Gravity defying dives on the cricket field and accurate throws that send the wickets flying may win matches but according to Dr Andrew Wallace these are the two common causes of shoulder injuries amongst cricketers. Bowling too to an extent causes shoulder injuries, he added

Dr Wallace was speaking on the sidelines of the two-day course on shoulder surgery organised by Department of Orthopaedics, Manipal Hospital, on Saturday.

Long cricket seasons and the changing nature of the game, which has intensified with transitions, from a test cricket to 50-over-one dayers and now 20 -20 matches were attributed to the increasing number of injuries amongst cricketers. Impingement, injury to tendon, SLAP-tears of the rim of the socket and rotator cuff tendons are also high on the list of cricket-related shoulder injuries.

Amongst the sports, rugby has the highest percentage of shoulder injuries (70 per cent). Volleyball, football, water polo and tennis also have a good number of shoulder-related injuries, he said.

Treatment
But the good news is that the techniques to detect these injuries have also advanced. Detecting small injuries have become possible with advanced imaging techniques.

According to Dr Wallace the severity of a sports injury is assessed by how long a player is unavailable to play. While athletes approach sub specialists, there is an increasing trend to work in groups in the UK, he said.
“The trend is in performing combined procedures, with a different specialist to take care of the different parts of the player’s body, for instance, a shoulder specialist or an ankle specialist etc. The player’s time, away from the game, due to an injury is reduced as he can be treated simultaneously.” he explained.