When I was invited to play a game of Squash this weekend with some close friends, I did some research on the topic, only to find out that it is considered to be a dangerous sport! I immediately did some more reading to find out what the risk factors are during gameplay.
Some of the most common injuries that happen while playing squash include eye injuries, bruises, impact injuries, and even heart attack (in the most serious of cases). You can also slip and fall on the court, or experience a pulled muscle or similar strain.
Squash is one of the most popular, and feared, sports all across the world. Although it is not as celebrated in the United States as it is everywhere else in the world, it is still a very common activity that millions of people participate in yearly.
For many, Squash has a pretty bad reputation for being dangerous. For that reason, In this article, we will be exploring all of the possible, and most common, injuries that can come with playing Squash. Keep reading to find out all of the risk factors and what you should look out for on the court.
1. The Most Common Squash Injuries
If you have ever looked into playing Squash on the internet, or spoken to someone else who has tried it before, you might have been taken back from the response that you received. Typically, Squash is considered to be a dangerous sport that can cause a considerable number of injuries.
This is due to the fact that the game of Squash is rumored to be one of the most dangerous activities that you can participate in, when it comes to sports, at least.
Squash is an indoor sport that is usually played in a closed room with 4 empty walls. The players use racquets to hit a ball around all of the four walls, bouncing it off of them and hitting them around the room. The game can be played solo, or with anywhere from 2 to 4 players. As you can probably imagine, a hardball flying across the walls is just a recipe for injuries and accidents.
In this section, we will be going over all of the most common Squash injuries that you might experience on the court if you are not careful.
These are some of the most common Squash injuries:
- Black eye
- Bodily bruises
- Soreness from impact with other players
- Muscle strains in the wrist
- Pulled muscles on the body (legs, arms, back, etc.)
- Broken bones
- Concussion
- Heart attack
Black eye
One of the most common squash injuries that you might leave the court with is a black eye. When you are playing Squash and looking around for the ball to come to you, it is very likely that you will not be able to catch it fast enough to hit it away from your face.
Even though the squash ball will not just automatically fly toward your eye socket every time, it could happen, especially when you are playing for a long time or you do so very often.
If the ball hits you in the eye at the fast speeds of travel, you will undoubtedly walk away with a blue and black shadow in the area that you were injured.
Bruises
While being hit with the ball directly in your eye is not the most probable of circumstances, it is much more likely that you will be hit with the ball somewhere else on your body throughout the game, or games.
Squash is a very fast-paced game that requires a lot of agility, speed, and focus. If you are a beginner or you are not paying attention during gameplay, it is very easy to become a target for the moving ball.
This can create a lot of bodily bruises on your arms, legs, and stomach, or wherever the ball happens to hit you.
Soreness from collisions
When you are playing with one or more other players, it is also very easy to run into each other on accident. When you are playing Squash, it is imperative that you know exactly where the ball is coming from.
This directly translates to the players keeping their eye on the ball, and only the ball. As a result, you might be running for the same target and bump into each other, causing a collision that can leave you with even more soreness and injury.
Muscle strain
Since Squash requires using a racquet to hit the ball with one hand, it is also very likely that you will get some kind of muscle strain on your wrist. This can be due to the wrong size racquet, improper form, or just playing for an extended period of time.
You might overextend your wrist or hit the ball too hard at the wrong angle, which can result in a lot of soreness. In the most serious of circumstances, you might be out of commission on the squash court for a couple of weeks due to this type of injury.
Pull a muscle
In addition to straining your wrist muscles, you can also pull a muscle anywhere else on your body. Squash is a fully engaged game where you will use your arms, legs, wrist, back, pretty much every single one of your body parts will be put to work while you are out on the squash court.
As a result, you can pull a muscle if you extend it too hard or you find yourself in a twisted position while you are trying to get to the ball.
More serious injuries
The more severe injuries that you can collect while playing a game of Squash include broken bones or concussions if you fall or run into something too hard. Besides, it is very possible to get a heart attack while you are playing.
In fact, this is actually something that is more of a common occurrence than you would think. There is so much stress, motion, and focus that is required to play Squash successfully, and there is so much going on at one time.
If you have heart problems or you are just extremely stressed or overworked during gameplay, you could really have a heart attack right there on the court.
Regardless of the injuries that you might get while playing Squash, it is essential to treat them properly in order to make sure that they will heal and you can get back to doing what you need to do.
Keep reading to the next section to find out how you can treat these types of injuries if you ever experience them.
2. How To Treat Squash Injuries
While it is true that there are a lot of potential injuries that you can suffer from playing a game of Squash, this does not necessarily mean that you should be deterred away from playing.
As soon as you get an injury while playing Squash, it is important to immediately stop playing and overworking yourself, and go right to treatment. Some injuries will be treatable at home, while others will require medical attention.
These are some ways that you can treat Squash injuries:
- Ice bruises and muscle strains.
- Carefully stretch pulled muscles.
- Get some rest!
- Use some OTC pain relievers.
- Get yourself a wrist or knee brace from the drugstore.
- Call an ambulance or go to the hospital immediately (broken bones, concussions, heart attacks).
Icing them
If you experience one of the more easily treatable squash injuries that were mentioned before, such as bruises and muscle strains, you can go directly home and put some ice on them for a few days.
Stretch carefully and get some rest
For pulled muscles, you can carefully begin to stretch them over the coming days in order to relieve some of the tightness. The most crucial step throughout these treatment options is to get some rest, though.
No matter what your injury is, you should take a break from physical activities, especially playing Squash, until you are fully healed and ready to play again.
Pain relievers
Use some OTC pain relievers for smaller injuries, and get yourself a brace for any pulled muscles or ligaments.
Go to the nearest hospital or call an ambulance.
If you happen to get a broken bone, concussion, or even a heart attack, you must call an ambulance immediately or go to the nearest hospital, whichever one you are able to do depending on the severity.
3. Preventing Squash injuries
Here are some ways to prevent squash injuries before they happen:
- Properly stretch and warm up before your game
- Wear the proper safety gear
- Don’t overextend yourself
- Respect your own limits
In order to prevent squash injuries before you even have to treat them, you can follow the simple steps that are outlined above. Properly stretch and warm up before you go on the court to avoid any strains, and wear the proper safety gear.
Last word
Overall, you shouldn’t overextend yourself, and you should respect your own limits. Know what you are capable of and don’t try to do too much. You will certainly thank yourself when you come off the court without a scratch, all because you decided to take the proper safety precautions both on and off the court.