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How to Prevent Sports Injuries

While it is impossible to prevent every injury, research suggests that injury rates could be reduced by 25% if people took appropriate preventative action, while enjoying their activity. These include:

1. Be in proper physical condition to play a sport.
Keep in mind the weekend warrior has a high rate of injury. If you play any sports, you should adequately train for that sport. It is a mistake to expect the sport itself to get you into shape. Many injuries can be prevented by following a regular conditioning program of exercises designed specifically for your sport.

2. Know and abide by the rules of the sport.
The rules are designed, in part, to keep things safe. This is extremely important for anyone who participates in a contact sport. Rules of conduct, including illegal blocks and tackles are enforced to keep athletes healthy. Know them. Follow them.

3. Wear appropriate protective gear and equipment.
Protective pads, mouth guards, helmets, gloves and other equipment is not for sissies. Protective equipment that fits you well can safe your knees, hands, teeth, eyes, and head. Never play without your safety gear.

4. Rest.
Athletes with high consecutive days of training, have more injuries. While many athletes think the more they train, the better they'll play, this is a misconception. Rest is a critical component of proper training. Rest can make you stronger and prevent injuries of overuse, fatigue and poor judgment

5. Always warm up before playing.
Warm muscles are less susceptible to injuries. The proper warm up is essential for injury prevention. Make sure your warm up suits your sport. You may simply start your sport slowly, or practice specific stretching or mental rehearsal depending upon your activity.

6. Avoid playing when very tired or in pain.
This is a set-up far a careless injury. Pain indicates a problem. You need to pay attention to warning signs your body provides.

Research provides us with helpful clues about the cause of sports injury. There are two factors that outweigh the rest when it comes to predicting a sports injury. They are:

· Having a history of injury. Previous injuries to a muscle or joint tend to develop into chronic problem areas for many athletes. It is extremely important to warm up, and stretch previously injured parts.

· A high number of consecutive days of training. Recovery days reduce injury rates by giving muscles and connective tissues an opportunity to repair between training sessions

Six Sports Injury Warning Signs

How To Tell If Your Injury Is Serious
There are some common tip-offs you should recognize as warning signs that you have an injury that needs your attention. While some sports injuries are immediately evident, others can creep up slowly and progressively get worse. If you don't pay attention to both types of injuries, chronic problems can develop. The following list of six injury tip-offs comes from Anybody's Sports Medicine Book, written by James Garrick, M.D. and Peter Radetsky, Ph.D.

1. Joint Pain
Joint pain, particularly in the joints of the knee, ankle, elbow and wrist, should never be ignored. Because these joints are not covered by muscle, there is rarely a muscular origin. Joint pain that lasts more than 48 hours requires a physician diagnosis.

2. Tenderness At A Specific Point
If you can elicit pain at a specific point in a bone, muscle or joint, by pressing your finger into it, you may have a significant injury. If the same spot on the other side of the body does not produce the same pain, you should probably see a physician.

3. Swelling
Swelling is usually quite obvious, and can be seen, but occasionally you may feel swollen without outward signs. Swelling is always a sign of a sports injury and should never be ignored. Often, swelling within a joint will cause pain, stiffness, or may produce a clicking sound as the tendons snap over one another because they have been pushed into a new position due to swelling.

4. Reduced Range Of Motion
If swelling isn't obvious, you can usually find it by checking for a reduced range of motion in a joint. If there is significant swelling within a joint, you will lose range of motion; the limb will only go so far in each direction. Again, compare one side of the body with the other to identify major differences. If there are any, you have an injury that needs attention.

5. Comparative Weakness
Comparing one side to the other for weakness is often hard to do, but can be a good clue to identify significant injury. One way to tell is to left the same weight with the right and left side and look at the result. Often therapists will test comparative weakness manually or with special equipment.

6. Numbness and Tingling
Never ignore numbness or tingling. Often related to nerve compression, these warning signs may indicate serious injury and should always be seen by a physician.

I Have One Of The Warning Signs of Injury - What Next?

If you recognize any of the above warning signs of injury the goal is to prevent further damage. Don't let the problem get any worse and don't let the swelling continue. Look for an obvious cause of the injury such as poorly fitting equipment or a missed step while sprinting. If you can locate the source of the injury, you can begin to remedy the situation. If you have any of the above warning signs, do not continue your activity. Begin treatment immediately.

The first treatment indicated for any acute injury is reducing any swelling. Swelling causes pain and loss of motion, which in turn will limit use of the muscles. If you don't use the muscles, they will weaken, and shorten and resist repair. The primary treatment for acute sports injury is R.I.C.E.: Rest, ice, compression and elevation. Rest in this case simply means to stop the activity that caused the injury.

Compression for an acute injury is the most important immediate treatment. Wrapping the injured body part with an ACE bandage can keep swelling to a minimum.
Never apply heat to an injury. Heat will increase circulation and increases swelling.

