How do I Prevent Sports Injuries

Jim asks: How do I Prevent Sports Injuries?

Sports medicine deals with injuries incurred primarily while sports men and women are involved in their sport or training for it. The injuries are often due to the overuse of a particular part of the body such as runners knee, tennis elbow, shin splints, etc.

There are also a number of injuries that are as a result of “hard contact”, namely, being hit, running into something or someone, spraining or tearing muscles, tendons or ligaments or fracturing bones.

When it comes to sports injuries, most sports-med practitioners will say that prevention is worth much more than a cure.

Prevention – How to Avoid Injury

The most important elements of injury prevention involve the appropriate warming up of muscles, taking sufficient safety precautions and using equipment correctly. The intense training done by professional athletes can make them more vulnerable due to the overuse of certain muscles.

While no one can predict when an injury will occur, taking sufficient precautions can reduce the likelihood of injury. Some of those precautionary steps are listed below.

Warming-up

Five or ten minutes of gentle exercising and stretching of the muscles will get them ready for the strenuous use they are sure to get. Building the exercises slowly and gradually warming up is critical for the blood flow to increase to the muscles. Gradual warming-up also increases the flexibility of the muscles thereby reducing the potential for straining or pulling muscle fibers.

Gentle and steady jogging and walking are good ways to warm-up. Slowly add the gentle stretching and lengthening of those muscles that will be involved in your sport.

Use of Equipment

The protective gear used in the various sports is designed to prevent injury to its participants, especially in those sports that involved physical contact.

Shoes, while not exactly equipment, can be an essential element for supporting the feet and ankles and preventing injury. In those contact sports where the head is likely to be struck, head gear such as helmets are vital to protect the face, skull and brain.

Pay Attention to Your Body

Know your physical limitations. Especially with any new sport, start slowly since your body (and muscles) aren’t used to the demands made during that sport. You may need more time warming-up and stretching, you may also need to build up your strength and stamina to prepare your body and avoid injury. As you increase your fitness, it will become easier to participate in that activity for longer periods of time.

Drink Enough

Remaining hydrated is a critical element in keeping your physical and mental acuity high, especially when engaged in physical activity in bright sunshine or higher temperatures.

Cooling Down

Cooling down is just as important as warming up so take 5 to 10 minutes to do the same gentle stretching and walking exercises as you did during your warm-up. This allows your heart rate to return to normal, it helps the body to eliminate the waste products such as lactic acid that the muscles produced and reinstates the correct levels of oxygen and nutrients in the body. Cooling down allows your muscles to recover from the work they’ve been doing and helps to reduce the potential for pain and stiffness afterwards.

For the most part, people the world over take part in sports and live to play again. But for some people, sports injury become a reality due to their unpreparedness, lack of training, perhaps carelessness or simply bad luck. It is then that the team at SportsMed can be called upon to discuss, diagnose, prepare a treatment or rehabilitation plan and program or in some cases, do the necessary surgery to correct the condition. While recovery is underway, they can also help with pain management. So, if the situation arises and you need help, you can always count on the specialists at SportsMed.