Prevention is always better than cure. We’ve put together 5 strategies to help you prevent sports injuries.
Have a Training Plan
Your training plan is an essential tool to help you prevent injury. More specifically, it gives you a chance to plan your weekly / monthly mileage, and avoid overtraining. You can sick for a plan tailored to you, whether you are a beginner or experienced athlete. For instance, for runners, most plans are 20-24 weeks in length with scheduled runs, rest day and strength training workouts throughout the season.
Strength Training
Strength training not only helps you to build stronger muscles which enhances your overall performance. It also reduces your chances of injury. Make sure to implement strength work as part of your routine, especially in the offseason.
Progress Gradually
Too much too quick. This is one of the most common mistakes that lead to injury. Many runners are familiar with the 10 percent rule of increasing mileage. It states that increasing your mileage by more than 10 percent from one week to the next will increase your chance of injury over time. Make sure to monitor your mileage and stick to 10 percent weekly progression.
Plan a rest day
- Planning a rest day is critical for injury prevention. Rest days should be planed at least 1-2 times per week depends on the intensity/ volume of your training. One of the mistakes that I’ve seen with many of my patients especially runners !! Instead of taking a rest day, they call it an active recovery day where they would try yoga, hike or go for a swim.
Warm-Up
Every workout should begin with a warm-up. It prepares the body for exercise by increasing heart rate and improving blood flow to skeletal muscles. Your warm-up should consist of at least 5-10 minutes of a gentle cardiovascular exercise that helps you break a sweat.
Finish off your warm-up with sport-specific movements that mimic what the rest of your workout will require of your body, but at a lower intensity. This prepares your body for what is to come.
Our Approach
Dublin Sports Injury Clinics a Physical Therapy Clinic based in Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin2. We have a holistic approach to our assessment and treatment. The initial assessment helps us to explore the cause of your injury and help you to get pain free shortly and stop any further injuries. We design a customized training program for you to start with, and we coach and monitor your progress closely. Our Therapist prescribes relative rest or modified activities as required. Depending on the individual requirement, we apply manual therapy accompanied by a home-based training program to maximize your recovery.
Next step
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Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. You can contact us if you would like to book an appointment or get some advice from our therapist.