Sports that Could Land You in the Hospital

According to a recent news report from Global News, there are certain sports that are landing Canadians in the hospital much more than others. These sports including cycling, skiing and snowboarding, animal riding (such as horseback), playground activities, the use of all-terrain vehicles, skateboarding, and more. Just so you have a better idea as to how these sports are having a negative impact on Canadians, here are a few statistics from last year:

• Cycling: 4,268 hospitalizations 

• ATVs: 2,834 hospitalizations 

• Playgrounds: 2,184 hospitalizations 

• Skiing/snowboarding: 1,717 hospitalizations 

• Animal riding: 922 hospitalizations

• Skateboarding: 637 hospitalizations

Common injuries from these particular sporting activities include everything from bruises, cuts and scrapes, and open wounds – to more severe injuries such as sprains, fractures, broken bones, concussions, and other head injuries, which can sometimes have a life-long impact, and in some cases can even lead to death. 

Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons why these injuries occur is due to the fact that individuals aren’t taking the necessary precautions to prevent them from happening in the first place. For example: Wearing protective gear. While the type of gear required fully depends on, helmets are the most common type of protective gear that individuals should be wearing – whether it’s when you’re cycling, horseback riding, on an ATV, or playing other sports like hockey, baseball, or football. It’s also good to make sure the helmet you’re wearing fits you properly. If it’s too big, then chances are it will fall off. A helmet should fit snugly but still feel comfortable. To prevent things like bone fractures and breaks, you should also be wearing padded gear – such as wrist pads, elbow pads, and knee pads. Mouthguards are also commonly worn in contact sports (football, hockey, lacrosse) to prevent your teeth from being knocked out or damaged.

If you’re someone who hasn’t played sports or exercised in a while, you’ll want to loosen up your muscles beforehand. This is known as warming up. A warm-up can consist of a light jog, or by doing some stretching. If you already happen to be injured, then the aforementioned physical activities are ones you’ll want to avoid until you are healed. Engaging in physical activity while injured can actually make your injury worse and set you back several weeks or months, and will also make you susceptible to re-injury in the future.

To get your body back to where it needs to be, some things that may help speed up the healing process is by taking over-the-counter medications, such as NSAIDs. Inflammation commonly occurs as a result of injury, and NSAIDs (such as Advil) can actually help reduce that inflammation and relieve pain. In addition, applying ice to the injured area in 10-minute intervals can also help with pain and any swelling that may have developed as a result of your injury. Seeing a physiotherapist can also help in terms of mobility.

While injuries aren’t always 100% preventable, things like helmets and padded gear can significantly reduce the severity of the injury and even save your life.

Physiotherapy

If you’ve ever suffered from an injury – such as a back injury, knee injury, or have injured another part of your body – then you know that it can sometimes take a bit of time before your body is back to feeling like it was before that injury occurred; and, in some cases, you might never fully get back to feeling 100%. Things like pain medications, such as anti-inflammatories, and other over-the-counter products such as ointments and numbing agents, can and do provide relief, but they’re only a temporary band-aid. In the event that you do develop an injury and don’t heal within the timeframe expected, or your pain worsens, that’s where a physiotherapist comes in. 

A physiotherapist is a trained professional who works to help patients regain ability, as well as treat different diseases and disorders, through different types of physical manipulation. While most people think that physiotherapists strictly work with muscle and other sport-related injuries, they’re actually adept in many different areas and treat individuals of all ages – from children, to adults, to seniors. There are also generally three different classifications of physiotherapy: 

• Musculoskeletal

• Neurological

• Cardiothoracic

Musculoskeletal physiotherapy, which is the most common type of physiotherapy today, treats things like arthritis, sprains and strains, back pain, sports injuries, workplace injuries, and bursitis. Individuals who have had surgery may experience reduced mobility post-op, and will sometimes require musculoskeletal physiotherapy as a result. Neurological physiotherapy treats certain disorders associated with the nervous system – for example, patients who’ve had strokes, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and acquired brain injuries. Cardiothoracic physiotherapy is used to help treat things like emphysema, asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory-related disorders. The main goal of a physiotherapist to improve a patient’s quality of life by restoring their function, and alleviating pain, and reducing symptoms. If the patient has a permanent injury, then they work to reduce the effects of any dysfunction they might be experiencing.

The type of physiotherapy that someone will receive depends solely on their requirements. Physiotherapy can be manual, which may include things like stretching, resistance training, spinal mobilization, as well as joint manipulation, or it can also include electrotherapy techniques consisting of ultrasound, laser therapy, and more commonly, TENS – also known as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. When it comes to actually receiving physiotherapy, the biggest misconception people have is that that they think they will feel better immediately following treatment, when in fact it’s not at all uncommon for symptoms to intensify following your first session. When a patient decides to enter into physiotherapy, it is usually because the methods they’ve tried themselves haven’t been successful. A physiotherapist, on the other hand, has different approach to their techniques, and they are techniques and certain manipulations that the body may not be used to, hence why it’s normal to have some discomfort during the first few sessions. Once your body starts to get used to those new techniques, the pain eventually decreases.

Generally, physiotherapy sessions last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the injury and area of the body that is being worked on. Similarly, how many physiotherapy sessions a person needs also depends on those same circumstances.

For more information on physiotherapy, speak with your family physician or visit the Canadian Physiotherapy Association’s website at physiotherapy.ca.