Professional sports are dangerous. What consequences do you need to be prepared for?

They say that great sport and health are incompatible. There is justice in that. For the sake of a professional career, people push their bodies to the limit of their capabilities. The strictest diet, rigid daily regimen, long hours of grueling training for several approaches a day. This is the harsh reality of sports – to achieve any results, you have to sacrifice yourself and your body on a regular basis.

Every sports hobby can cause damage that many people do not even realize. These consequences are hidden from the eyes of the average person, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We tell you about what even banal running and swimming can be fraught with.

Running

Many experts call running one of the most traumatizing sports, as due to ignorance of the features of the correct technique, you run the risk of greatly damaging your body. Even poorly selected clothes and shoes can lead to harmful consequences.

Professional athletes have an even harder time. One of the most common injuries is “runner’s knee,” an inflammation of the cartilage that manifests itself as a dull pain near the top of the kneecap. Also in professional athletes often notice inflammation of the periosteum – painful sensations are manifested in the lower leg or its part. In addition, the Achilles tendon – the upper part of the heel – also suffers from a high rate of running.

Another problem often found in runners is black toenails. The fact is that the toe of the shoe presses on the toes, as a consequence of which a hematoma is formed in this place. The injury does not cause severe pain, but it does not look very “healthy”, sometimes such darkening is confused with nail fungus.

Swimming

In the first place, the heart and the entire cardiovascular system work on the wear and tear during loads in the pool. Active movements with regular shortness of breath and contact with chlorinated water provoke unhealthy rapid heartbeat, which leads to the development of heart pathologies: arrhythmia, ischemia and angina pectoris. Unfortunately, there are also fatalities when the athlete’s heart suddenly stops coping with heavy loads. The public was shocked by the death of a young swimmer whose heart stopped after a swim.

Cycling

Professional cyclists have a number of health problems, despite the fact that cycling is recognized as one of the most positive ways to keep fit. Yes, constant cardio exercise is certainly beneficial, but not when you’re riding a multi-hour or multi-day marathon in the style of the Giro D’Italia or the Spanish Vuelta. Because cyclists are forced to stay in one posture all the time, they can develop a whole host of pathologies associated with leading a “sedentary lifestyle,” as paradoxical as that may sound. Cramps, spasms, pinched sciatic nerves, and numbness in the limbs while riding – all of these are experienced by professionals who prefer bicycles to other modes of transportation.

The legs of cyclists look horrifying after rides. The swollen veins are caused by the large volume of blood that is pumped through their limbs during long and energy-consuming races.

Another ailment of cyclists has been joint and tendon problems. Deforming arthrosis of the knee joint, neuritis of the ulnar nerve – the consequences of constant mechanized movement of the legs. The situation is aggravated by special suits tightly fitting to the athlete’s body, which often rub the skin in the groin area and on the inner surface of the thighs. This leads to unpleasant blisters.

In addition, male cyclists are exposed to another danger – potency problems. Sitting in one place for a long time squeezes blood vessels and nerves, which leads to a lack of blood flow to the groin area. Many cyclists use special orthopedic saddles to avoid such problems.

Figure skating

In this sport, athletes regularly have to perform complex jumps and spins, and in doubles also support. All this has an unfavorable effect on the spine and joints. Skaters’ ankles are a little more fortunate. Due to the fact that they are fixed by a rigid shoe, they are less prone to injury. However, there is a nuance here as well. High-level figure skaters often stop lacing the shoe to the end: otherwise it is impossible to achieve the desired plasticity of movement. And this, in turn, provokes the appearance of arthritis, arthrosis and other painful lesions of the joints.

Recently, the young figure skater Alexandra Trusova, who successfully eclipsed the world records of Alina Zagitova, doctors, experts and even colleagues predicted health problems after a couple of years of her active career. And why? In their opinion, the not-yet-developed Trusova performs too technically complex jumps for her age. They believe that such an overload of the body very soon will make itself known, and Alexandra will not be able to perform even simple elements. However, the athlete in her 15 years continues a successful career and recently performed four quadruple jumps at once at the Japan Open 2019 in Saitama.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Undoubtedly, gymnastics is one of the most graceful sports. But its consequences do not look at all as attractive as young girls with ribbons and hoops. Stretching is given easily not all girls, many spend years of painful training, tears and fear of the coach.

In addition, to maintain good physical shape gymnasts often sit on special diets, literally starving themselves. Once Liaisan Utyasheva recalled how during the strictest bans and strict control of calorie intake she ate dog food out of hunger.

Today, many gymnasts have stomach problems and painful ligament injuries, which are known to take a long time to heal. And in addition – terrible pain in the lower back due to microtraumas of the spine, scoliosis and injuries to the big toe due to unfortunate landings.

Sports, like any other hobby, has its disadvantages. But do not immediately focus on them only. Just give a little more time to your health and recovery after intensive training, and then no consequences will not be afraid of you.