Types of Sports Injuries. Acute or chronic?
It depends on where the injury occurs within the body and how serious it is. Injuries of the body are usually categorised in one of two ways: acute or chronic.
Types of Sports Injuries – Acute injuries
They happen suddenly. The most common cases are contusions, tendon and muscle strains, ligament sprains and bone fractures. They cause weakness, tenderness, swelling, pain and the inability to use or put weight on the injured area.
Types of Sports Injuries – Chronic injuries
They occur over a longer time period and are referred to as overuse injuries. Signs and symptoms of injuries are stress fractures, tendinitis and bursitis. They lead to weakness, tenderness, swelling, pain and the inability to use or put weight on the area.
Types of Injuries – Classification
In addition to classifying sports injuries as acute or chronic, injuries can also be categorised according to their severity. They are graded as mild, moderate and severe.
Mild
Mild injuries will have less swelling and pain. It will not affect athletic performance and the affected area is not tender to touch and not deformed at all.
Moderate
A moderate injury involves swelling and some pain. It will have a limiting effect on athletic performance and the area that is affected will be tender to touch. There might be some discolouration too.
Severe
A severe injury will result in swelling and more pain. It will affect sporting performance and normal daily tasks. The site is usually tender to touch, and deformity and discolouration are common.