Common sports injuries, and when to seek care

Most sports injuries settle. The difficulty is telling those apart from the ones that quietly do not, and the distinction usually comes down to swelling, stability, and whether you can bear weight.

Same day

• An obvious deformity, or a joint that looks out of place.
• Inability to bear any weight after an ankle or knee injury.
• A joint that swells within an hour of injury, which suggests bleeding inside it.
• Numbness, pins and needles, or a limb that looks pale or feels cold.

Within a few days

• Swelling that appears overnight rather than immediately.
• A joint that catches, locks or gives way.
• Pain not improving at all after three or four days.
• A shoulder that has come out and gone back in by itself.

Reasonable to manage at home first

• A mild ankle sprain where you can still walk, without immediate swelling.
• Muscle soreness that improves day by day.
• Bruising without loss of function.
• Relative rest, ice, and a gradual return to activity is a reasonable starting point for these.

The mistake that causes most problems

• Returning to sport while a joint still feels unreliable. The second injury is usually worse than the first, and in the knee it is often the second episode that damages the meniscus.