Playing or doing sports is all fun and games until someone accidentally slips and takes a hard fall. Whether paid to play professionally or as a hobby, athletes should be aware of what they should and should not do to avoid getting hurt.
What Are Sports Injuries?
Sports injuries refer to bodily damage sustained while playing a sport. However, despite the name, it’s possible to get conditions that could fall under the sports injury category even outside of sports! Some examples include.
- Tennis elbow — Although it has tennis in the name, anyone who performs repetitive elbow movements could get tennis elbow.
- Knee injuries — Knee injuries include muscle tears, overstretching, or any condition that affects knee movement.
- Sprains and strains — Anyone can get a sprain or strain, from something as simple as overexertion.
- Fractures — Bone fractures could occur during daily life because of a fall or bumping something too hard.
Causes Of Sports Injuries
Falls, Impacts, and Collisions
Most sports typically involve a lot of running, jumping, or high-impact activities — especially football or combat sports. The nature of most sports leaves athletes prone to falls or collisions, which could cause an injury in various ways.
Overextending
Sports such as basketball, soccer, or tennis all involve rapid changes in direction. The forces athletes exert on their limbs are significant. By pivoting or altering their velocity rapidly, athletes could overextend themselves. Their tendons and ligaments might stretch too far, resulting in pulling or even snapping of soft tissues.
Overexertion
Any athlete is prone to overexertion. Overexertion happens when athletes push themselves beyond their limits, potentially exceeding the amount of activity their bodies can take. While the adage “no pain, no gain” is popular, it’s potentially dangerous when you overexert too much.
Tips For Preventing Sports Injuries
It’s not possible to completely zero out the risk of sports injuries. However, it’s possible to decrease that risk significantly by following these tips:
Warm Up First!
Before engaging in any physical activity, it’s best to warm up first. Warming up involves a sequence of stretches and light exercises to “wake up” the body. It also improves circulation, which helps muscles perform in terms of power output and endurance.
By improving circulation, warming up also helps ensure that the heart is ready to pump blood throughout the activity. There’s also a psychological component to it: warming up helps athletes get their minds into the game.
Use Correct Gear And Equipment
Most sports use safety equipment in some form. For example, soccer uses knee pads and shin guards, while football requires helmets and padding. The gear designed for these sports has one goal in mind: to keep an athlete safe and free from injury, while still ensuring they can perform at their best.
The appropriate gear does more than prevent injuries: it can also be lifesaving. Helmets play a vital role in ensuring the safety of an athlete. Head injuries are dangerous and can be life-threatening.
Have Good Form And Technique
There’s more to good form than practicing one move for hours on end. There are two reasons why maintaining good form is so critical to an athlete’s game. One reason is to optimize their performance, and the second is to help prevent injuries. Incorrect form often involves unnatural movements or excessive twisting and stretching. These movements could cause the sports injuries described earlier, especially overstretching. They could also lead to being imbalanced, resulting in a fall.
Know When To Rest
There’s more to preventing sports injuries than what’s happening while at play. One critical factor that many athletes might forget is that rest is necessary. Many athletes might try to power through injuries or exhaustion to get in one last set or run one more lap, but this is dangerous. The human body has limits. While pushing those limits is necessary for improvement, going too far could result in injuries.
Rest plays a vital component in recovering energy and muscle growth. While resting, the human body repairs stressed tissues and adapts to the level of activity it handled. While that might sound like more activity equates to a better body, pushing too far could go beyond what the body can repair.
Sports Medicine Doctors in New England
Playing sports is fun, but it’s not pleasant to get injured while at play. Rather than treat sports injuries as they come, it’s better to prevent them by following these tips.
If you’ve experienced a sports injury or want ways to pump up your game, visit Advanced Orthopedics New England. You will find a pleasant, caring atmosphere where we constantly prioritize the concerns of our patients. Our sports medicine doctors can help you recover swiftly, so you can jump back into the next game.
We have five locations that are ready to serve and care for you. If you have inquiries and concerns, contact any of our facilities nearest to you.
We look forward to assisting you!
