A sports injury does not always happen during a dramatic collision or a hard fall. Sometimes it is the sharp pain you feel when you change direction on the pickleball court. It can be a shoulder that starts hurting after weeks of serving, a knee that becomes painful going down stairs, or an Achilles tendon that is sore every morning after hockey.
For people in Pembroke and the surrounding Ottawa Valley, staying active is part of everyday life. Hockey, pickleball, skiing, snowboarding, golf, tennis, running, cycling and recreational sports all put different demands on the body. And while many injuries improve with time, "feeling better" and being fully recovered are not necessarily the same thing.
A proper assessment and sports injury rehabilitation can help you get back to the activities you enjoy while restoring strength, movement, balance and confidence.
Common Sports Injuries
Sports injuries can affect almost any part of the body. Some happen suddenly, while others develop gradually from repeated stress.
Common injuries include:
- Muscle strains and pulls
- Ligament sprains
- Tendon injuries and tendonitis
- Knee injuries
- Ankle sprains
- Shoulder injuries
- Rotator cuff problems
- Tennis and golfer's elbow
- Achilles tendon injuries
- Plantar fasciitis
- Hip and groin injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Joint pain
- Repetitive strain injuries
The type of injury often depends on the sport, how frequently you participate and the movements your body is repeatedly exposed to.
Pickleball injuries
Pickleball may look easier on the body than some traditional sports, but the quick starts, stops, lunges and changes of direction can put considerable stress on the lower extremities.
Recent research has found that sprains, strains and fractures are among the commonly reported injuries in pickleball. Falls and sudden directional movements are important mechanisms, while Achilles injuries and other lower-extremity problems can also occur.
Shoulder, knee, calf, foot and back problems can also become an issue, particularly when someone suddenly increases how often they play.
This is something we see more broadly with recreational athletes. You may feel perfectly fine playing once a week, then join three or four games a week because you're enjoying it. Your cardiovascular fitness may adapt faster than your tendons, joints and supporting muscles.
That mismatch can be a recipe for an overuse injury.
Hockey injuries
Hockey places very different demands on the body. Skating requires repeated acceleration, deceleration and rotation, while contact and falls introduce another level of risk.
Hockey players commonly experience injuries involving the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, groin, spine and upper extremities. Research on ice hockey injuries has identified problems such as shoulder injuries, AC joint injuries, ankle sprains, ligament injuries and groin-related conditions.
And you don't have to be playing competitive hockey for these issues to matter.
A recreational player who skates once or twice a week can still develop pain or movement limitations that affect everyday activities.
Other sports and activities
The same principle applies across many activities.
- Golf can contribute to repetitive stress involving the back, elbow, shoulder and wrist.
- Tennis commonly involves repetitive shoulder, elbow and lower-extremity demands.
- Running can place significant repetitive load on the feet, ankles, knees, hips and Achilles tendon.
- Skiing and snowboarding can involve knee, ankle, shoulder and wrist injuries, as well as falls.
- Cycling can contribute to repetitive knee, hip, back, neck and hand problems.
And recreational activities such as walking, gardening or working out at the gym can produce many of the same types of muscle and tendon injuries.
Why Physiotherapy and Injury Rehabilitation Matter
One of the biggest mistakes people make after an injury is stopping when the pain stops.
Pain is important, but it isn't the only measure of recovery.
You might be able to walk without significant pain but still have reduced ankle mobility, weakness in one leg, poor balance or difficulty controlling a movement. You may be able to swing a golf club but lack the strength or mobility needed to play a full round comfortably.
That is where physiotherapy and sports injury rehabilitation become important.
The objective isn't simply to make the injured area feel better. Rehabilitation should help restore the physical qualities you need to use that part of your body normally again.
Depending on the injury, that can include:
- Restoring range of motion
- Building strength
- Improving balance
- Improving coordination
- Restoring joint mobility
- Improving flexibility where appropriate
- Developing muscular endurance
- Retraining movement patterns
- Gradually increasing tolerance to activity
- Preparing the body for the specific demands of your sport
This progression matters because returning to sport isn't necessarily a single moment when you're "cleared."
