In addition to being soccer and baseball season, the spring is also track and field season. And while there isn’t much contact in the various activities that comprise track and field, there are certainly myriad opportunities for injury. A new report out of Philadelphia takes a look at some of the most common injuries that plague track and field college athletes and offers some guidance on how to take care of the damage once it manifests. You’ll want to keep these in mind if you’re going to engage in any of these activities in the near future.
Running creates its own injury potential due to the constant jarring impacts that are going to reverberate throughout your body, but you don’t need to run a long way to experience damage. With track and field, you could be ratcheting the intensity up to 11 to compete in sprints or even hurdles, and these formats create their own hazards that must be understood.
Much of the danger of a sprint relates to the hamstring. When your speed ranges between a walk and an all-out run with hardly any transition between, you’re asking a lot of your leg muscles. Should you feel pain in your hamstring, the key thing to remember is the importance of getting it seen to early. The earlier you seek treatment, the less likely that injury will turn into something more serious. If rest doesn’t cut it, speak with a trainer or a doctor to figure out a fitness program that will strengthen the area without necessarily taxing that same area.
As if sprinting didn’t pose enough of an injury potential, the risks of damage increase when you add hurdles into the equation. Because you’ll be required to jump repeatedly, an ACL injury could be in the cards, especially if form isn’t perfected, and there’s also the risk that pops up when you’re unable to clear the hurdle, as the impact and ensuing fall can lead to broken bones.
These injuries are far from easy to bounce back from, and you won’t get early warning signs the way you would with a hamstring injury. You’ll probably be out of commission for awhile, but you have to make your peace with that. Work with a sports medicine doctor rather than against one, as trying to get back to the activity too early can undo all the rehab work you’ve sought to accomplish.
Any activity that requires you to jump is necessarily going to pose injury risks as well. When you’re doing the long jump, the worry is that you’ll sustain muscle damage upon landing, whereas the big concern with an inappropriate pole vault is that you’ll come down awkwardly and break bones. Try to perfect your timing and form to avoid these threats, and when an injury occurs, again, speak with a doctor and follow the guidance laid out for you.
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