Asian attractive sport woman feels pain on stomach after run on street. Beautiful girl in sportswear having stomach ache illness while exercise by jogging workout outdoor in the evening in public park
Children, teens, and adults participate in organized and recreational sports activities for fun, exercise, and social benefits. Individuals and parents are used to scrapes, bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains. However, internal abdominal injuries from the body colliding with another player or object are less common but dangerous. Abdominal injuries make up less than 4 percent of sports injuries but can be severe when they occur. These injuries are common in sports like wrestling, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, football, skiing, snowboarding, BMX freestyle, motocross, skateboarding, ice/field hockey, and lacrosse. Early symptoms are not always obvious or apparent and can be mild or seem to go in a different direction away from the abdominal region, which is why it is essential to know what to look for.
There are about 3oo 000 abdominal sports-related injuries. Kids and young athletes risk injuring their abdominal organs because their abdominal wall is thinner and still in development. However, internal abdominal injuries to the stomach, small and large intestine, spleen, liver, and kidneys can and do happen in adults.
Sports-related internal abdominal injuries are considered rare, but studies suggest they are increasing. The most common sites include:
The liver and spleen are the most commonly injured organs in sports. They are filled with blood and can get bruised, or ruptured, and can cause severe bleeding when torn or cut. Bleeding in the abdomen can irritate the diaphragm, which can cause pain in the shoulder. Sometimes shoulder pain is the only symptom making it difficult to diagnose and because bleeding can take time to develop, the symptoms might not present for several hours.
Running into an object, another player, or falling hard can cause bruising, laceration, or create a tear/opening of a bowel wall. Symptoms can be delayed days to weeks after the injury when inflammation or infection develops.
Signs and symptoms to look for include:
Chiropractic focuses on whole-body health and can help with abdominal injuries. The nervous and digestive systems are interconnected, meaning that damage could lead to viscerosomatic reflexes even if not directly injured. If internal damage or bleeding has occurred, individuals will be referred to a specialist, surgeon, or another emergency medical professional. If internal damage is ruled out, a chiropractic treatment plan that includes adjustments, massage therapy, manual and mechanical decompression, exercises, stretches, and health coaching will help with tissue injuries and problems that are causing gastrointestinal distress.
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