Sports medicine literature has pointed out that return to sport can mean different things, including returning to practice, participating in competition or returning to the same level of performance you had before the injury.
For a recreational athlete, the goal might simply be getting back to a Saturday morning hockey game without thinking about your knee every time you turn.
That's still a meaningful rehabilitation goal.
Being Able to Walk Normally Matters
Consider an ankle sprain.
The swelling goes down. The pain improves. You start walking again.
But perhaps you're still subconsciously avoiding putting your full weight through that side. Maybe your ankle doesn't move quite as far as it did before. You may compensate by turning your foot outward or shifting more weight to the other leg.
You can live with those changes for a while.
But normal movement is important.
Rehabilitation can help identify and address those limitations rather than allowing them to become your new normal.
The same applies to a knee, hip, shoulder or back injury. If you don't restore normal movement and strength, you may compensate without even realizing it.
That doesn't mean every injury requires an extensive rehabilitation program. It means the recovery should be based on function, not simply whether the pain has disappeared.
What About Pain That Comes Back in Cold Weather?
This is a question people in Pembroke and the Ottawa Valley understandably ask.
"I injured my knee two years ago. It works fine most of the time, but every winter I notice it again."
Temperature changes and weather are often blamed for musculoskeletal symptoms, although the relationship between weather and pain is complicated and doesn't affect everyone in the same way. There is also limited evidence for many commonly assumed effects of temperature on injury healing itself.
What's important is not to assume that recurring discomfort automatically means the original injury has returned.
Sometimes an old injury leaves behind reduced mobility, strength or tolerance to load. Sometimes the area simply becomes more noticeable when activity levels change or the body is exposed to different conditions.
That is one reason a good rehabilitation program looks beyond the original pain.
The goal is to help your body move, load and function as normally as possible, rather than simply chasing symptoms.
Getting Back to Sport Should Be Gradual
Another common mistake is going from "I feel pretty good" straight back to 100% activity.
Imagine you've been unable to play pickleball for six weeks because of a calf injury.
Your first day back, you feel great.
So you play for two hours.
The next morning, you're sore.
That doesn't necessarily mean you've reinjured yourself. It may simply mean you exceeded what your tissues were ready to tolerate.
A better approach is usually a gradual increase in activity, based on your symptoms, strength, movement and the demands of your particular sport.
For some injuries, a physiotherapist may use functional testing to evaluate whether you're ready to progress. Research into lower-extremity return-to-sport testing emphasizes the importance of assessing function rather than relying on time alone.
When Should You Have a Sports Injury Assessed?
You don't necessarily need to panic over every ache after exercising.
But an assessment is worth considering if:
- Pain isn't improving
- Pain keeps returning when you resume activity
- You have swelling that persists
- You have lost range of motion
- You are limping
- One side feels noticeably weaker
- You don't trust the injured joint
- You have difficulty with stairs or normal walking
- You continue to modify how you move because of pain
- You can't return to your normal sport
- The injury keeps recurring
And if you experienced significant trauma, inability to bear weight, a major loss of movement, deformity, severe swelling or other concerning symptoms, prompt medical assessment may be appropriate.
The Goal Isn't Just to Get You Out of Pain
For an active person, the real question usually isn't:
"How quickly can I make this pain disappear?"
It's:
"How do I get back to doing what I enjoy without constantly worrying about it?"
That might mean skating again, getting back on the pickleball court, playing a full round of golf, going for a run, skiing with your family or simply walking normally without thinking about the injury.
Physiotherapy and rehabilitation can play an important role in that process by addressing strength, mobility, balance, movement and tolerance to activity.
At Integrated Health Centre in Pembroke, sports injury care can be approached as more than simply treating the painful spot. An assessment can help determine what is contributing to the problem and what type of treatment or rehabilitation makes sense for your particular injury and goals. Because getting back to sport isn't just about being pain-free. It's about getting your body ready to move again.
.png)
