Reducing Sports Injuries

Staying active through exercise and participating in sports is very important to our health mentally, physically, and emotionally. Whether it is competitive sports or recreational activities, it’s important to know how to keep your body and general health from experiencing critical injuries or chronic pain. Some great ways to prevent injury are warming up and stretching pre-exercise, hydrating often, developing fitness plans, wearing the correct gear, and especially catching up on rest.

When wearing the correct gear such as padding, footwear, helmets, mouth guards, etc. it helps a lot with the physical injuries to your body. Footwear especially can help tremendously when it comes to ankle sprains, strains, back and leg pain, or even conditions, such as bunions.

Developing fitness plans and goals is significant when trying to stay on track with what you’d like to achieve. For some, it may be weight loss or weight gain, while others it is to feel and look good. When building these goals, make sure to cross-train with what’s best for your personal health, which may include cardio, strength, flexibility, and more.

Lastly, not many realize, but the biggest way to continue your growth and stay on track is getting the appropriate amount of rest in between workouts and exercising. Optimal rest will reduce injuries from occurring, help with muscle soreness, and give you time for your muscles to strengthen.

John Hopkins Medicine. "Preventing Sports Injuries." hopkinsmedicine.org, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/sports-injuries/preventing-sports-injuries. Accessed 15 Feb. 2025.

Uclahealth. "How often should you take a rest day?" uclahealth.org, 30 Oct. 2023, www.uclahealth.org/news/article/how-often-should-you-take-rest-day#:~:text=Fewer%20injuries%3A%20Giving%20your%20body,feel%20less%20tired%20and%20sore.