Sports Injuries

Multi-sport athletes running, landing, playing tennis and changing direction during sport — Explore sports injury guides by sport, movement and painful body region.

Sports injuries are pain, tissue damage or movement problems that develop during training, competition or return to sport. They may affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones or nerves.

Some injuries happen suddenly after a collision, fall, awkward landing or fast change of direction. Others build gradually when training load rises faster than the body can adapt. Use this hub to find the right sport or condition guide and learn when an assessment may help.

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Browse Sports Injury Guides

Choose a sports family to find injury information that matches your activity.

Football Sports
Soccer, rugby league, rugby union, AFL and touch football

Team Sports
Basketball, netball, volleyball, cricket and hockey

Racquet Sports
Tennis, squash, pickleball, padel and badminton

Outdoor Sports
Running, cycling, triathlon, golf and athletics

Indoor Sports
Weightlifting, gymnastics, boxing and martial arts

Water Sports
Swimming, rowing, water polo, surfing and wakeboarding

Winter Sports
Skiing, snowboarding and other winter activities

Sports Health
Concussion, prevention and return-to-sport guidance

Popular Sports Injury Guides

These guides cover activities commonly played for recreation, school, fitness and club competition.

When Does Your Sports Pain Occur?

The movement that causes pain can help you choose a relevant body-region guide. However, one painful action does not confirm a diagnosis.

Running or Sprinting

Calf, Achilles, hamstring, knee, shin, hip or foot symptoms may increase as speed or distance rises.

Jumping or Landing

Knee, ankle, Achilles and lower-leg pain may appear during take-off, landing or repeated jumping.

Cutting or Pivoting

Fast direction changes can load the knee, ankle, hip and groin during field and court sports.

Throwing or Serving

Shoulder, elbow, wrist and back symptoms may develop with repeated overhead speed and rotation.

Tackling or Contact

Contact may cause bruising, joint injuries, fractures or concussion symptoms that need prompt assessment.

Repeated Training Load

Gradually increasing tendon, bone or joint pain may mean that training demand has outpaced recovery.

Find Help by Painful Body Region

Start with the painful area when you are unsure which sports injury guide matches your symptoms.

Knee pain
Running, jumping, pivoting and landing

Ankle pain
Rolling, landing and direction changes

Shoulder pain
Throwing, serving, swimming and contact

Back pain
Lifting, rotation and repeated loading

Hip and groin pain
Kicking, sprinting, lunging and cutting

Hamstring pain
Acceleration, sprinting and kicking

Calf and Achilles pain
Running, jumping and push-off

Foot pain
Impact, running load and footwear

What Are Sports Injuries?

Sports injuries are physical problems linked to exercise or sport. They can range from mild irritation that affects one movement to major trauma that stops walking, training or competition.

A sports injury may be:

Acute: caused by a clear event, such as a collision, fall, twist or awkward landing.
Overuse-related: caused by repeated load with too little time for adaptation or recovery.
Recurrent: a previous injury that returns when sport demands increase.
Sport-related concussion: a brain injury caused by a direct or indirect force to the head or body.

How Common Are Sports Injuries?

Sports injuries affect recreational, school, community and competitive athletes. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported 62,100 sports injury hospitalisations in Australia during 2023–24.¹

Hospital figures represent more serious injuries. Many other sports injuries are managed through general practice, physiotherapy, community health services or self-care.

What Causes Sports Injuries?

Most sports injuries occur when a sudden force exceeds tissue tolerance or repeated training demand rises faster than the body can adapt. Several factors often contribute.

Sudden changes in training volume, frequency or intensity
Returning too quickly after illness, holidays or injury
Fatigue and reduced movement control late in a session
Incomplete strength, confidence or sport-specific rehabilitation
Rapid changes in footwear, equipment, surface or technique
Direct contact, falls, collisions or awkward landings
Reduced sleep, recovery or preparation between demanding sessions

What Are Common Sports Injuries?

Injury patterns vary between sports. The following conditions commonly affect people involved in running, jumping, pivoting, sprinting, throwing and contact activities.

Sprained ankle: often follows a sudden roll, uneven landing or direction change.
ACL injury: may occur during pivoting, cutting, braking or awkward landing.
Meniscus tear: can follow twisting load and may cause pain, swelling or catching.
Tendinopathy: may develop when repeated tendon load outpaces recovery.
Hamstring strain: commonly occurs during sprinting, acceleration or kicking.
Shin splints: may develop after a fast increase in running or jumping load.
Achilles tendinopathy: often causes gradually increasing pain with running, jumping or push-off.
Concussion: needs symptom-led management and a staged return-to-sport process.

Who Has a Higher Risk of Sports Injury?

Anyone who takes part in physical activity can become injured. Risk may rise when training changes quickly or previous capacity has not returned.

People returning after time off: fitness and tissue tolerance may fall during illness, holidays or inactivity.
Athletes with a previous injury: recurrence may be more likely when strength, control or confidence remains reduced.
Junior athletes: rapid growth can temporarily change coordination, flexibility and load tolerance.
Masters athletes: recovery time, work demands, sleep and previous injuries may require closer planning.
Athletes moving to a higher level: greater speed, contact or training volume may create a sudden demand increase.

When Should You Stop Sport and Seek Assessment?

Stop the activity and seek healthcare advice when an injury causes a marked loss of function or symptoms that suggest more than a minor training response.

