How do I stop myself from getting a sports injury?

Posted By irvinechiro / Date Posted: 2015-05-16

As a Chiropractor I know that when the winter sports seasons kick off, life in clinic will become even busier as all those athletes that don’t play summer sport decide to hit the sports field again. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the extra business, however I would love to be able to help these athletes prevent some of these injuries to allow them to enjoy their chosen sports and have less time on the sidelines.

So what can we do to try and prevent ourselves getting sports injuries?

1. Move more throughout the day

The worst thing you can do is sit all day at a desk job and then go to soccer training and start to run at full pace. I suggest regular breaks from sitting. Stand when you are on a phone call, get a stand up workstation, take the stairs instead of the lift, and maybe even walk to work or the train station.

2. Warm up

Thankfully FIFA have done all the hard work for us on this one. Check out this link to read more. http://f-marc.com/11plus/home/

This is an extensive and detailed warm up aimed at decreasing injury. Depending on your chosen sport this may need to be altered.

3. Warm down

This is important as this is where many injuries begin. Adequate warm downs are rarely completed, surprisingly even at the elite level. Warm down helps to reduce muscle soreness and eliminate waste products that accumulate throughout strenuous physical activity. Static stretches performed after training when the body is still warm can help increase flexibility.

4. Buy a foam roller and a lacrosse ball or something similar

Working on maintaining our body for approximately 10-20 mins per day is adequate when it comes to foam rolling, stretching etc. These tools, when used correctly are a very cheap and easy way to reduce muscular tension throughout the body and help to stay relaxed throughout the working week.

5. Get screened by your local Chiropractor to ensure you are injury free and the body is ready to start something new again.

If you are a sports person of any level in the Parramatta and Hills districts or in Mortdale, Oatley and surrounds come and get checked before it’s too late, because prevention is always better than the cure. Whilst some injuries are unavoidable, if you follow these simple steps you should give yourself a better chance of getting through the season injury free.