John Perry asked:


Playing sports is a lot of fun. It’s one of the most exhilarating activities that you can do. Not only is it fun, though; it’s also healthy.

Playing sports can also be a form of body and mind exercise. It can strengthen your muscles and your bones. It also improves your thinking abilities since sports activities hone your mind in matters of strategy and technique.

In fact, playing sports is such a great activity that it can even improve your personality in the aspects of fairness and good sportsmanship. However, that’s not to say that there are no downsides to playing sports.

Playing sports can be quite dangerous especially if you’re inexperienced. If any accidents occur when you’re playing sports, the effects can range from mild to serious. You can either get a minor bruise, a moderately severe sprain, or an injury that you will have to live with for the rest of your life. You might even sustain an injury that could cost you your life. So, it’s quite important to know how to avoid these sports injuries in the first place.

The Proper Gear

The first thing to do when you play sports is to prepare all the equipment that you will need. Your equipment includes not only the balls, the nets and such necessary implements but also your protective equipment.

For example, in football (which is arguably one of the roughest sports) there are a lot of protective gears that you need to put on. The first and probably the most important one is the helmet which is protection for your head or your cranium.

Helmets differ depending on the sport you’re going to play. Football helmets are much bulkier than other helmets. For one thing, football helmets are complete with a face guard and they almost completely cover the head.

There are other protective equipment like ankle guards, shoulder pads, shin guards, mouth guards, and knee caps. All of these are designed to protect the important parts of the body from any injury.

If you participate in football, chances are high that you’ll be falling a lot. All these pads cushion your body whenever you fall or forcibly collide with another player. They therefore help in preventing bone fractures or sprains. Such equipment may be bulky and heavy and they might prevent you from moving freely but, then again, isn’t it always better to be safe than sorry?

Get a Physical

You need to consult with your doctor before you become active in any sports activity. Get a physical exam. This is a precautionary activity that is usually required of professional athletes. It wouldn’t hurt to follow their example even if you only plan on playing football with your weekend buddies.

Warm Ups

Before doing anything strenuous, you have to warm up your body. Some people forgo doing warm-ups because they think that it’s too troublesome; they’re too impatient and want to get into the game the game immediately.

But this shouldn’t be so. Warm-ups are incredibly important because they condition the body for the work-out that it’s going to receive. Also, contrary to what other people think, warm-ups don’t necessarily mean stretching. In fact, stretching should be saved until after you’ve warmed your body up a little since if you stretch yourself too much, you might end up tearing a few ligaments.

The first thing that you should do when you’re warming up is to take a light jog. Then, when you’re done, start stretching your muscles starting from the head down. You can start by rotating your neck, then your shoulders, then your arms, then your waist, your hips, your legs, and then your foot. Sixteen counts on each body part should do.

All in all, warm-ups should last for 15 to 30 minutes. Stretching helps by improving the blood circulation in the said body parts and also by increasing the body’s temperature. That way, once you get into the field, your body will be more than ready to accommodate all the strenuous tasks that it will have to do.

Strength Training and Bodybuilding Exercises

If you want to be in top form when you play, your body must be in top form, too. Aside from giving you the required energy for sports, though, a well-honed body is also more resilient, more flexible and, therefore, less susceptible to sports injuries. Therefore, you should have strength training and regular bodybuilding exercises.

Practice

To avoid sports injuries, you’d do well to be good in your chosen sports. Thus, you’d better practice, practice and practice some more. Of course, do not do this without proper supervision. If no one qualified is there to supervise, no one would be able to tell you whether what you’re doing is right or wrong.

Following Rules

Rules are there for a reason. Usually, they’re qualified into two: rules made for scores or points and rules made for common courtesy. You see, some sports can be dangerous and there are some rules that are put in there for the sake of minimizing injuries and accidents.

Some rules in football that are focused on safety involve the types of blocking and tackling. If you block the opponent by grabbing him by his face mask, then your move will be considered illegal. Also, there’s a rule that prohibits tackling from behind and tackling using the top of your helmet. These rules are made for the official football league but they should also be used in informal games.

