Physical fitness is an important component of overall good health, and many people add movement to their daily lives by playing sports. However, the explosive movements involved in many sports lend themselves to an increase in the frequency of injuries that can impact the joints, bones, and muscles. Practitioners of orthopedic sports medicine in Suffolk County, NY, routinely see sporting pursuits gone awry. The results of these injuries can be painful and immobilizing.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to minimize your risk of sustaining one of these sports-related injuries and save you a trip to the nearest orthopedic clinic. By taking a few precautions and using a little common sense, you can enjoy the thrill of playing sports without the aches and pains that often accompany doing so. Keep reading to learn a few helpful tips for preventing some of the most common sports injuries treated by practitioners of orthopedics.
Stretch before Activity
While stretching and warming up are two of the simplest things you can do to prevent injury, they're also two steps that are most often overlooked by amateur athletes. Your body is essentially a biological machine that abides by the rules of mechanics and physics. To get maximum output, you must acclimate yourself to rigorous physical activity, which is where stretching and warming up comes into the equation. When your muscles, tendons, and ligaments go from a state of rest to a state of high exertion, the risk of damage to those tissues increases. That's why it's important to take the time to slowly stretch your muscles, ligaments, and tendons to allow them to warm up to physical activity before putting them under full load.
Remember to Rest
While participating in sports may provide you with the endorphin rush of physical activity, mental engagement, and fellowship with teammates and opponents, you can have too much of a good thing. Those benefits are all part of the reason that playing sports is worthwhile, but if you play so much that your body never has time to rest, you could be risking injury. When your body becomes fatigued by overuse, it can't protect itself as well as it can when fully rested. Therefore, it's important to build at least a day of rest a week into your schedule of activities to allow you body time to heal and recuperate.
Increase Strength and Flexibility
Two of the best protections against sports injuries are strength and flexibility. It's worth your time and effort to improve both of those
factors through activities such as weight training, calisthenics, tai chi, and yoga. It will help your body better adapt to the rigors of sports movements and allow you to make explosive motions with less chance of injury.
Use Proper Technique
All sports involve specific movements and actions that are regularly executed in the course of play. These techniques aren't just created to provide better outcomes from a competitive perspective, however. They're also designed to mitigate the risk of injury and keep all players as safe as possible during the game. It's important to observe proper technique while playing sports to minimize your chances of experiencing an injury caused by improper or unbalanced form.
Even when you use these tips to prevent some of the most common sports injuries, you may still find yourself in need of a specialist in orthopedics in Suffolk County, NY, as a result of an athletic movement gone awry. After all, injuries happen during the rigors of sporting activities, and there's no way around that. However, by abiding by these tips, you can give yourself the best possible chance of emerging unscathed. If you experience a sports-related injury, make an appointment at Peconic Bay Medical Center.