Top 4 Ways To Escape Muscle Injury

When starting a new sport or form of exercise, always ensure that you start slowly and gradually increase the intensity, frequency and duration of the activity.

For example, it is common when people take up running. Start with running as far as they can manage. The speed and distance should be increased gradually. Running more distance with more speed can cause serious damages to your muscles.

 

Instead, training should start gently with walk/jog sessions and plenty of recovery time. Maintain a policy that that the distance and time should be increased only at a rate of 10% in a week. The same policy should be maintained in all exercises. Proper training and match experience is required before playing a complete match. Full match can predispose the individual to injuries. Injury is caused by tiredness.

With any sport or exercise, it is important to use the right equipment and to use it in the right way. Shin guards in soccer and rugby can protect your shin from stud injuries. While playing games like American football and cricket, helmets will protect your head. It is not only protective equipment that is important. The weight of the racquet used in tennis can cause injuries to the hand muscles. Similarly a hockey stick that is too short may result in back pain. Even using incorrect footwear can result in injuries. Not only must the footwear be right for the sport (i.e. running shoes for running, football boots for football) but it must also be right for the individual, in terms of size and fit, but also support.

 

Arch support varies depending on a person. If they have a fallen arch or the foot over pronates (rolls inwards when walking/running). Stress fractures and plantar fasciitis are the common injuries due to lack of proper support.

 

 

Following the rules is another good way of avoiding injury. Rules of the games will keep the game interesting, the safety of the player is also guaranteed. Avoid lifting the balls in hockey and tackling with the used of studs in football as they are against the rules of the game.

 

Take proper warm before engaging in any form of exercises or games. Starting with some light cardiovascular work such as jogging or skipping, followed by some stretches. Changing to sport specific exercises after warm can make your body respond positively to high intensive exercises.

 

Warm up makes your muscle warm and flexible. If you want to know more about building up your muscle you can refer to No Nonsense Muscle Building Program by Vince Delmonte. Cold, tight muscles are more likely to tear. It also helps to improve hand-eye coordination and reaction times. Warm ups are small steps that you can take to help your body and increase your performance.

 

After a game, match or even practice it is advised to perform a cool down. Lactic acid is responsible for muscle aching and stiffness, it can be removed with sufficient rest. A cool down will slowly reduce the heart rate to avoid blood pooling in the limbs. The stiffness of the muscles can be reduced with stretching exercises and initiates quicker recovery. {The faster you recover, the sooner you are ready to play again. If you are able to recover soon after the workouts, you will be able to increase the intensity of exercises.}

 

Rest is important not only for the recovery of the muscles but also the overall health of your body. It is commonly said that improvements in strength and speed etc are actually made when we are resting and this is true. It is in this time that the muscles grow and repair.

 

Training or playing again too soon before your body has fully repaired. The muscles may not function correctly and will become fatigued easily. This will add to further injuries. {It has been shown that fatigued hamstring muscles are more likely to tear. Muscles of hamstring will be torn if they are tired while doing the workouts.}