Commentary - Avoiding sports injuries

  • Published
  • By Bill Goins
  • 8th Medical Operations Squadron
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  All too often we find individuals playing sports as a fitness program. These weekend warriors tend to be very susceptible to some very common injuries due to their lack of fitness going in to the sporting activity.

With that, let me start by saying you should not be playing sports to get fit --you should be exercising regularly in order to prepare yourself to excel at sports.

Professional athletes do not just show up on the weekend and perform; they have consistent, progressive workouts to prepare themselves for their sport in order to avoid injuries.

The most common sports injuries are ankle sprains, groin pulls, hamstring strains, shin splints, knee injuries and tendonitis related injuries of the elbow and shoulder. If you find yourself suffering from one of these injuries after having played sports, you should see your primary care manager for guidance.

However, let's take a look at some ways to avoid these injuries altogether.

Sometimes preventing common sports injuries is beyond our control, but many times, sports injuries are preventable.

We will often participate in an activity without properly conditioning ourselves to participate. Maybe because you played baseball as a kid, you figure softball as a 40 year old is no sweat. First time you take off toward a fly ball, you pull something.

Therefore, you need to have a workout plan in place at least six weeks before your sports season begins to properly prepare for that activity. Best of all, you'll get double the benefits. You'll have a regular exercise routine improving your fitness and you'll get to enjoy your weekend activities.

The next thing you need to consider is ensuring you complete a proper active warm up. Getting warmed up increases blood flow to the muscles, increases flexibility and range of motion and can help prevent injuries. Spend at least 10 minutes before your workout or activity and perform an active warm up.

Some of these injuries are "overuse injuries". You could sustain an overuse injury if you have not performed an activity for a while (like throwing a softball) and you go out for a practice and throw the ball around for an hour. The next day, your elbow or your shoulder hurts. Maintaining a consistent, year-round fitness program and performing a proper warm up will help you avoid these overuse injuries.

Additionally, you may want to ease in to the activity. First practice of the season, limit throwing the ball around to 10 or 15 minutes. Limit yourself to 10 to 20 swings at batting practice. Slowly progressing some of the sport specific activities will help you avoid the most common overuse injuries.

Usually, common sports injuries are mild. There can be some damage, but nothing serious.

Let me again stress that if you sustain any injury, you should consult your physician. You can treat many of these common sports injuries at home using the RICE therapy method.

What is the RICE therapy method? Well it goes like this:

R = Rest from activity until injury recovers.
I  = Ice the area to reduce any swelling for 20 minutes every couple of hours for the first few days of the injury.
C = Compress the area with an elastic bandage to help reduce swelling.
E = Elevate the injured area to help reduce swelling.

Even with proper treatment, you should expect common sports injuries to take a couple months to heal. Returning to the activity too soon will not allow the injury to heal properly and can turn a four to six week injury into something that takes six months to heal, or the injury could become permanent.

Bottom Line: Prepare yourself for sporting activities with a consistent fitness program and proper warm ups before activities. If you do sustain an injury, consult your physician and treat the injury appropriately. You should avoid returning to the activity until the injury is healed.