Playing sports is a valuable way to improve your mention and physical health, but one of the few drawbacks about this type of activity is that you can sustain an injury. If you're playing a contact sport, you might almost expect the occasional injury, but it's worth noting that even non-contact sports can leave you nursing an issue. If you've been playing a sport of any type and feel as though you've been injured, you'll want to visit an urgent care center. There, the physician may send you for a magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, appointment. Here are some problems that this machine can reveal.

Muscle Tears

If you've torn a muscle playing sports, you'll likely be experiencing a considerable amount of pain, perhaps coupled with a lack of being able to move the part of your body around the muscle. It's probable that the physician who sees you will surmise that you have a torn muscle, but he or she will need to be 100 percent certain before knowing what to do next. An MRI is ideal because it can show the technician, who will then pass the findings to your doctor, whether or not the muscle is torn. If so, the MRI can even reveal the severity of the injury.

Joint Dislocations

A joint dislocation tends to be fairly obvious. Sometimes, there will be visible trauma to your joint. For example, if you've dislocated a finger, it may have a highly unnatural angle to it. Other joint dislocations might not be as evident, especially if the joint was dislocated but then quickly went back together. Even if this were the case, it doesn't suggest that the joint is fine. An MRI can reveal the condition of the joint so that your health practitioner will know how to proceed with treating the injury.

Internal Injuries

Internal injuries are infrequent in non-contact sports, but can always be a risk in contact sports such as football and ice hockey. If you've been in a significant collision with an opponent and feel extremely sore deep inside your body, and MRI will be valuable for determining what is going on. This scan essentially gives the doctor a view inside your body to show if there has been trauma to your organs, whether it's a kidney contusion or perhaps even trauma to your spleen. Armed with this information, the doctor will determine what comes next in your care.