Participating in contacts sports such as rugby, football and hockey means that there will be repeated collusions between players. This can over a period of time cause injury to soft and hard tissue of the human body. This is commonly known as muscle strain which is usually temporary and haematoma (which is internal bleeding causing bruising within a muscle bed). Although strains are temporary injuries repeated injury to the same area can cause long-term dysfunction of the muscle or joint. Injury to hard tissue is often bone breakage to thighs, ankles, fingers, arms, rubs and sometimes the skill, this results in immediate treatment and at least 6-8 weeks from exercise which means performance will be reduced when performer goes back to training. Other effects of participating in contact sports are that there’s an increased risk of joint dislocation which occurs when the articulating bones are forced from their normal position and the joint ceases to function properly. But even though there’s negative impacts of participating in contact sports there are positive impacts such as increased peak bone mass. This is because with contact sports they usually require weight bearing exercises hence what was just said.
Long term unbalanced repetitive trauma to the skeletal system can cause stress fractures to spine, hands or feet. This trauma can be caused by activities as simple as jogging to things such as jumping. Such activities can also cause long-term postural problems by gradually damaging the spine (hence changing its shape and functional capability). You can get postural defects such as Kyphosis which is dorsally exaggerated spinal curvature of the thoracic region. Lordosis is an accentuated, convex forward spinal curvature of the lumbar region. And Scoliosis is the abnormal lateral (sideways) curvature of the spine normally in the thoracic region. These can all be prevented by participating in different types of physical activity.
Participating in physical activity can prevent someone from suffering from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes loss of mass as calcium minerals are dissipated around the rest of the body, making bones brittle and liable to break Weight bearing exercises such as weight lifting can prevent this as it strengthens the bones by increasing the bones strength and the mass. Although weight lifting is good for building the bones its not always the case as it can sometimes do more bad than good. Also it’s not ideal for people who are much older and have limited movement; because of this they won’t be able to perform strenuous exercises such as squats or deadlifts etc because of the intensity of the exercise.
When participating in gymnastics there are many positive impacts such as improved flexibility and the capability of doing several strenuous bodyweight exercises. But there are negative effects of participating in gymnastics; you can get growth plate injuries which result in abnormal growth of bone tissue (a decrease or accelerated bone growth) or a complete stop to bone growth. This is what can stunt bone growth within young growing skeletons and hence reduce the potential height of an individual. This is one of the reasons why athletes in gymnastic are very small in height. In High impact sports such as gymnastics compression forces on one area of a joint surface can cause irritation within the joint. This is a form of repeated stress that can lead to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease characterised by the degeneration of articular cartilage in the joint. This restricts joint flexibility and capability in the individual for doing exercise which later affect more later in life. On the other hand exercises such as callisthenics, stationary cycling, walking and jogging.
Good core and joint stability can be considered as positive impacts which come from regular participation in physical activity. Good core stability means you core is able to support the lumbar spine and reduce the likelihood of lower back problems. Joint stability means you can have strong ligaments, healthy cartilage and good muscle tone. Participating in physical activity can also mean good posture and alignment where stabilising muscles are strong. This helps the joints of the body cope with external forces as they are mechanically efficient.
There are many benefits of participating in physical activity on the skeletal system including the fact that bone tissue strengthens due to increased deposition of calcium. Thickening of articular cartilage provides greater cushioning and protection of bone ends from wear and tear. Increased range of movement at joint so therefore you can perform more difficult movements such as squats. Also these adaptations enable an athlete to progress to higher intensity impact work within training programmes such as in plyometrics and weight lifting and gymnastics. Benefits of physical activity on the muscular system including the fact that tendons thicken to withstand increase muscular forces. Your ligaments strengthen to give improved joint stability which can help with many exercises such as deadlifts. Also increase muscle mass due to muscle hypertrophy which can be gained from weight-bearing exercises. Also improved ability to maintain power output for longer, due to increased tolerance to muscle fatigue, this be useful in events such as cycling in competitions e.g. Tour De France. Improved elasticity of muscle fibres and therefore increase flexibility. And increased muscle cell stores such as glycogen to support improved performance in endurance-based such as marathon running.
