Student athletes may not realize the long term adv
erse effects of injuries sustained while participating in competitive sports at the high school level.
The wear and tear athletes subject their bodies to in their prime of their athletic career most often leads to serious health problems later on in life. Some of the most popular sports that put players at a high risk of being injured include basketball, soccer, football, volleyball, tennis, badminton, softball and baseball.
Although baseball and softball are entirely different sports, the injuries suffered by players from both sports are notably similar. Softball and baseball are both sports where injuries mainly occur from overusing muscles or from trauma that occurs suddenly and by force.
Common injuries from baseball and softball include tendinitis, torn rotator cuffs, shoulder separation, tennis elbow, knee ligament injuries, broken wrists, broken fingers and bursitis of the elbow and shoulder.
Softball players suffer fewer injuries to the elbow and shoulder than baseball players do because of the natural motion of underhand pitching. However, most pitchers and players of both sports will develop arthritis in their hands from the constant strain on their joints. The long term effects of these injuries are joint stiffness, swelling and pain in the affected areas.
Basketball is one of the other sport that has many adverse effects on the body in the long run due to the wear and tear on the knees and joints from repetitive jumping motions, having to pivot and change directions suddenly, being constantly knocked to the gym floor and being pushed and shoved by other players.
When most people think of football-related injuries, concussion, broken bones and knee complications come to mind, but what most don’t realize are the long term effects of suffering from such injuries. ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears, MCL (medial collateral ligament) injuries, Meniscus tears, Hip pointers, and AC (acromioclavicular) joint injuries are all common damages sustained while playing football at the competitive level and can lead to severe and chronic pain, mobility impairments, and loss of full limb functionality later on in life.
My dad is a prime example. He had many colleges fighting to get him on there team, but his senior year the state moved his school up from a 4A to 5A and he was hit extremely hard in the wrong place. He ended up with a very bad concussion, one of about six, but still one of the worst ones he had. All of his college offers were dropped when he could’ve had the potential to become an NFL player.
Volleyball involves jumping, sprinting, and collisions with the gym floor at any given moment. It is no surprise that so many injuries occur in this sport that has lasting effects on the body. Because volleyball is mostly an overhead sport – meaning the player’s arm is arched above the head – as it is in spiking, blocking and serving the ball, a considerable number of injuries occur in the shoulders and wrists of the players.
Despite the injuries players sustain most, including myself, would say that it was worth sacrificing their bodies for the love of the game.