Inability to bear weight or use the affected limb normally
Visible deformity or concern about a fracture or dislocation
Rapid swelling, extensive bruising or severe pain
A joint that repeatedly gives way, locks or catches
New numbness, weakness or altered coordination
Head impact followed by headache, dizziness, confusion, memory problems, balance changes or unusual behaviour
Chest pain, breathing difficulty or collapse during sport

Call emergency services for severe trauma, loss of consciousness, worsening neurological symptoms, breathing difficulty or another medical emergency.

When Should You See a Physiotherapist?

Consider physiotherapy when symptoms keep returning, stop you training normally or affect confidence with sport-specific movement.

Pain that has not settled as expected
Repeated flare-ups whenever training increases
Swelling, stiffness, weakness or reduced movement
Difficulty running, landing, changing direction or throwing
Reduced confidence after an injury
Uncertainty about how much training is safe
A need for staged return-to-sport testing and progression

Physiotherapist assessing an athlete’s knee and ankle control during movement screening — Sports injury assessment may include movement, strength and sport-specific load testing.

How Can Physiotherapy Help Sports Injuries?

Sports injury physiotherapy assesses the injury and the movement demands of your activity. The aim is to help you understand the problem, protect healing tissue where needed and rebuild the capacity required for training and competition.

An assessment may include:

Discussion of the injury, symptoms, training history and goals
Joint movement, muscle strength and functional testing
Balance, landing, running or change-of-direction assessment
Review of training load, recovery and aggravating activities
A staged rehabilitation and return-to-sport plan

Management may include activity changes, exercise rehabilitation, strength training, movement retraining and sport-specific progressions. Manual therapy or massage may support comfort and movement where appropriate. However, rehabilitation usually needs active loading and gradual exposure to sport demands.

Do Sports Injuries Need Scans?

Not every sports injury needs imaging. A clinical history and physical examination can often guide early management of common sprains, strains and overuse problems.

An X-ray, ultrasound, MRI or another test may be considered when symptoms suggest a fracture, major tissue injury or another condition that needs investigation. Imaging may also help when recovery does not follow the expected pattern.

Sports Injury Prevention and Preparation

No plan prevents every injury. However, sensible preparation can improve the body’s ability to tolerate training and competition.

Progress Training

Increase volume, speed and intensity in manageable steps rather than large sudden jumps.

Maintain Strength

Use regular strength work that reflects the running, jumping, landing, throwing or contact demands of your sport.

Prepare for Movement

Use a progressive warm-up before high-speed, high-force or technically demanding sessions.

Plan Recovery

Allow recovery between demanding sessions and adjust training when fatigue or symptoms rise.

Read our injury prevention essentials for practical preparation guidance.

How Do You Return Safely to Sport?

Return to sport is usually a progression rather than one test or date. Early stages may focus on comfortable movement and strength. Later stages add speed, power, agility, contact and sport-specific skill.

A return-to-sport plan may progress through:

Daily activities and basic exercise without an unacceptable symptom increase
Strength, balance and control appropriate for the injury
Running, jumping, throwing or other sport-specific movements
Controlled training with increasing speed and complexity
Full training before unrestricted competition where appropriate

Symptoms, tissue healing, strength, confidence and sport demands all affect the timeframe. Returning before these areas are ready may increase recurrence risk.

Not Sure Which Sports Injury Guide You Need?

Start with the sport or painful body region that best matches your concern. An assessment may help when several areas are involved, the diagnosis is unclear or symptoms keep returning as training increases.

The goal is not only to become comfortable at rest. Rehabilitation should help rebuild enough movement, strength and confidence for the demands of your sport.

FAQs About Sports Injuries

What are the most common sports injuries?

Common sports injuries include ankle sprains, knee ligament injuries, meniscus tears, tendon pain, hamstring strains, shin pain, shoulder injuries, back pain and concussion. The likely injury depends on the sport, training load, previous injuries and movement demands.

Can I keep training with a sports injury?

Some people can continue with modified training. Choose activities that do not worsen the injury or interfere with recovery. Stop and seek assessment when pain, swelling, instability, neurological symptoms or loss of function are significant.

Do sports injuries always need scans?

No. Many sports injuries can initially be assessed through your history and a physical examination. Imaging may help when a fracture, significant tissue injury or unexpected recovery pattern is suspected.

How long does sports injury rehabilitation take?

Timeframes vary with the diagnosis, tissue involved, injury severity and sport demands. Mild injuries may improve over several weeks. Major ligament, tendon, bone or concussion-related problems may need a longer staged rehabilitation process.

What increases the risk of reinjury?

Returning too quickly, skipping strength progressions, incomplete sport-specific rehabilitation and rapid training increases can raise reinjury risk. A previous injury may also remain relevant when strength, control or confidence has not returned.

When can I return to competition?

Return should be based on symptoms, function, physical capacity and your ability to tolerate training demands. Many athletes benefit from completing controlled sport-specific training before unrestricted competition.

What to Do Next

If a sports injury limits training, confidence or performance, a physiotherapy assessment can help identify the likely problem and guide the next step.

PhysioWorks can assess movement, strength and sport demands, then develop a rehabilitation plan matched to your goals and activity level.

Muscle & Soft Tissue Products

These muscle and soft tissue products are commonly used by our physiotherapists to relax or loosen muscles, improve strength, comfort, flexibility, and home exercise programs.