These days, more and more people are realizing the importance of physical fitness and are starting to exercise more. Unfortunately, athletes and active individuals often fall at risk of injury. Sports injuries usually affect your musculoskeletal system, significantly impacting your ability to move and enjoy a physically mobile lifestyle.
Fortunately, there are ways to minimize your risk of injury. Read on to find out what steps you should take to avoid them.
1. Warm Up And Stretch
Athletes and active individuals need to warm up before attempting any physical activity in sports or exercise. That is because warm-ups and stretches are some of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of injury.
This practice raises your core temperature and increases your heart rate and breathing. It can even mentally prepare you for physical activity, allowing your body to adapt and respond better to physical exertion.
A warm-up doesn’t have to leave you gasping for breath. Light jogging, dynamic stretching, or a few minutes of walking can elevate your heart rate and warm up your muscles.
Spending a few minutes warming up before your workout can help you avoid sports injuries and improve your physical performance.
2. Practice Proper Technique And Use of Equipment
Many sports injuries can occur from improper technique and the incorrect use of equipment. Overuse injuries, such as the pitcher’s elbow, may develop over time from repetitive movements, especially with wrong execution.
Fractures and tissue tears can result from stress on your body because of poor technique and improper use of equipment.
Different exercises and sports require varying techniques. Educate yourself on the proper movements and equipment for your activity. You can prevent unnecessary strain on your muscles, ligaments, and tendons that can cause injury.
3. Know Your Limits
Improving often means testing your physical limitations. However, listening to your body lets you know when you’re pushing your limits or going past them. Feeling pain can be your body’s way of telling you that you’re about to get injured or worsen an injury.
Knowing your capabilities can help you stay within your limits. Active individuals, especially beginners, should be mindful of what they can safely do with a low risk of injury.
Awareness of the following risk factors can help you consider them when trying physical activities:
- Age
- Sex
- Medical history, including previous injuries
- Current physical fitness and ability
- Prior training
4. Cool Down
While warm-ups come before exercise, cool-downs come after completing your physical activity.
During intense exercise, your body is under stress. Your heart rate and temperature go up, you breathe faster, and you expend a lot of energy.
Cooling down allows your body to ease back into its normal state smoothly.
5. Take Your Time
As a physically active individual, you may be excited to go to your next training session and make some progress. However, it’s important to remember that you also need to take your time when you exercise.
While you may want to reach your fitness goals immediately, rushing can limit your gains from exercise and can even cause injury. Make sure to take your time to warm up, cool down, learn proper techniques, and respect your limits.
You’re body also needs time to rest and recover. Rest intervals between training sessions allow your body to recover and adapt to physiological changes.
Taking your time for recovery is especially important when you want to prevent reinjury. Returning to play before completely recovering can significantly increase your risk of sports injuries.
Treatment and Care For Sports Injury in Baltimore, MD
There are plenty of ways to avoid sports injuries. Unfortunately, injuries during physical activities can still occur. Sports injuries can significantly impact your movement in sports, exercise, and daily life. Getting injured can take you off the field or court for a long time. That’s why immediate and quality medical care is a must when treating sports injuries.
The Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland offers a variety of treatments and comprehensive care for many sports injuries. Our physicians, specialists, and physical therapists are ready to provide you with general orthopedic care, surgery, and rehabilitation services. With top-notch services for sports medicine in Baltimore, we can diagnose and treat your sports injury and improve your performance in no time.
Feel free to learn more about our office locations and contact us with any questions at (410) 644-1880. You can also schedule your appointment online. We at Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland look forward to offering you the best orthopedics care in Baltimore!
