If you’re leading an active lifestyle, you’re getting the most out of your body while maintaining your health and keeping fit. This is always a good thing, but it’s still important to be mindful of any injury risks you may face when something goes wrong on the field or in the gym.
Runners, joggers, baseball players, golfers, dancers, and gymnasts are all prone to sports injuries; however, sports injuries are not limited to athletes – anyone may obtain a sports injury. But, for those who frequently participate in physically demanding activities, it can be very frustrating to get injured.
Sports injuries are made up of many types of conditions that can get worse if left unseen by a medical professional. These include a sprained ankle, a pulled groin, hamstring strain, tears, tennis elbow, and many others. While some injuries are relatively minor and can heal on their own through rest and recovery, it’s always a good idea to visit a doctor at the first sign that something isn’t right in order to make sure things don’t get worse.
The best way to prevent a sports injury is with a warm-up before any strenuous activity in order to improve flexibility in your joints and muscles to reduce any risk of pulling or tearing anything. A warm-up routine prepares your body for exercise by gradually increasing your heart rate and warming up your muscles. Start off slow with any workout instead of jumping in, especially if you’ve been taking a break.
It is just as important to cool down after a game and get plenty of rest. Any injury is best treated immediately after the injury event, so any pain you may have should be seen to as soon as possible. Rest helps to avoid fatigue and also increase mental and physical alertness. Lack of sleep may predispose you to injury.
Stretching is important before any sport or physical activity. A combination of both static and dynamic stretches during warm ups will help loosen the muscles. It can be detrimental to stretch cold muscles. Make sure you do a light warm up before stretching before and after exercise. This can be as simple as jogging in place.
Consult with coaches or other experienced players to ensure you are using proper technique in your sport or exercise of choice. Wear and use properly fitting/sized sports equipment. This includes everything from your shoes, to your baseball glove, to your safety helmet.
Increase your activity level gradually over time. If you are learning a new technique today, don’t overwork yourself trying to become an expert in a day. This could lead to an overuse injury, such as tennis elbow or shin splints. Instead of pushing yourself too hard in one day, train for shorter periods of time over multiple days. Make sure you include cardio, strength training and stretching exercises in your weekly training routine. Changing up your routine can help minimize overuse injuries. You want to make sure to avoid continuously putting stress on the same joints
Make sure to eat a well-balanced diet. You want to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. Having a well-nourished body is important during physical activity. Drink plenty of water before, during and after physical activity. Hydration is even more important on hot and humid days. If exercising strenuously, liquids with electrolytes can be beneficial. However, carbonated, sugary and alcoholic beverages should be avoided.
Even with careful preparation, sports injuries can sometimes still occur. Fortunately, there are non-invasive options to help you tend to your injury, while not having to settle for downtime that comes with surgical procedures.
Orthobiologic medicine is a field of medicine that utilizes the body’s built-in healing mechanisms to promote more natural, less invasive healing procedures. Orthobiologic medicine has become more popular because a growing number of people with injuries don’t want to undergo surgery to manage their pain. Not just because these procedures are invasive in nature, but surgery wait lists have never been longer, and the recovery time for surgery is much longer.
Platelet-rich plasma uses a small amount of the patient’s own blood to help heal their injuries. Their blood is extracted, separated and concentrated for its growth factors and plasma. Then, it is reinserted into the target area of the body for healing.
Cell therapy is completely safe as we are using what your body naturally produces, concentrating the desired critical components and transplanting them into the affected area for effective tissue healing. There is no risk of rejection and very minimal overall procedural risk.
Often, our bodies can not accumulate enough cells into the affected or injured area, thus limiting the healing process from fully repairing the damaged tissue. By utilizing your own cells and introducing a concentrated amount into an area of injury, we promote recruitment of even further cells and complete healing of the needed tissue directly.
If you have a sports injury, don’t worry—we can help! Contact us to book a consultation with Dr. Darr today!
