How to Avoid Sports Injury

Being involved in sports is a great to stay active and healthy throughout your life. However, sports injuries can interfere with your participation. It’s important to properly prepare your body for the strain that sports participation naturally puts on your muscles, ligaments, tendons, spine and bones. At Family Chiropractic Care in Longview, WA, keeping you injury-free and in excellent health are our primary concerns, which is why we offer these 5 ways that describe how to avoid a sports injury:

1. Eat right. Make sure you are eating healthy foods that help to maintain ideal levels of vitamins and nutrients in your body, including those rich in calcium to protect your bone density and vitamin D to help your body absorb the calcium.
2. Drink plenty of water. Dehydrated muscles are more prone to cramps, strains and sprains. You must stay hydrated to reduce your risk of an injury by drinking 8 glasses of water per day and 8 ounces of water for every 15 minutes of physical exertion.
3. Practice stretching. Aside from stretching prior to engaging in sports, you should also periodically practice stretching exercises outside of your sports activities to increase your overall flexibility or you will risk tearing muscular tissue and injuring your spine.
4. Adhere to the recommended chiropractic care schedule. When you choose Family Chiropractic Care in Longview, WA, your chiropractic team, led by Dr. Rick Still, will create a specialized treatment plan that will keep your spine aligned and promote flexibility to protect your musculoskeletal system from injury. By employing deep tissue massage and spinal adjustment sessions on a regular basis, Family Chiropractic can help to reduce the chance that you will suffer a sports-related injury.
5. Know when to rest. A minor sprain may not be evident immediately. In fact, your ankle may not swell until after the sporting event is over. If you continue to play sports while injured, you will prolong healing time and can cause major damage to your body. Therefore, if you feel twisting, pain or a hint of a possible injury, take a rest and have the injury site assessed by medical personnel or sit out for the rest of the game.

Contact Family Chiropractic Care

If you are considering starting a new sport or if you are currently engaged in sports participation, it’s wise to have the current state of your musculoskeletal health evaluated and a treatment plan outlined that will focus on preventing injury. To reduce the chance that you will sustain a sports injury, please schedule your initial consultation with Family Chiropractic Care in Longview, WA, by calling at (360) 636-2636.