"Sports injury doctor" reveals 5 common basketball injuries

Hi this is Dr. Vasili,

I am a sports injury doctor that specialize in treating, and preventing injuries from occurring. Today I am going to explain to you the 5 most common basketball injuries.

“Sports injury doctor” reveals 5 common basketball injuries

Basketball is a great game played by both men and women. In basketball, the player is required to run up and down the court several times and also develop skill sets like jumping high, juking, and shooting, which all require strenuous movements of the body.
So on a closer look, basketball is a combination of many fast movements that are most suited for burning calories. And therefore, basketball is one of the best games for anyone who would want to shed some weight.
But you must be careful not to get injured playing, or you could prevent delaying reaching your fitness goals. This article describes five common injuries that may occur while playing basketball and to prevent each one from happening.

Ankle sprains: 
Cause: Caused by the stretching or straining of the ankle area from quick movements on the court. It’s often followed by swelling and pain in the ankle. One may also feel stiffness in the ankle area for several days following injury.

Prevention: This can’t be prevented totally, but wearing high top, ankle protecting basketball shoes help significantly. If a sprain does occur, during the first 48 hours elevate the ankle and keep ice on it to reduce swelling and speed your recovery. If your sprain is still giving you discomfort, seek a sport doctor who will help you do straightening exercises for reinstating the ankle.

Tears in the anterior ligament:
Cause: This is caused due to over tension in the knee socket, which often results in twisting. The process is accompanied with a pop sound and severe pain.  In severe cases the patient may even experience instability of the injured knee.

Prevention: To prevent this, perform some warm-up exercises before and after the game. In mild cases it can be treated with compression, ice, and taking adequate rest. In severe cases the patient may require an arthroscopic surgery as soon as possible.

Hairline fractures:

• Cause:  stress fracture means hairline crack in the bone. This is usually caused due to overly repetitive running and jumping. Men and women with flat feet are more prone to this injury. The feet may feel tender or sometimes swell up with pain.

  Prevention:  Always play wearing basketball specific shoes with ample arch support as they have great shock absorbing technology. If this injury does occur, you will need to consult a doctor who will provide a brace or crutches for around two weeks. To get over the initial pain, you may take anti-inflammatory or pain killer medicine as prescribed by your doctor.

  Femoral knee pain syndrome:

  Causes: It usually happens when the cartilage below the knee cap gets affected due to frequent running. One may not notice this initially, but would feel pain while climbing stairs, walking, etc.

  Prevention: Wearing knee braces when experiencing any slight discomfort while playing can reduce the chances of this injury occurring. Compression can help reduce the pain.

  Hamstring strains:
  Cause: Due to a sudden burst of speed, the hamstring or thigh muscles get stimulated very fast; this might sometimes cause them to rupture and result in pain.
  Prevention: Try not to run with sudden burst early on in the game. As always, complete and thorough stretching can help prevent strain by providing your muscles with extra flexibility before doing quick movements. In case it occurs one may apply ice to reduce the aftereffects.