How to Reduce Your Risk of Sports Injuries

Bottom Line:

To an athlete, there’s nothing worse than being sidelined with an injury.

Improper training, incorrect stretching routines, and a lack of a good warm-up can lead to an increased likelihood of sprains, strains, and muscle injuries.

The good news? With the proper plan of action, many sports injuries can be prevented.

Why it Matters:

Developing a fitness plan that includes dynamic stretching, strength training, and cardiovascular exercise can help decrease your chance of injury.

Each aspect of your plan will of course require movement, aka biomechanics - the science of how your muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments work together to produce movement. Altered biomechanics in one joint can lead to overcompensation in others which can result in pain and an increased risk of injury. Ensuring that you have optimal biomechanics is critical to reducing the chance of injury.

· Scheduling periodic movement assessments is recommended to improve biomechanics.

· Taking time to move through the body's full range of motion each day and to train different muscle groups every other day is also recommended.

Next Steps:

Did you know… movement assessments are an essential part of every chiropractic evaluation.

No two people move the same, which is why having a qualified healthcare professional analyze your movement is so important. Chiropractors are trained to carefully examine your biomechanics and provide both passive and active ways to improve them. By identifying altered biomechanics in muscles and joints before you have pain and discomfort, you may not only be able to reduce your risk of injury but maybe even improve your performance.

Science Source(s):

Preventing Sports Injuries. University of Rochester Medical Center. 2021.

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