Injury Prevention in Sport
Warm-Up Properly
It is important to properly warm up and stretch before starting to train to help reduce the chances of injury as it gives the body time to prepare. Every proper warm-up involves a good stretching routine, which utilises both dynamic and static stretches that help loosen and prepare the muscles.
Identify Any Changes In Performance and Technique
Some injuries will begin to present themselves physically before you experience any pain. One of the best ways to identify these early is to monitor performance and technique. Quite often, a person's body will compensate by changing techniques to protect the injured area. Suppose you notice that you are limping or changing the way you place your weight when completing activities, it is important to get this seen by a sports physiotherapist who will be able to identify any issues.
Additionally, if you are experiencing a lack of sleep or sore and stiff muscles, this may be a sign that you are overworked and need to rest in order to avoid injury. Ignoring the need to rest may lead to an injury that will take longer to heal, so it is better to take a few days off to let your body rest. In general, it is important to have at least one rest day per week.
Eat A High Protein Diet
Eating high protein foods, such as eggs, meat, or fish, will increase your protein intaken, thus preventing injury, as protein helps aid muscle recovery after a workout. Every time that you work out, your muscles develop microtears that lead to muscle growth. Protein helps heal these microtears heal quicker, meaning that you are less likely to damage them the next time you workout.
Additionally, if you suffer an injury that requires rest for a long time, eating a high protein diet will help you retain the muscle you have already built up, meaning that you lose less of it when not working out.
Cool Down
After any kind of physical activity, it is important to cool down properly, rather than stopping suddenly, as this is likely to cause injury. Your cool-down routine should include a lot of stretches to keep your muscles from freezing up.
Resume Activity Slowly
While you can try and prevent injuries, preventing them entirely is not possible. Post resting a serious injury, it is tempting to simply jump back into your old routine immediately. While excessive rest can delay the injury healing, so can too much activity too quickly. When you begin activity again, do so in small amounts and take things slowly to ease your body back into exercising.
Conclusion
Injuries in sport are inevitable, especially if you are training often. However, there are many ways to reduce your chances of becoming injured, including proper stretching and evaluating your progress. Most importantly, if you do injure yourself, take a break and rest until it is fully healed.
