5 tips to prevent sports injuries

Nobody wants to be left on the sidelines with an injured Achilles tendon, torn meniscus or pulled hamstring, so here are a few tips from the physio and massage team at the Health Hub to help you stay in the game.

Proper preparation

Whatever your sport, it’s important to give your body time to adapt to the rigors of the activity. Strength and cardiovascular changes in the body are not achieved in just a few weeks. You require consistent training though a training regime that’s appropriate for your sport and your level of fitness.

Specific training

Seek advice from the appropriate health professional (physiotherapist, exercise physiologist) regarding the optimal training regime for you. For example, improving your cardiovascular fitness via swimming will not improve your running capacity even though they both use similar energy systems. Sports specific training will increase your chances of improving results as well as decreasing your chances of injury.

Manage prior injuries

Have you got any previous injuries in a particular area of your body? These can increase your chances of re-injury in that area as well as causing compensatory injuries elsewhere if they haven’t been rehabilitated properly. Your health professional can advise the best way to manage these injuries.

Consider duration, frequency, intensity and type of training

Be aware of potential increased risk of injury caused by increasing these variables too quickly or by too much. Your body needs time to adapt to the demands of training. When these changes occur over an adequate timeframe your body’s ability to tolerate training loads will improve and decrease your chances of training-related injuries.

Rest and cross-training

By incorporating these into your training regime you can decrease the chances of repetition/overload related injuries. Listen to your body and monitor your reaction to training and playing to minimise injury. For example, tendon-related injuries are very common in those who incorporate poor training methods into their regime and don’t give themselves enough recovery time.

Helping get you back into action

If you do suffer a sports injury, it’s important to get appropriate rehabilitation to get you better sooner and prevent further injury. The Health Hub team of physiotherapists, massage therapists and podiatrists can expertly manage sporting injuries – all under one roof. Book your appointment online today or give us a call on 1300 709 076.