How to avoid injuries when playing sports?

Sports injuries are common in sports that involve fast movement and strong impacts such as football, basketball, tennis, badminton, martial arts, etc. Of these, the lower body is most likely to be injured at about 42%, injuries to the upper limbs account for 30.3%, and the rest are injuries to the head and neck.

Exercise helps improve health, however overtraining or incorrect posture can lead to musculoskeletal injuries.

Common sports injuries include four main groups. Muscle strains are the most common group of injuries, occurring when a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn, this condition commonly occurs in the hamstrings, quadriceps (front thigh muscles), groin muscles, calf muscles, shoulder muscles and back muscles.

A sprain is a stretch or tear of one or more ligaments, often caused by overuse, and most commonly occurs in the ankle area.

Knee injuries include anterior cruciate ligament tears, medial collateral ligament tears, and patellofemoral syndrome. Shoulder and arm injuries include shoulder tendonitis (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis) and lateral epicondylitis.

Doctor Dang Hong Hoa, Head of the Department of Musculoskeletal, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that many sports injuries cause immediate pain or discomfort, while some injuries can only be noticed after a long time.

Therefore, people should not ignore any symptoms. Even a small injury, if not treated properly, can become more serious, the most serious of which is disability.

Currently, the development of modern techniques in diagnosis (X-ray, MRI...) and treatment (intra-articular injection, arthroscopy, joint replacement...) helps doctors detect early, accurately and provide the most appropriate treatment regimens for patients. Most common injuries in sports can be fully recovered.

Currently, Vietnam and other countries around the world are promoting the prevention of sports injuries. It is not only about warm-up exercises, scientific exercises to increase the frequency of exercise, but also equipping athletes with the necessary knowledge about biomedicine, nutrition and precise sports techniques to avoid injuries.

To prevent injuries when playing sports, experts advise players to warm up before exercising with each movement lasting about 15 - 30 seconds, including rotating the neck, arms, shoulders; running in place, raising the thighs, heels touching the buttocks... This activity helps the heart beat faster, the muscles are slowly supplemented with oxygen so that blood reaches the muscles, tendons and ligaments to help them be more elastic, avoiding sudden strong activities that increase the risk of injury during exercise.

Choosing the right outfit for each exercise helps you move comfortably, prevents dehydration or increased body temperature, such as swimming, so you should wear clothes made of special materials, tight on the body; basketball requires loose, comfortable clothes to have the ability to bounce...

In particular, you should pay attention to choosing the right shoes to help protect your feet and ankles, for sports that require a lot of movement and speed such as soccer, basketball, etc.

You should choose exercises with an intensity appropriate to your health condition to bring maximum effectiveness. If you are recovering from an injury or have a medical condition that requires you to avoid high-intensity exercise, low-intensity exercises with low risk of injury are swimming, cycling, badminton, etc.

When the body is overworked, lack of sleep, and fatigue also increases the risk of injury when playing sports because the muscles will lose glycogen and if not stopped to recharge, it will lead to fatigue and pain.

Therefore, to keep glycogen levels full, you need to rest properly during your workout, possibly alternating 1-2 days of rest per week.

Drinking enough water helps blood flow better and smoother, thereby increasing the ability to supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, helping the body not to be too tired or anemic during exercise.

Athletes should drink about 500 - 600ml of water 2 - 3 hours before starting to exercise. During exercise, drink 240ml every 10 - 20 minutes and when there are only 20 - 30 minutes left, drink another 240ml.

Finally, after exercising, you should regularly drink 240ml of water every 30 minutes. In addition, you should not eat too much at one time, but should divide your meals or have snacks every 2-3 hours. A nutritious diet helps improve health.

Focusing on only one muscle area will cause that muscle to overwork and increase the risk of injury or tendonitis. Therefore, practice a variety of exercises to balance the body, create even impact to help balance the body, avoid muscle pain.

Each sport has different rules, understanding and strictly following them is also an effective way to prevent injuries.

For difficult sports that require high skills (such as competitive athletes or advanced exercises with difficult movements), you need a personal trainer to help design an exercise program based on your physical condition to achieve the best results and safety.

Regular health check-ups help people promptly detect health problems or potential risk factors for injury during exercise, so you know your limits to control the frequency and level of exercise more appropriately.

In addition, always pay attention to any small signs of the body because it can be an early warning for future injury risks. Do not exercise too hard, rest immediately when feeling pain.

In case of injury risk while playing sports, do not be subjective as it can make the injury worse. Proper and timely treatment under the guidance of a specialist will help to completely treat and recover quickly.