Immediate Treatment For Injury

As a recap, here is what you should do immediately when you sustain a sports injury:
1. Stop the activity immediately.
2. Wrap the injured part in a compression bandage.
3. Apply ice to the injured part (use a bag of crushed ice or a bag of frozen vegetables) for no more than 15 minutes at a time. Let the area warm completely before applying ice again, in order to prevent frostbite.
4. Elevate the injured part to reduce swelling.
5. Get to a physician for a proper diagnosis of any serious injury

Most athletes perform some type of regular warm-up and cool down during training and racing. A proper warm up can increase the blood flow to the working muscle which results in decreased muscle stiffness, less risk of injury and improved performance. Additional benefits of warming up include physiological and psychological preparation.

Benefits of a Proper Warm Up:
· Increased Muscle Temperature - The temperature increases within muscles that are used during a warm-up routine. A warmed muscle both contracts more forcefully and relaxes more quickly. In this way both speed and strength can be enhanced. Also, the probability of overstretching a muscle and causing injury is far less.

· Increased Body Temperature - This improves muscle elasticity, also reducing the risk of strains and pulls.

· Blood Vessels Dilate - This reduces the resistance to blood flow and lower stress on the heart.

· Improve Efficient Cooling - By activating the heat-dissipation mechanisms in the body (efficient sweating) an athlete can cool efficiently and help prevent overheating early in the event or race.

· Increased Blood Temperature - The temperature of blood increases as it travels through the muscles, and as blood temperature rises, the amount of oxygen it can hold becomes reduced. This means a slightly greater volume of oxygen is made available to the working muscles, enhancing endurance and performance.

· Improved Range of Motion - The range of motion around a joint is increased.

· Hormonal Changes - Your body increases its production of various hormones responsible for regulating energy production. During warm-up this balance of hormones makes more carbohydrates and fatty acids available for energy production.

· Mental Preparation - The warm-up is also a good time to mentally prepare for an event by clearing the mind, increasing focus, reviewing skills and strategy. Positive imagery can also relax the athlete and build concentration.

Typical Warm up exercises include:

· Gradually increasing the intensity of your specific sport. This uses the specific skills of a sport and is sometimes called a related warm-up. For runners, the idea is to jog a while and add a few sprints into the routine to engage all the muscle fibers.

· Adding movements not related to your sport in a slow steady manner: flexibility exercises for example. Ball players often use unrelated exercise for their warm up.

· Which to choose? The best time to stretch a muscle is after it has an increased blood flow and has increased temperature to avoid injury. Stretching a cold muscle can increase the risk of injury from pulls and tears. So you are better off doing gradual aerobic exercise before stretching. Keep in mind that the best time to stretch is after exercise because your muscles are warm and pliable with the increase of blood in them. Make sure your warm up begins gradually, and uses the muscles that will be stressed during exercise.

· Keep in mind that the perfect warm up is a very individual process that can only come with practice, experimentation and experience. Try warming up in various ways, at various intensities until you find what works best for you.

Cool Down For A Faster Recovery

After a hard workout, it would seem that complete rest would be the best way to reduce lactic acid (which causes soreness/fatigue) and encourage recovery. This is not necessarily true. In a recent Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise journal article, researchers found that 'active rest' speeds up recovery and reduces muscle lactate levels faster than complete inactivity. After hard intervals, one group rested completely, another exercised at 30% intensity between intervals. The active group reduces blood lactate levels faster & could achieve a higher power output throughout the workout. Much has been written about fast recover after high intensity exercise. Many teams, such as Penn State's Crew Team, use active recovery as an inherent part of their training schedule. Another study showed similar effects on healthy, untrained male subjects.

What this means to you?

Cool down after your exercise sessions and you will feel better!
Continue to exercise at about 30-50% of your exercise intensity for about for 5-10 minutes. So jog a bit after you cross that finish line at your next fun run or race, rather than heading right to that food tent!

LOST IN SPACE?

Your body assesses its internal and external environment via electrical-chemical impulses (messages) that leave your brain and travel across all its parts. Your body then, sends impulses back to the brain telling it what?s going on and what changes need to be made. Thus, your neural system controls ALL of your body functions.

If the bone structure of your head and neck is in its proper position, the nerve impulses from the brain can flow freely through the body. But if the head and neck are misaligned, it causes neurological stress, pain, and tension. Research shows that this interference to the nervous system can cause among others:

WHAT IS THE N.U.C.C.A. SYSTEM?

The National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) system is a precision form of spinal correction.

A N.U.C.C.A. Doctor incorporates the N.U.C.C.A. method of Chiropractic to gently release the chronic holding patterns of the body that are responsible for stress, pain, wear and tear.

HOW IS THE N.U.C.C.A SYTEM DIFFERENT?

This type of spinal correction involves a precise, gentle adjustment to the upper neck. The primary functions of the body, including relaxation, are controlled in this area. The N.U.C.C.A. procedure is based on mathematically ?exact formulas that have been developed through years of scientific postulation and clinical application. The mechanics involved produce structural correction and realignment throughout the entire body.

HOW CAN THE NUCCA SYSTEM HELP YOU?

1. There are no forceful movements or twisting of the neck or back.

2. Because of the specific correction delivered with each adjustment, fewer treatments are needed.

The end result?

· Highly successful treatment.
· Less time consumption.
· More cost effectiveness.

For more Details and a deeper Education on Spinal Allignment and Spinal Correction contact Dr. Pete Tsiglieris at http://www.advancedspinalcare.com