How To Avoid the Most Common Sports Injuries

Physical activity is an essential ingredient in keeping your body functioning properly for a variety of reasons, including keeping a healthy weight, preventing many diseases and other health conditions, improving mood, and boosting energy. These benefits are gained from things like regular exercise and participating in sports.

However, there are many injuries common to intense physical activity, so proper physical movement and sticking to specific habits can help avoid dealing with them. To explore the best ways to protect yourself, let’s examine some common injuries and how you can prevent them.

Residents of the Houston and Spring, Texas, areas looking to avoid getting injured can find help with Drs. Billy Cheong, Kesia Broome, Elias Madrid, and the skilled medical team at Elite Spine and Health Center.

Common injuries

Inactivity, not warming up before engaging in exercises, and playing regular sports are all things that increase the risk of injury. They can lead to a variety of different physical ailments, such as:

• Sprains and strains: these are caused by overstretching or tearing muscles and ligaments
• Elbow and knee injuries: any ailment that affects how your knee and elbow joint moves will need attention
• Swelling: swollen muscles and tissue are a common result from getting an injury, and can lead to pain and weakness in that area
• Ruptures: tendons can rupture during physical activity (such as your Achilles’ tendon), which can lead to sudden and severe pain
• Fractures: fractured or broken bones can be very painful and impede use of a bone or joint
• Dislocations: this happens when a bone moves out of the socket of its joint, which can lead to swelling and muscle weakness
• Rotator cuff injuries: the muscles the rotator cuff of allows your shoulder to move in all directions, and a tear in any of the muscles can weaken the shoulder

Methods of prevention

Here are some basic tips on how to prevent injuries:

Proper conditioning

This means warming up before you exercise, and train as much as needed for whatever regimen or sport you are about to engage in. Warmups can get your cardiovascular system going, increase range of motion, and get you nice and limber for your regimen or event.

Wear proper gear

Equipment like pads, guards, helmets, and gloves can protect parts of your body prone to injury. Make sure you’re wearing equipment that fits properly and remember they are for protecting everyone.

Rest

Getting proper rest allows your body to convalesce and heal so you can get back into the game in better health and in better spirits. Rest is vital to training, and being intensely active while tired or hurting only increases the risk of getting injured. 

A history of injuries can lead to dealing with chronic pain, so warming up will help reduce risks and being mindful of possible injuries will help you be more cautious while active. Stretching and exercises after intense activity can also help your body cool down. 

Injuries from physical activity are very common, but you can avoid them, and we can help. Make an appointment with Drs. Cheong, Broome, Madrid, and Elite Spine and Health Center today to get help avoiding injuries and staying healthy while being active.