Sports Injuries, by Steve Dominguez

 Please enjoy this article written by a student in DMHS's "Introduction to Journalism" class!

        Playing Sports can get very dangerous and can cause injuries. The most dangerous sports with the most injuries are sports like football and hockey, which are very physical. Even in less physical sports, injuries are still very common and just as dangerous.

Many people have tried to reduce the number of injuries and find ways to heal faster. A lot of sports-related injuries are lower body ones that are very painful, such as an ACL tear or strain, that leave many people out for the rest of their sports season. Plenty of injuries are caused by overuse, direct impact, or a greater force than the body part can take. There are two types of sports injuries, acute and chronic: acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly, like a sprained ankle because of a weird landing. Chronic injuries are ones that are caused by repeated use of muscles and joints. Other ways chronic injuries can happen are by poor form or not doing something correctly. Medical investigation of any sports injuries are important because they can be a lot worse than you might feel they are and be worse than they look. Some common injuries include ankle sprain, bruises, concussion, cuts and abrasions, dental damage, groin strain, hamstring strain, knee joint injuries, nose injuries, stress fractures, ACL tear or strain, and also shoulder injuries.

In an ankle sprain, symptoms include pain, swelling, and stiffness. You can get an ankle sprain by rolling your ankle or landing on it awkwardly. There are also different types of ankle sprains that are very painful. The best way to get better from an ankle sprain is to put some ice on it to help the swelling go down, and to rest.

The ACL is located right below your kneecap and is tissue that connects your thigh bone to the shinbone at the knee. The common way for an athlete to recover from an ACL injury is to get surgery to repair the tissue and sit out games and practice until it fully heals.

Bruising caused by an ankle sprain

A football player with an ACL tear