From broken teeth to sprained ankles, suffering an injury while playing a sport is relatively common. While some of these injuries are practically unpreventable, and an acceptable risk for most sports enthusiasts, many of these injuries can easily be avoided with the right strategies.

So what steps can you take to reduce injuries while playing sports?

Wear the Right Equipment

First, make sure you’re wearing the right equipment. Depending on where and how you’re playing sports, the equipment may be provided for you. If it isn’t, it’s on you to shop for what you need.

Helmets

Helmets are most important in contact sports like football and sports with a high risk of other injuries, like cycling. Make sure your helmet is suited for the sport you intend to play and make sure it’s fitted properly to reduce your chances of a traumatic brain injury.

Pads

Special pads can protect your body from hits, and are especially important in contact sports or other forms of sports like skateboarding.

Mouthguards

Many sports like hockey, rugby, martial arts or boxing, definitely require some form of mouth guards to protect your teeth and gums from any contact. The last thing you want after a sport is to lose teeth. Dental implants in Daily City can replace your missing teeth with artificial teeth that look and function almost identically to your original set, but it’s much better to avoid losing teeth in the first place.

Shoes and gloves

The right set of shoes will afford you more comfort while playing a sport, allow your feet to move in a natural way, and provide you with better overall support. Make sure you’re wearing and using shoes suited for this specific activity or sport that you plan to do. Wearing gloves can also protect your hands in some activities.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Arguably the best thing you can do to avoid injuries during sports is to warm up and cool down. If you launch into a round of explosive activity without properly warming up, you could end up straining or tearing your muscles. The alternative is simple; spend a few minutes partaking in light exercise before jumping into the sport, and cool down with some walking and stretching after the match or training is over.

 

 

Stretch Appropriately

Speaking of stretching, it’s important to stretch appropriately. It’s best to avoid stretching before a match, or at least warm up your muscles before attempting to stretch them. Your stretches should also be challenging, yet not painful, and you should try to hold them for at least 20 or 30 seconds.

Regularly stretching and practicing yoga can keep your muscles, tendons, and ligaments limber.

Eat and Drink Correctly

If you want to perform well and remain healthy, it’s important to eat and drink correctly before and during your activity. It’s ideal to have at least some food in your system, and you’ll need to stay hydrated throughout.

At the same time, you have to avoid overdoing things like drinking too much, too fast, or eating right before activity, which can leave you with a side stitch, which certainly isn’t life threatening, but it can cause significant discomfort. Consult with a sports nutritionist to come up with a strategy that works for you.

 

 

Be wary of ankle and foot placement

When you’re chasing after a basketball or desperately running to base, it’s easy to get lost in the moment. But it’s important to be wary of your ankle and foot placement as a single misstep could lead to a sprain, or worse, a broken bone.

Adhere to proper form and technique

Utilizing proper techniques during an activity or exercise can greatly minimize your chances of experiencing an injury. Always take the time to learn proper form for things like throwing, swinging an object, and even basic movements like running. If you don’t know the proper form, get someone more experienced to teach you or watch a video on the subject. This is the standard form for a reason.

Don’t overexert yourself

Avoid overexerting yourself. We all want to do our best and do a little better each time around the field, but if you push too hard, you may end up hurting yourself.

Build up your core and Cross Train

Cross training across many different disciplines can strengthen your body in different ways and reduce your chances of being injured. Incorporating various things like weight training, yoga and even Pilates can all be beneficial no matter what sport you are training for.

Improving your “core” muscles will increase your balance and stability, so always make time for proper core exercises and holds such as planks. Routines are valuable, but they can also be limiting. Try exercising in new ways and experimenting with new sports and training methods every so often.

 

 

Rest

Always take the time to rest after a big workout or exhausting sports match. Your body needs time to fully recover. If you do too many intense workouts back-to-back, or if you try to push yourself past your natural limits when you’re already sore, you’ll end up regretting it and your muscles will be more prone to injury when they are exhausted and overworked.

Allow Your Injuries to Fully Heal

Finally, if you do experience any injuries while playing sports or working out, give those injuries time to fully heal before you return to normal activity. If you keep pushing yourself, or if you ignore your injuries and “play through the pain,” you could set yourself up for something much worse. It’s better to reduce your activity for a few weeks and fully recover than keep pushing yourself and take yourself out of commission for months.

The majority of sports injuries can be completely prevented, as long as you’re willing to make an extra effort to prevent them. Most of us like to challenge ourselves in a competitive environment, but it’s never worth a visit to the hospital.

 

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