5 Ways to Prevent Sports Injuries

If you consider yourself athletic, you probably try to avoid and prevent sports injuries from happening. Whether you’re a cross country runner or a rugby player or a gym rat, it’s easy to get hurt if you don’t take the proper precautions. This could mean significant time away from practices, games, or workouts. Follow these tips to minimize your risk of injuries while playing a sport:

Warm Up Beforehand

It’s essential to properly warm up your body before you play a sport. When your muscles are warm, they are more flexible and less prone to injury. A proper warm-up session should last approximately 20 to 30 minutes and can include a combination of cardiovascular, strength and stretching exercises.

Prevent Sports Injuries With Proper Protective Gear

If you are like some athletes, you might think that wearing protective gear while playing sports makes you look weak. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you wear safety gear, you are able to protect your head, hands, teeth and other parts of your body from injury. The type of safety gear you need depends on the sport you play. For example, if you are a catcher in baseball, you are required to wear a helmet, face guard and chest guard to protect you from hundred mile an hour balls. Other sports may require less or more protection, but the amount of safety precautions you take is entirely up to you and your athletic grasp on the sport.

Get Adequate Rest

In order to maximize your post workout recovery and prevent sports injuries, you must properly rest your body. If you don’t get eight hours of sleep every night or train too many days in a row, you are more likely to get hurt. Getting enough rest will improve your strength and focus during every game, helping you perform better. It will also give your body adequate time to recover and strengthen itself for your next workout.

Consider Physical Therapy

If you do happen to be unable to prevent sports injuries there are a few recommended ways to approach the recovery process. Self-care and recovery often involves the R.I.C.E. method which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Seek rest promptly and apply ice to the injured area to ease inflammation. Attempt to keep the area compressed with a wrap, especially in the case of a sprained joint, and elevate the injury. The recommended elevation, while lying horizontally on your bed or couch, is to keep the injury above the plane of your heart.

Physical therapy is one of the most effective ways to recover from a sports injury. During each session, a trained physical therapist will help you rebuild your strength and range of motion through different stretches and exercises. Whether you are dealing with a knee injury or shin splint, physical therapy can speed up your recovery time.

Give Cryotherapy a Chance

Cryotherapy, also known as cold therapy, can dramatically improve sports recovery. This therapy can significantly subside pain by reducing inflammation and decreasing muscle spasms. The most common form of cryotherapy is Whole Body Cryotherapy or WBC. It is a whole body cold therapy that is known for helping stimulate the recovery process through increased cell regeneration and the flushing out of old tissues. Many professional athletes, like football players, soccer players, and boxers, have been known to include cryotherapy into their recovery process.