Sports Injury Prevention. Here are the 5 most common sports Injuries and how to prevent them.
Whether your athlete is on the field, court, or track, injuries can derail progress and keep them from doing what they love. At OC Sports Performance in Bend, Oregon, we believe that performance should be measured, tracked, and improved—and that includes injury prevention. Knowing the most common sports injuries and how to avoid them can keep your athlete stronger, faster, and in the game.
Sprained Ankles
What it is: A sprain occurs when the ligaments that support the ankle stretch or tear, typically from landing awkwardly or changing direction quickly.
Why it happens: Weak stabilizer muscles, poor balance, or improper footwear can increase the risk. Many field and court sports involve lateral movement that puts the ankle at risk.
How to prevent it:
- Incorporate balance and proprioception exercises (like single-leg work and wobble board drills).
- Train ankle mobility and foot strength.
- Train in barefeet so that you develop strength in your feet and ankles.
- Banded ankle work as warm up or cool down to ensure that the ankle strength continues to develop.
At OC Sports Performance, we train athletes to develop balance and coordination under fatigue—because that’s when most injuries occur.
ACL Tears
What it is: A tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), one of the major stabilizers of the knee. These injuries can sideline athletes for 6–18 months.
Why it happens: Often occurs from sudden stops, pivots, or awkward landings—especially in soccer, football, and basketball.
How to prevent it:
- Focus on glute and hamstring strength to protect the knee.
- Develop calf muscles – especially in relation to hamstring strength
- Teach proper landing and cutting mechanics.
- Include deceleration and change-of-direction drills in training.
- Jump and landing training
We teach athletes how to land and change direction with control, reducing the risk of non-contact ACL injuries. Here is an entire blog about ACL Tears and prevention. One of the most effective things we have found is developing hamstring strength through the Inverse Curl machine, and developing hip strength utilizing the 4 way hip machine.
Hamstring Strains
What it is: A hamstring strain involves overstretching or tearing the muscle fibers, usually during sprinting or jumping.
Why it happens: Weak hamstrings, poor sprint mechanics, or lack of eccentric (lengthening under tension) strength are major causes.
How to prevent it:
- Sprint regularly with proper mechanics. We sprint 1x a week here.
- Strengthen hamstrings using Nordic curls/inverse curls, RDLs, good mornings and single leg hamstring work.
- Drag sled, working on over-striding to develop the tissue.
- Warm up dynamically and stay hydrated.
Many of our athletes improve sprint performance and reduce injury risk by training the hamstrings under high-speed and eccentric conditions.
Shoulder Injuries
What it is: Overuse injuries like rotator cuff strains or impingement are common in throwing or overhead athletes.
Why it happens: Poor shoulder mobility, weak rotator cuff muscles, or overuse without recovery.
How to prevent it:
- Develop upper body strength both pushing and pulling.
- Incorporate shoulder stability and rotator cuff work.
- Strengthen the upper back and improve posture. Exercises like cable face pulls, shrugs, wheel barrow pushes develop the upper body.
- Monitor throwing or overhead volume—especially in-season.
At OC, our upper body training targets the posterior chain and builds bulletproof shoulders for athletes in baseball, volleyball, and swimming.
Shin Splints
What it is: Medial tibial stress syndrome, aka shin splints, causes pain along the shinbone—often in runners and field sport athletes.
Why it happens: A rapid increase in training load, poor running mechanics, or weak lower leg muscles.
How to prevent it:
- Gradually increase training volume.
- Train foot, ankle, and lower leg strength.
- Ensure athletes have proper footwear and running form.
- Sprint weekly
- Drag sled or push prowler to develop strength in the anterior tibalis.
We analyze running mechanics and build lower leg resilience in our speed sessions. Also we have athletes warm up and jump in bare-feet which has helped tremendously in negating shin split issues.
The OC Sports Performance Approach
Injuries don’t just take an athlete off the field—they interrupt development, confidence, and momentum. That’s why sports injury prevention is a core part of every athlete’s training plan at OC Sports Performance.
We track progress, measure performance, and coach athletes in:
- Strength training
- Sprint mechanics for speed and safety
- Landing and deceleration skills
- Mobility and recovery strategies
We only accept 100 athletes at a time because our coaching is personal, intentional, and data-driven. If your athlete is ready to train smarter and reduce their injury risk, now’s the time to take the next step.
👉 Book an intro today — spots are limited, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Don’t wait for an injury to force a break—invest in injury prevention now so your athlete can keep doing what they love.