Safe Venue

Of course, when you play sports, you have to choose a safe place to play. When you’re playing rough contact sports like football, it’s best if you choose to play on a grass field. It won’t help if you play on concrete because if some accident does happen, falling on the cold, hard concrete will only make the fall harder.

Body Mechanics

When playing sports, you should employ what’s called “body mechanics”. Body mechanics maximizes your body’s potential for movement even as it minimizes the stress that it sustains.

For example, when jumping, make sure to bend or flex your knees to lessen the chance of joint dislocation when you land. Learn all about the techniques that can make falling easier and less severe on your body.

Constant Awareness

Also, when you play sports, you must constantly be aware of what’s happening around you. It won’t help if you’re not cooperating with your teammates.

For example, if two of you are trying to catch the ball, pay attention or you might crash into each other. If someone’s planning to tackle you, try to dodge. Evading is way better than getting hit since the latter leads to injuries.

Muscle Straining

It’s inevitable that your muscles will start to hurt when you play. Muscle pain is oftentimes normal, but that doesn’t mean that you have to ignore it. Never play through the pain because it will aggravate your condition. Take a break when your muscles start hurting. Rest the body part that hurts. It will also help if you elevate it. For example, if your leg is hurting, prop it up on a pillow or two.

It’s perfectly understandable to want to get right back in the game after you’ve sustained an injury especially if it’s an important game. But you have to remember that safety always comes first. If you disregard your injuries, it might get worse and the damage might become irreversible.

Sports are fun and all but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up your body in order to play them. Remember that there are things that are more important in life, like your own safety and wellbeing. Be wise when playing sports, have fun but don’t let it cloud your judgment.



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Neal Mesnick asked:


Before the world cup soccer started Wayne Rooney had injured his leg and had to race against time to be fit to play crucial world cup games for his country. Sports injury is something that has become part and parcel of a sportsman’s life. With the amount of sports that is being played and due to its increasing competitiveness, athletes have also slowly started accepting the fact that sports injury is something that is inevitable. Sports injury rehabilitation must be undertaken by a sportsperson in the proper way to be free from any kind of injury. Rehabilitation is also a must not only to help a person to be able to play, but also to do his daily work properly.

A person can injure different body parts due to playing sports regularly. Almost all major sportsperson in the world these days have their own personal trainer and physiotherapist to help them deal with sports injury and sports injury rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is the process of restoring a person to his original agility in using various body parts to participate in sports and also to conduct his day to day activities on a regular basis. Accidents and injuries of any kind freaky or otherwise must be attended to in time or the condition can get out of hand.

To heal any kind of physical injury you need undertake rehabilitation. Physical training and exercise are a vital part of any kind of sports injury rehabilitation. The treatment process of any injury requires consists of many factors. Medicine, surgery and other treatment process can be undertaken for treating any physical injury. Always make sure that the physical injury therapist from whom you are seeking treatment for any injury is professionally qualified.

Different injury needs different types of treatment procedure. No two physical injuries can be healed in the same way. Suppose you are suffering from a physical injury in the elbow, the therapist will examine your elbow and then determine treatment methods accordingly. Sports injury rehabilitation exercises for elbow injury will contain lots of exercises that will concentrate purely on helping you move and work your elbow properly.

Sports injury can happen to any athlete at any time. If you are an athlete who is constantly involved in playing you must make sure that you always have a first aid kit containing everything at your disposal. Administering proper first aid to any injury victim can go a long way in helping out that person to be free of a complicated health condition in future. Nonetheless make sure that you do not move or touch the injured person improperly if you are not sure how to handle an injury. Call the doctor immediately as he is the best person to help you out of such a situation.

The sports injury rehabilitation phase is very crucial for the successful treatment of any physical injury. In fact this is the most crucial phase of the entire treatment procedure. The improper rehabilitation procedure can lead to a condition where the injured person can end up encountering additional health problems. Properly follow the entire exercise and diet plan mapped out by your physio. The diet and exercise regime is made by your therapist keeping in mind your body type and the kind of injury you are suffering form. So it becomes all the more important to religiously follow whatever the therapist prescribes for you.



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