Sports and injuries seem to go hand-in-hand. You see it all of the time while watching your favorite sports players. If somebody isn’t breaking a leg playing football, someone else is tearing a rotator cuff in baseball.
But that is not to say that it is inevitable that you will injure yourself while playing sports. In fact, you can have a full and amazing career in sports and not get carted off the field, floor, ice or diamond even once. But don’t blame that on fate, take the necessary steps and precautions to avoid injury.
Evolution Muay Thai, your MMA training gym in New York, offers these tips that could prevent an injury.
Reset and Recover
It is not uncommon for athletes to jump from one sport right into another one, sometimes on the same day. Whatever sports you enjoy, take the time to rest and recover before moving from one to another.
Athletes should take a little time to recover from what they were doing before jumping into the next exciting sport. Taking the time to recover and rest will decrease your chances of suffering an injury.
Replace Worn Out Equipment
Runners and soccer players suffer from shin splints all too often. The cause for shin splints, a painful inflammation, is excessive running or training in shoes that are worn out. Experts recommend that shoes be replaced between 300 and 500 miles of use.
Know Your Limitations
If you are a pitcher and throw the ball 90 mph, that is really good. What is not good is when you aren’t satisfied with that and try over and over to throw the ball 92 mph. This often leads to tendinitis, arm fatigue and other arm injuries.
To prevent overuse injuries, you should have a coach or trainer monitor and limit the amount of time you engage in any repetitive activity.
Have a Training Plan
You should develop a training plan that incorporates days off for the body to heal. Your training plan should also include plenty of stretching for improved flexibility.
Rest When You are Injured
It is tempting to jump back into the game after you have been injured. After all, you think to yourself, it’s only a minor sprain. Well, go back into the game with a minor sprain and chances are you will injure yourself even more.
Watch for Others
There are some rules in sports that have nothing to do with scoring or cheating, they are there to protect people. For example, you can’t throw your baseball bat after a hit.
But rules aren’t always enough. You need to be alert and always be on the watch for what others are doing. It is also a good idea to communicate with others to avoid things like collisions on the baseball field. “I got it!”
Warm Up
It is never a good idea to just run out onto the field and start playing, regardless of the sport or intensity. Always warm up first, even if you are playing disc golf.
For more information on MMA training, call Evolution Muay Thai.
