5 Ways To Avoid Sporting Injuries

Getting injured while playing sport is something that no one wants to happen to them. Most people that play a sport will experience some form of injury in their lifetime. However, what most people don’t know is that many sports injuries can be prevented if you look after your body and be careful when you are playing sport. Luckily, there are a lot of things that you can do to make sure that you don’t injure yourself while playing sport or exercising.

1. Warm-up and cool down

If you are going to play any kind of sport, you need to warm up beforehand and cool down afterwards, so that you don’t injure yourself. It is a well-known fact that warm muscles are less susceptible to injuries because you are gradually getting the blood to flow to your muscles, rather than jumping straight into a workout and expecting that everything will be fine. In saying that, cooling your muscles down after a workout is very important as well. After an intense workout, your body needs to recover, so you should be doing some low-intensity exercise, like walking to bring your heart rate down. You should be stretching after a workout as well. Stretching regularly makes you more flexible, which in turn prevents you from muscle strains and sprains, so make sure to warm up and cool down with some stretches and the appropriate exercises when you are working out.

2. Nutrition is important

If you want to keep fit and not injure yourself, you need to focus on eating healthily as well as looking after your bones and muscles. Even if you are someone that can burn fat quickly, it is not advised that you should eat unhealthy foods in excess, because not only does it make you feel bad, but it can cause you serious pain. Eating bad foods all the time can cause your body to get sick and become inflamed, which puts you at risk for things like sprains and stress fractures. This is because the body tries to fight the thing that is causing you pain so that it can heal, without knowing that the thing that is causing you pain is the food you ingest. Good proteins help you to build muscle and carbs help to fuel your body, so you need a combination of the two as well as healthy fruits and vegetables to remain fit and healthy and avoid injuries.

3. See a professional when you need

Knowing when to see a professional about your sporting injuries is very important. There are millions of people that injure themselves through a range of sporting activities every year, but only a small amount of people know to see a professional like a physiotherapist when they are struggling. Seeing one of the professionals at Bend + Mend Physiotherapy is a good idea when you have a sports injury because they can provide you with the diagnosis and treatment that you need to heal yourself and get back out on the field playing the sport that you love. If you have an injury from sport or working out, you should make a plan with your physiotherapist so that you can ease back into doing what you love, without hurting yourself even more. 

4. Use the right equipment

To stop yourself from getting injured while you are playing sport, you need to make sure that you are protected, and wearing the right equipment can make a real difference. Wearing items like helmets, mouthguards, gloves and protective pads is a good idea for anyone who plays sport and wants to stay safe because it will stop you from getting hurt easily. Protective equipment is a requirement for a lot of different sports these days, so if you are told to wear a certain item for your safety, you should do it.

5. Know when to rest

Every good sports-person knows that to get the most out of the exercise that you are doing, you need to know when to rest. Getting enough rest in between each match is very important because it allows your body to calm down and recover so that you are ready to go again the next time you have to play your favourite sport. If you are someone that does a lot of high-intensity exercise, it is advised that you take at least 1 full day a week to rest your body. This does not mean doing something low intensity like going for a walk or doing a few laps at the pool, this means having a full day where you do not do anything too strenuous so that your muscles can relax and repair. If you are injured, you will need to take some time off from sport to recover, so that you can ease your way back into exercise, without causing any further pain to your body.

It is easy to avoid injuring yourself when playing sport if you know how to look after your body. Making sure that you wear protective gear when doing anything that could hurt you, and doing what you can to keep fit and healthy are the most important things that you can do to prevent sports injuries.