12 Common Sports Injuries: Causes,
Symptoms & Treatment

The ACL runs through the centre of the knee and controls rotation. It is most commonly torn during a sudden twist, pivot or awkward landing in cricket, football, badminton, kabaddi and gym training, and equally in slips and two-wheeler accidents.

Treatment: a completely torn ACL does not heal back together. Some patients manage well with rehabilitation, particularly if they avoid pivoting activity and the knee stays stable. Where instability affects daily life or sport, arthroscopic reconstruction replaces the ligament with a graft.

The menisci are two C-shaped cartilage cushions that spread load across the knee. Tears happen suddenly during twisting, or gradually as the tissue becomes less resilient with age — sometimes from something as ordinary as rising from a squat.

Treatment: repair-first wherever the tear pattern allows. The outer part of the meniscus has a blood supply and can heal; the inner part largely does not. Preserving meniscus protects the knee over the long term, which is why I stitch rather than trim whenever the tear permits it.

The MCL runs along the inner side of the knee and resists forces pushing the knee inward. It is commonly injured by a blow to the outside of the knee, or by a twist with the foot planted.

Treatment: the good news with the MCL is that it has a good blood supply and most injuries heal without surgery. Treatment is usually bracing, protected movement and structured rehabilitation. Surgery is considered mainly where the MCL is injured alongside other ligaments, or where instability persists.

Articular cartilage is the smooth surface covering the ends of the bones. It has no blood supply of its own, which means its capacity to repair is limited.

Treatment: depends on whether the damage is a focal defect with healthy cartilage around it, or diffuse wear. A focal defect in a younger patient may be treatable with repair or restoration techniques that preserve the joint. Orthobiologic options are considered in selected cases. Correcting contributing factors — leg alignment, meniscus loss — is part of the plan.

The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel and takes very high loads with every step. Problems range from gradual tendon irritation to complete rupture.

Treatment: tendinopathy responds well to structured loading programmes, activity modification and footwear adjustment — patience matters more than anything else here, as tendons remodel slowly. Complete rupture is treated either surgically or non-surgically depending on the patient's age, activity and the specific injury.

The most common injury in sport, and the most commonly under-treated. Most sprains involve the ligaments on the outer side, injured when the foot rolls inward.

Treatment: early controlled movement, then strength, then balance work. That last phase is the one people skip, and it is the one that prevents recurrence. Where the ankle continues to give way despite proper rehabilitation, ligament repair or reconstruction is considered.

The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue running along the sole of the foot. Irritation where it attaches to the heel is one of the most common causes of heel pain.

Treatment: the large majority of cases settle without surgery. Calf and plantar fascia stretching, appropriate footwear, insoles, activity modification and load management form the mainstay. Recovery is often measured in months rather than weeks, which is worth knowing at the outset.

The tibialis posterior tendon runs behind the inner ankle bone and supports the arch of the foot. When it becomes dysfunctional, the arch gradually flattens.

Treatment: in earlier stages, orthotics to support the arch, targeted strengthening and activity modification. Where the deformity has progressed, reconstructive surgery may be considered.

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, and that mobility comes at the cost of stability. Once a shoulder has dislocated, it becomes more likely to dislocate again particularly in younger patients.

Why the first one matters: a first dislocation typically tears the labrum and stretches the capsule. If these do not heal in the right position, the shoulder is structurally looser than before which is why recurrence is common, especially in teenagers and people in their twenties.

Treatment: immobilisation, then rehabilitation focused on the rotator cuff and shoulder blade muscles. Where dislocations recur, arthroscopic stabilisation repairs the labrum and tightens the capsule.

Despite the name, most people with tennis elbow have never played tennis. It is an overuse condition affecting the tendons on the outer side of the elbow, where the muscles that extend the wrist attach.

Treatment: it settles without surgery in the large majority of cases, though it can take several months. Load management, specific strengthening exercises, technique and equipment review, and bracing all help. Injections are used selectively. Surgery is reserved for the small number of cases that do not respond.

Groin pain in athletes is one of the more difficult problems to diagnose, because several structures produce pain in the same area — hip joint, adductor muscles, abdominal wall, pubic bone and, occasionally, the lower back.

Treatment: depends entirely on the source. Muscle-related problems respond to graduated loading programmes. Hip joint problems are treated according to what is found, from activity modification through to arthroscopy.

Fractures in sport range from stress fractures that develop gradually to acute breaks from a fall or collision.

Acute fractures: follow falls, collisions or two-wheeler accidents. Wrist, collarbone and ankle fractures are among the most common in sport.

Treatment: depends on the bone, the pattern and the displacement. Many fractures are treated without surgery; those involving a joint surface, or that are significantly displaced, are usually fixed surgically to restore the anatomy accurately.