How To Prevent Sports Injuries

When it comes to sports, there’s always going to be risk of injury. That is just part of playing any sport! Luckily for you, preventing certain types of injuries can help limit the harm that sports cause.

You will find lots of different tips and tricks in this article about how to prevent sports injuries at the knee, ankle, foot, hand, and shoulder. There are even some strategies and exercises to strengthen your body parts that may get injured from sports.

While most of these tips are simple, some require more time than others. Start out by doing one or two and see how they work for you before moving onto the next one.

Hopefully you will never have to deal with an injury too seriously, but if you do – you’ll know what to do! And you’ll feel better because you took action and did your best.

Warm up properly

How to prevent sports injuries

Before any activity, you should be well-prepared. This means that you must make sure that your body is completely ready for what comes next! When starting out with an exercise, begin with a short warmup. You can do this by simply walking or dancing around the area for some time.

Next, it’s important to get the blood flowing and increase the temperature of the muscles. For most people, this takes about one minute per muscle group. Some groups like doing squats need longer than others so make sure to check out how long each takes!

After this, you can move onto more active exercises. These are activities such as taking a walk or swimming to name a few! After this, you can perform the activity at its full intensity.

Lastly, cool down after every workout. This is going from active to inactive so there is no need to overdo it. Simply take your time and relax before getting into bed.

Hydrate properly

How to prevent sports injuries

When you are playing sports, it is very important to drink enough water– not just before the game, but throughout the game. This helps keep your body hydrated, which is an essential part of exercise!

Many people forget how crucial this is because they are used to drinking alcohol or soda, which have more concentrated sugar content.

Sugary drinks can quickly lead to dehydration since your body cannot process all the liquid fast so well. This could make you feel tired, lightheaded, and uncomfortable if you fail to give your body proper resources for energy.

Drinking enough water also aids in digestion, keeps your skin healthy, and helps regulate your blood pH balance. All of these things affect what kind of activity you can do, and whether you will be able to play the rest of the game or not.

Avoid getting thirsty by being aware of when you should rehydrate and teach your body to recognize that. We recommend tracking your urine color with a pee test kit for the best way to know.

Make sure you are wearing the proper equipment

How to prevent sports injuries

As mentioned before, one of the main reasons athletes get injured is because they are not using the correct sports gear. When buying new shoes or other equipment, make sure you have tested them out!

Some people believe that only professional athletes need good quality sport footwear, but this isn’t always the case. Many high school students, college students, and even amateur professionals suffer foot injuries due to poor-quality sneakers.

In fact, most professional soccer players spend anywhere between $200-$500 per pair of cleats on their feet! If these pros can afford to invest in great footwear, then so can you!

Properly designed athletic shoes will help your feet be as strong and healthy as possible. At the very least, look for products that are leather, stain resistant, and have solid arch support.

Another important piece of sports gear is protective mouth guards.

Stay hydrated before, during and after the game

How to prevent sports injuries

Many sports require plenty of water to be played properly. This is particularly true for basketball, football, hockey and soccer games. If you are not drinking enough water, your body will try to compensate by choosing less efficient strategies to keep you awake, hungry or both.

By being well-hydrated, you can help your muscles stay tight and lubricated, reducing the risk of injury. Plus, one study found that people who drank eight glasses of water per day were more likely to survive a gunshot wound than those who did not drink at all!1

Another reason to make sure you’re drinking enough water is because some sports have a limited amount of time to finish the game. For example, a college basketball team has twenty minutes of play time per half of the game.2 During this time, their bodies needs as much energy as possible to compete with the other teams in the field.

You should know how many drinks equals one bottle of water for an adult to understand when it comes to hydration ahead of a game.

Do not wear heels

How to prevent sports injuries

Heel injuries are one of the most common sports injury types, accounting for around half a million hospital visits per year. Most of these happen when athletes overextend their feet while walking or running, jumping, hopping, or changing direction. They can also occur due to negligence from improperly fitting footwear or shoes that have become too tight.

Heels are typically 1-2 inches high and weigh 2-4 pounds each. Because weight is distributed through larger areas of your foot, it adds stress on to the muscles, ligaments, and bones in your feet. This makes it more difficult to maintain balance, which leads to knee, ankle, or heel pain and fractures.

Removing this pressure relieves some discomfort, but will only make things worse later if you develop osteoarthritis or tendonitis. Also, regular activity is important so bone growth does not stop because you do not exercise regularly.

Football players especially suffer from overuse heel injuries since they spend hours on the field every day. Since there are an average of 300 active football games a season, repeated stress on the same area can lead to damage or even surgery.

Do not risk injury

How to prevent sports injuries

When it comes to preventing sports injuries, your first line of defense is going up against something. You are trying to prevent your body from overusing itself by limiting activity. If you need to take time off due to an injury, do so with caution so that you don’t aggravate it.

Just because you can play a sport does not mean you should! Your doctor will tell you what activities are okay and which ones are not. It is important for you to listen to their advice as they may have recommendations beyond just letting you back into playing your favorite game or position.

They may suggest more limited activities like swimming, yoga, or even taking longer to recover if you do choose to participate. This is especially true for people who suffer from chronic pain and/or illness.

Chronic conditions like arthritis can be made worse by too much stress placed on the body. By being extra careful, you can limit this effect and hopefully get better results in the long run.

Tell your coach

How to prevent sports injuries

If you feel that your body is hurting or something does not seem right, tell someone! Your coach, trainer, physiotherapist or doctor can help you figure out what is going on and how to treat it properly.

They will ask questions about how your pain started and if there have been any changes in your exercise regime or activity. They may do some tests to see whether you are overdoing it or suffering from muscle imbalance.

By having this talk early on, they can prevent your injury getting worse as well as giving you advice on how to recover. It is their job to keep you fit so they will be looking after your health!

If you are ever unsure if something is okay, speak up! You never know when you might need their help and there’s always somebody around to lend an ear.

Tell your parents

How to prevent sports injuries

It’s their kid, so they should know what activities are safe for them to participate in. If you see your parent struggling with an injury that seems too serious to be happening, tell them about this article!

They may be able to avoid aggravating or causing additional injuries by watching themselves or someone else perform an exercise. Or maybe they just need to do something differently because their body is responding poorly to the activity.

Either way, it’s important for them to know how to prevent sports injuries before trying out new moves on the field or court.

It’s also worth mentioning that most major sports leagues have doctors on staff who can help coach people through rehab if needed. This is particularly helpful for kids whose parents don’t necessarily know of a good doctor outside of the area.

Final thought: Even though kids are sometimes bad at listening to their parents, being straightforward and honest about health issues will hopefully inspire your parent to do the same thing.

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