ABSTRACT
Regular physical exercise is integral to the body staying healthy. However, stressing the human body to its limits may lead to injury. Sports medicine is the science of understanding how these injuries can be avoided, recognised when they do occur, and then treated appropriately. Sports injuries are, in principle, the same as other injuries. The major difference can be in the expectations of the patients. The injuries can be classified into three broad groups. Acute extrinsic injuries are those which arise from a direct external blow. These are commonly wounds, bruises and fractures. Acute intrinsic injuries result from failure of the patient’s anatomical structures as a result of excessive loading. Examples are tendon ruptures, avulsion fractures and ligament injuries. Chronic injuries are those with an insidious or unknown onset and commonly involve degeneration or failure secondary to repetitive loading. Examples are tendinosis of the Achilles tendon and stress fractures.
