mainly occurs in sports such as soccer and boxing.

Light Therapy for Sports Fitness

Many athletes are determining the benefits of red light therapy and infrared light therapy. This non-invasive modality can relieve muscle pain, help recover from sports injuries, and improve general well-being.

Light therapy, also recognized as red light therapy, involves leading specific wavelengths of light from an LED light source to a part of the body. Light penetrates the skin to restart tissue recovery. Using over-the-counter red LED devices, you can treat pain and other conditions.

Red light therapy works by stimulating blood flow and inspiring cell regeneration. Essentially, these treatments help muscle cell mitochondria complete their respiratory cycle more efficiently, thereby reducing muscle fatigue.

Enlightening the mitochondrial respiration cycle results in better activation and creation of muscle stem cells that eventually become healthy muscle tissue. Athletes who apply red light therapy on their muscles can benefit from long-lasting, healthy muscle tissue.

Red light therapy also diminishes inflammation that damages cells and causes muscle pain. Light therapy has also shown to help build muscle, making it a workout recovery asset. It provides a boost to make your workouts more effective.