Doctors insight on sports injuries

The benefits of sports and exercise outweigh the risks, but occasionally injuries do happen. Sporting injuries can be caused by an accident, not warming up properly, using the inappropriate technique or poor equipment and pushing yourself past the limit.

Speaking to Dr Jacky McLeod (GP General Practitioner), she elaborated on some of the common reasons why athletes pick up injuries and what type of athletes she has encountered.

Dr McLeod said "people who exercise regularly, have fitness regime, long distance cyclists and sometimes runners training for marathon runners can sustain a variety of injuries, related to strain or repeated trauma, muscle and ligament injuries. People can also sustain personal injuries from gym activities, particularly when using weights, for example back pain.”

I also learned her reasoning behind becoming a doctor.

"It was the motivation to help people and improve their quality of life; to help people find answers and help them live well despite any physical or mental conditions that they may have."

Medical treatment is always evolving over time. As the years go by, more and more technology are being used to help injured athletes. Injuries are detected far quicker than they used to be.

"I would say that management of sporting regimes and sports-related injuries are much more widely accepted and recognised now. There is greater access to a range of specialists who can take care of injuries to athletes or complaints related to their engagement in sporting activities.

I think there are also more technical ways of helping non-professional male and female athletes than there was back when I started in general practice more than 20 years ago."

The key is to always stop exercising when you feel immediate pain. Continuing to exercise may worsen your condition and prolong your recovery time. Athletes should gradually work up their abilities over time and typically start with passive and non-weight bearing exercise to give themselves the best opportunity of returning to their usual regime.