Common sports injuries
Sports injuries account for around 1.9 per cent of cases presenting at hospital A&E departments,1 but community pharmacy teams collectively will see many more minor sports injuries than A&E departments. NHS Choices2 and NHS Inform3 deal with sports injuries and highlight the likely, as well as more significant, types of injuries associated with various sports.
Sprains and strains are the most common sports injuries; a sprain is a stretched, twisted or torn ligament, while a strain is stretched or torn muscle fibres. Other common sports injuries include:
- Back pain
- Bone injuries
- Hamstring injuries
- Head injuries
- Heel pain
- Joint inflammation
- Knee pain and ligament damage
- Shoulder pain
- Skin injuries.