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 FEBRUARY 5, 2004 Head-to-Toe Body Part Injuries, Part 1 Various body parts can become injured from a variety of sports. Here's an overview of the areas in the upper body you're most likely to hurt, what sports can cause the injury, and a simple treatment. Neck Muscles Essential to aligning the head over the spine, these muscles (trapezius, sterno-mastoid) can pull or go into spasm from looking up to hit a tennis serve or from tilting the head up when cycling long distances. Ice stiff muscles for 20 minutes, then gently stretch them. Shoulder Joint Extremely important for all sports involving the throwing motion, such as tennis, softball, volleyball, and swimming, as well as other sports that raise the arm above the shoulder, including golf and weight training. The rotator cuff muscles and tendons can become inflamed if the head of the shoulder joint is loose. Range-of-motion exercises can tighten up the joint. Back Muscles These muscles (trapezius, latissimus dorsi) are involved in all sports that require twisting or lifting heavy weight. You are at risk of throwing out your back from tennis, golf, basketball, volleyball, skiing, dancing, softball, football, or any sport requiring arching and sudden starts and stops. Running can also jar the back from the constant pounding of the foot on the ground. Abdominal crunches and back strengthening exercises can prevent pain from recurring. Elbow Joint Used in all throwing and hitting sports, including tennis, golf, racquetball, softball, and football. The muscles and tendons of the forearm that connect to the elbow can become inflamed from overuse, causing elbow pain. Perfecting your stroke and icing the elbow, along with forearm strengthening and stretching exercises, can help prevent pain. |
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