Find out what diseases you can get if you stay professionally involved in sports for a long time. The life of a professional athlete consists of constant training with intense physical exertion. This can result in premature wear and tear of the body. Thus, professional diseases of athletes are also common, as in any other area of human life, for example, weightlifters can develop serious pathologies of the spinal column.
It is quite obvious that all occupational diseases of athletes manifest themselves after the end of their careers. This is due to the natural aging of the body, which can accelerate under the influence of excessive physical exertion. It is also clear that occupational diseases differ in representatives of various sports disciplines.
Reasons for the development of occupational diseases in athletes
Scientists are fully aware of the fact that the study of the causes of the development of diseases in professional athletes and sports amateurs should be actively pursued. Now there are three reasons for this:
- More and more people are involved in sports and physical education.
- Physical activity during training has increased significantly.
- Occupational diseases of athletes are becoming more common.
It should be noted that physical activity (load) is necessary for the normal functioning of the body, but it must be calculated for each person individually. Only moderate exercise can benefit your health. However, it is extremely difficult to accurately determine the load that can be considered optimal and, as a result, it turns out to be insufficient or excessive.
If the load turned out to be insufficient, then scientists call this state of the body hypokinesia (hypodynamia). We admit to ourselves that it is precisely this state that is characteristic of our society. However, hypodynamia as a whole is not negative, but only a certain state of it.
It is this fact that must be taken into account when selecting physical activity, since if physical inactivity goes beyond the permissible limits from a physiological point of view, then pathological changes are activated in the body. Now, as you probably already understood, the conversation is about excessive hypokinesia.
Excessive physical activity can be harmful as well as insufficient physical activity. Among scientists, it is called hyperkinesia (hyperdynamia). Hyperkinesia can only turn negative if it is excessive. In this case, pathological processes will also begin in the body. Since the human body is individual, then the load should be selected in each specific case separately. Agree that for sick people, running at an average or even slow pace of 200 meters can be an excessive load, just like running 50 kilometers for a professional athlete.
The concept of excessive physical activity implies the presence of such a load that significantly exceeds the individual capabilities of a person. Moreover, depending on the state of the person, one and also the load may be excessive or insufficient. People can improve only in conditions of acceptable physical activity. And hypo- and hyperkinesia lead to the development of pathological changes in the body.
Types of occupational diseases of athletes
We have already noted that each sport has its own occupational diseases, which is understandable. Let's take a look at the most popular sports and diseases associated with them.
Occupational diseases in swimming
For people who are professionally engaged in swimming and diving, the following diseases are characteristic:
- Acute otitis media - inflammation in the ear, accompanied by pain, hearing loss, and the release of pus.
- Barotrauma - the middle ear is damaged as a result of deep diving.
- Various infectious diseases of the sinuses and ear - all kinds of infections are the cause of the development of these diseases.
- Disorders in the work of the tympanic membrane - mainly this disease is a consequence of the received barotrauma.
- Exostosis of the ear canal.
- Development of fungal infections in the ear.
The consequences of all these occupational diseases of athletes are obvious - pain in the ear, chronic sinusitis and sinusitis, dizziness, ringing and tinnitus, as well as hearing impairment. It is also necessary to remember about such diseases of swimmers as arthrosis of the shoulder joints and osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Occupational diseases in football
Everyone knows the high risk of injury in this sport, which is possible not only during a match, but also in training. The most vulnerable in football are the legs, knee and ankle joints. The head and hands are injured somewhat less often. The most common injuries in football are sprains, sprains, fractures, lacerations of ligaments and muscles, periosteal injury and concussion.
It should be admitted that injuries are common among football players, but this is not the only pathology in this sports discipline. Here are the most common occupational diseases in football for athletes:
- Various inflammatory processes in the articular-ligamentous apparatus.
- Inflammatory reactions of tendons as well as ligaments, such as tendinitis.
- Periostitis is an inflammatory process in the periosteum.
- Aseptic inflammation of the muscles - traumatic myositis.
- Inflammatory reactions of blood vessels - phlebitis, as well as vasculitis.
- Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Almost all of these diseases are the result of injuries previously received by athletes. Unfortunately, injuries are indispensable in sports.
Runners' occupational diseases
Jogging is a popular weight loss strategy among young people. However, if you engage in athletics professionally, then the following diseases may develop:
- Since the calf muscles are actively loaded during running, runners often develop ankle tendinitis.
- Knee pain, also known as runner's knee, is caused by improper extension of this joint.
- Syndrome of the iliotibial fascia - develops when the leg lands with a straightened knee joint.
- Inflammation of the tibial periosteum.
- Fasciitis of the thick tendon of the plantar part of the foot - the cause of the development of the disease is a strong push of the foot away from the treadmill.
- Injuries to the muscles of the thigh, calves, and tendons.
- Cracks and fractures in the ankle bones.
Very often, all of the above professional diseases of athletes in athletics develop due to not adhering to the correct running technique or due to poor-quality track coverage.
Occupational diseases in tennis
The most common occupational disease in tennis athletes is traumatic epicondelitis (tennis elbow). The reason for the development of the disease is excessive stress on the elbow joint. Microtrauma of the tendons of the fingers and extensors of the hand are also possible. In addition, there is a high probability of getting various minor injuries, for example, bruises and calluses on the palms or feet.
Several other common diseases of tennis players should also be noted:
- Tears and sprains.
- Subluxations and dislocations.
- Shoulder arthritis.
- Damage to the calcaneal muscles and ligaments.
- Spondylolisthesis and herniated discs.
- Injury to the lumbosacral vertebrae.
Experienced tennis players often have all possible inflammatory processes.
Occupational diseases in boxing
Boxing is one of the most spectacular and popular sports, but for the athletes themselves, it is very traumatic. For one fight, an athlete can receive several dozen blows, which cannot pass without a trace for health. However, there is also one missed beat, which can cause the development of, say, retrograde amnesia.
Very often boxers have hearing disorders. This applies not only directly to the acuity of hearing, but also the appearance of tinnitus, dizziness and disorders of the vestibular apparatus. Among the most common injuries in boxing are bruises, cuts, nose fractures, and head injuries. All of them will certainly make themselves felt in the future and will lead to impaired blood circulation in the brain, the appearance of convulsive syndrome, paralysis and paresis. Hull blows can be just as dangerous. They can cause abnormalities in the functioning of internal organs, such as rupture of the spleen or liver. As a result, the athlete may become disabled or even fatal.
It is possible to talk about the occupational diseases of athletes for a very long time, because in any sports discipline there are certain diseases. In order to prevent serious health problems, many sports medicine specialists see exercise therapy. This allows you to accelerate regenerative processes, and athletes will be able to quickly recover. Of course, in the conditions of modern sports, pharmaceutical support is also of great importance, but this is a topic for a separate article and maybe not even one.
How athletes can avoid occupational diseases, see here:
