Of course, Physical Therapists are in the business of helping people overcome injuries. Injuries can cost us thousands of dollars each year, not to mention the lost time at work or having to sit out of a sporting season. What if we could understand injuries better and prevent them?
Many sports injuries occur at the beginning of the season due to athletes going from a relatively dormant state of little to no activity specific to that sport, to a high volume of activity in the first few weeks of starting a season. For example, we can always tell when baseball and softball practices and seasons have started because the number of shoulder injuries and referrals we get from doctors skyrockets. Soccer and running sports usually create an spike in knee and ankle injuries in the first few weeks of starting a season. Has this happened to you or someone you know?
The other factor that goes into the creation of an injury is how the body responds to physical stress. What I mean here is the physical stress of starting to run in the Spring after a particularly long, inactive Winter. The body is just not prepared to start running and the pounding that the hips, knees and ankles have to endure in those first few miles is the most common cause of lower body injuries. Also, one of the greatest times of injuries is at the end of a game or the end of a run when the body is fatigued due to being out of shape or after a period of high activity on successive days.
Many sports injuries occur at the beginning of the season due to athletes going from a relatively dormant state of little to no activity specific to that sport, to a high volume of activity in the first few weeks of starting a season. For example, we can always tell when baseball and softball practices and seasons have started because the number of shoulder injuries and referrals we get from doctors skyrockets. Soccer and running sports usually create an spike in knee and ankle injuries in the first few weeks of starting a season. Has this happened to you or someone you know?
The other factor that goes into the creation of an injury is how the body responds to physical stress. What I mean here is the physical stress of starting to run in the Spring after a particularly long, inactive Winter. The body is just not prepared to start running and the pounding that the hips, knees and ankles have to endure in those first few miles is the most common cause of lower body injuries. Also, one of the greatest times of injuries is at the end of a game or the end of a run when the body is fatigued due to being out of shape or after a period of high activity on successive days.
Wouldn't it be great to be able to reduce injuries all together? Think of how much family stress, lost time and potentially income, and missed field time you could all save if we did a little bit of preparation prior to a season starting. When is the perfect time to do this? About 6-8 weeks prior to a season starting. Why? It takes the neuromuscular system about 6 weeks to adapt to the training loads that a new sport places on the body. Many gains that we see in working out at the gym occur in the first 6 weeks of starting a program and then those gains tend to plateau.
What can you do to prepare yourself or your loved ones? Here are some suggestions:
1. Start Slow - do a little bit of the activity every day and never increase an activity volume (time, miles, reps) by greater than 10% per week.
2. Get your rest! - Make sure you get plenty of sleep when you start training. Our body recovers when we sleep. If you are just starting a new activity, start by doing it every other day.
3. Eat right - the food we eat fuels our body. Don't eat junk food or drink sugary beverages as that is a poor fuel choice. Momma always said to eat your veggies! Make sure you are getting adequate amounts of proteins and vegetables with every meal.
4. Get some guidance - come see us for a wellness check-up and come work out with us to do the preparation that your body needs to get ready for a sport. Come and get evaluated by one of our physical therapists to determine what muscle groups you need to work on to get stronger and more flexible so you can avoid injuries. Once you have been evaluated, come work out with our Athletic Trainers to get your body ready and to avoid getting an injury! Call us today to set up a Wellness Assessment in San Anselmo, 415-457-4454 or in Novato, 415-898-1311.
Always remember that we are here to help you!
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