Common injuries

Some sports are associated with an increased risk of certain injuries. It would be wrong to call then “sports specific” as they can occur elsewhere too but it is useful to be aware of which injuries are common in a number of sports:

• Footballers are at risk of injuries to ligaments or cartilages of the knee and also to ankle injuries
• In football and rugby there may be direct trauma to the knees.
• Sports that involve jumping and rotating put the medial meniscus at risk.
• The “commentator’s sign” of a pulled hamstring is when the athlete starts to sprint and pulls up sharpy with the leg stiff and grasping the back of the thigh. Field sports and 400 metres runners are where the victims are most often found. In the 400 metres it is usually down the back straight.

This list is far from exhaustive but aims to give an idea of how certain sports present certain risks.