Cricket season is now in full swing and we’re starting to see some cricketers come into the clinic with their aches and pains. With long hours spent bowling, batting, and fielding, Cricket is a demanding sport that places significant strain on the body. Whether you’re sprinting between the wickets, diving in the field, or delivering a fast ball, each action puts pressure on your joints, muscles, and connective tissues.
Common Injuries in Cricketers
Some of the most frequent cricket-related injuries we see include:
- Low back sprains – from repetitive bending, twisting, or bowling actions
- Ankle injuries – from sudden changes in direction or uneven surfaces
- Hamstring strains – often caused by sprinting or explosive movements
- Shoulder injuries – common among bowlers and fielders due to overuse
- Knee injuries – resulting from repetitive stress or awkward landings
Why Do These Injuries Happen?
Injuries often occur when the physical load exceeds the body’s capacity to recover. This is very understandable in a sporting setting because it’s so easy to push to try and get the ball or to make it to the crease in time. When we push that bit further, that little bit more than our muscles or joints can tolerate, that's when a muscle is mostly likely to tear or a joint most likely to be sprained.
Injuries whilst painful, can be so much more annoying than just the pain itself. When injuries get to the point of preventing you from playing your sport, or worse, preventing you from daily tasks like cooking, cleaning or driving they can be very frustrating.
How can Treatment help?
It’s important to get on top of them as quickly as possible, which is where seeing an Osteopath or Myotherapist can be helpful. The addition of physical therapy can be useful in the recovery from these types of musculoskeletal injuries plus, we can give you some exercises to help prevent the injury from reoccurring and get you back in the field faster.
Should You Stop Playing If You’re Sore?
An important aspect of pain is knowing when to push through, and when to take your foot off the gas. We don't want you to just stop all sport and all exercise at the first sign of a niggle, especially mid-season. My advice is that if it is just a niggle, which I would define as 0-3 out of 10 pain, you are okay to keep going. Sometimes pushing through gently can be good for this kind of pain as the movement can help to free things up. However, if it goes above that 3/10 number, ease off or maybe miss a game to give the body a chance to heal.
If you’re experiencing soreness or dealing with a cricket-related injury, don’t wait for it to worsen. Our experienced team at Canterbury Health Hub can help you recover, strengthen, and prevent future setbacks.
Book your appointment today with our team and get back to doing what you love, pain-free.