The sun is finally shining and this time of the year is totally crammed full of sport! Multiple international competitions are going on such as the Tour de France, the European Football Championships, Wimbledon and, of course, the Rio Olympic Games! Many of us get inspired by these events and increase the amount of time we spend playing sport. We imagine ourselves to be Chris Froome, Andy Murray or Jessica Ennis-Hill! Or, is it the call of the sun and the beach encouraging us to be more fit? Probably a little bit of both don’t you think? Either way we want you to enjoy and not suffer sports injury.
Doing so, you might increase the risks of sports injuries than could, potentially, prevent you for achieving your goals. And when you have the will and the energy to do sport, there is nothing worse than being unable to do it because of injury!
How to limit the risks of Sports Injury?
Whatever the type of exercise you do, whether it’s football, rugby, horse riding, swimming, tennis, rowing, etc. there are a few things you can do to reduce the risks of hurting yourself.
- Do something you like! If you like it, you’ll invest yourself in it, you’ll be more focused and you’ll have more energy to try to improve!
- Start slow! Sports injuries tend to happen to people who overdo it too soon. If you’ve not been playing sport for the last 2 years, don’t try to do what you remember you were capable of doing back then. Start gently and try to do a bit more each time.
- Ask for help! It’s useful to have someone showing you how to do things properly so you know what to do and more importantly what not to do!
- Do it regularly! If you manage to include sport in you daily habits, it’ll feel more natural and less like you’re forcing yourself to do it. The regularity will also help you build stamina and strength!
- Drink a lot of water! Before, during and after! Water will help drain the muscles of all the toxins they accumulate during training. This current hot weather can dehydrate you fast!
- Eat healthy! Our body is in a permanent renewal state from our birth to our death. Nearly all our organs, our tissues, our cells will be entirely renew several times with a different frequency depending on the cells. And your body is going to use what you feed him with to do that. If your car is using diesel, would you give it petrol?
What to do if you suspect a Sports Injury?
If you suspect an injury, and whether the symptoms wear off or not, don’t wait and have it checked out by your Reading Chiropractor
or Osteopath. At Reflex we can help you recover from your sports injury and get you back to peak performance as fast as possible!
In the meantime use ice packs on the painful area. How to use the ice? Apply the ice for 10-15 min on the painful area and then 30 minutes without the ice and repeat the process. Always make sure you have something between you and the ice to avoid an ice burn!
What could appear as a minor problem now could be the point of origin of more important issues later. Your body never forget anything and will always try to compensate until it reaches its limit. Please don’t wait to see where that limit is! At Reflex we assess the whole body, and our team of professionals can assess the problem and explain what is going to you prior to any care starting. We often find that the true cause of the pain is not where the symptoms are felt. If someone only treated the painful area the problem would not be resolved.
Call Reflex Spinal Health at 0118 946 2100 today to find out what we can do to help you recover from your sports injury!
Jérémie Agius – Osteopath
