For an athlete, there is nothing worse than being benched midseason. The problem is that many people who participate in sports are so focused on becoming better at the sport they play that they forget that you must work the whole body to enhance performance. When it comes to sports injuries, the weakest link is the one that does the most harm. To prevent sports injuries, try these tips and tricks to remain injury-free!
#1 Weight Train
The best way to prevent sports injuries is to build muscle strength, both for the performance of the sport you play and for your core musculature. If you don’t train your core muscles, then you will create an imbalance that could lead to getting hurt and sitting out the next game. Whether you are a swimmer or a runner, working out the entire body through functional weight training is not only the best way to improve your performance, it is the only way to stay strong and injury-free.
#2 Warm Up
Your muscles are kind of like rubber bands. Have you ever pulled on a cold rubber band? When you don’t warm up and just get right to it, your muscles might not be prepared for the activity, and you have a greater likelihood that you can sprain or pull a muscle. All it takes is about five minutes to warm up before you engage in exercise to prevent an injury.
#3 Stretch
It is important to stretch both before you begin playing sports and after. When muscles are short, they are weak. And a weak muscle is more prone to injury. When you keep your muscles long and flexible, they are less likely to succumb to injury when you are out on the playing field.
#4 Listen to Your Body
Your body is equipped with pain sensation to alert you when things aren’t right. If you ignore those pain cues, you are increasing your risk of a sports injury. It is okay to push yourself to do more and to be better – but not at the expense of hurting yourself. If you try to go too fast, then you might be slowed down really quickly by a sports injury. Listen to what your body is telling you and take some time when it needs to heal and repair.
#5 Don’t Overtrain
Too much of a good thing is still too much. If you are overtraining and going overboard without giving your muscles time to recover and heal, you are going to end up with a sports injury. The way that a muscle builds is through the recovery process. If you don’t allow your muscles the time necessary to repair and rebuild, you are making them vulnerable to a sports injury.
It’s a good idea to have a workout based on your specific individual needs. We also offer genetic testing that tells us your genetic makeup, so we can help you train more efficiently and specifically based on your own specific genes. The testing gives you information on what percentage of your work out should be endurance training and what should be power training. As a result, you can reap the benefits based on your specific genetic code.
There is a fine line to walk when you are training for a sport. You want to push yourself to be a better athlete. But you don’t want to push so much that you end up sitting the season out on the bench. To prevent sports injuries, practice these five tips to stay sports-injury free. For more information about injury prevention, contact Lake Pointe Chiro today!
