The term sports injury, in the broadest sense, refers to the kinds of injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise. Some sports injuries result from accidents; others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warmup and stretching.
Although virtually any part of your body can be injured during sports or exercise, the term is usually reserved for injuries that involve the musculoskeletal system, which includes the muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons.
Fortunately, even though there are acute or chronic cases, most sports injuries, especially those due to adaptational processes or instabilities, can be treated effectively, and mostly you will be able to return to your previous satisfying level of physical activity after an injury. Even better, many sports injuries can be prevented if you take the proper precautions.
Ligaments are the fibrous, slightly stretchy connective tissues that hold one bone to another in the body. Because their function is stabilizing the joint so that the bones move in the proper alignment. They are highly susceptible to injury. They also control the range of motion of a joint. They are what prevents your elbow from bending backwards, but also help to perform the complex coordinated activities needed for sport.
Ligaments are made of dense connective tissue consisting of a protein substance called collagen. The organization of collagen fibers gives the ligament its tensile strength. Another function of ligaments is to provide proprioceptive input to the brain that allows a person to know what position the joints are in, without having to look.
A great deal of force is required to damage ligaments. In a collision sport like football this is easily done by opposition players or when a player catches his foot in the turf and his whole body weight goes over one joint. This force then produces the structural damage to the joint capsule and ligaments, which is known as a ligament sprain.
Several factors can make it more likely that you will have a muscle strain in your leg, including:
Muscle tightness:
Tight muscles are vulnerable to strain. Daily stretching exercises will reduce athletes’ risk of muscle tightness.
You are not in shape:
Unexercised, weak muscles are less able to withstand the stress of exercise - and are therefore more prone to injury. Do not go over your limit when running. Take it slow.
Muscle imbalance:
Is one muscle group much stronger than its opposing muscle group? Then this imbalance can lead to a strain. This frequently happens with the hamstring muscles, which may become fatigued faster than other stronger calf muscles.
Muscle fatigue:
Fatigue reduces the energy-absorbing capabilities of muscles, making them more susceptible to injury.
