Living a life that fully incorporates fitness and exercise is essential for a number of reasons. Whether you are involved in sport professionally or you simply like to work out in your spare time, it can help to keep you in great shape. From looking after your body to keep it healthy, to feeling more energized from regular exercise and the social aspect of fitness, there are lots of reasons to play sport or work out.
Can the risk of injury from exercise be reduced?
The one factor that may come into play when exercising is the chance of picking up an injury. Luckily, this can be reduced greatly if you make sure to follow a sensible exercise plan and always go steady when working out. Many of these steps, such as stretching to warm up your muscles and doing the same after exercising to warm down, are well-known.
Though it may seem a scary subject to talk about, it is not inevitable that you will sustain any injuries when exercising. Of course, if you play contact sports such as soccer, then the chances are a little higher, but with sensible precautions taken, you will greatly reduce the risk involved.
What are the common injuries?
Though the injuries that you may come across will vary depending on what exercise you’re doing, there are some that are common to all. Joint problems such as injuries to the elbow or knee can be common, due to either falling on the affected area or loading too much weight onto the joint.
Sprains are also very common in areas such as the wrist or ankle, where they have been stretched past their usual point of movement. Pulled muscles can be something that you may suffer from also – this is where the muscle has been overstretched and caused a tear in the muscle fiber.
Can injury recovery be speeded up?
Even if you take all the necessary steps to reduce the risk of injury, sometimes you can be unfortunate and pick up one anyway. If this happens, you will naturally want to recover as quickly as possible to return to your exercise routine or sport.
Here are a few ways that can help you recover fast from injury.
Diet
Though this may not be the first factor that you think of, diet can play a key role in recovering from the injury that you have sustained. Your body will heal quicker as a result of the help that you can give it from proper nutrition. Foods high in vitamin C, such as berries and broccoli, are a great choice here, as are foods high in vitamin A, such as carrots and spinach. These will all help fight any infection present in your body as well as helping to make more white blood cells to heal faster.
Rest
This can be the hardest tip of the bunch to follow! Rest is very important, however, so be sure to get enough in, especially for the initial period after your injury. It will allow your body to relax and heal naturally while avoiding aggravating the injury by placing weight on it. Make sure that you are fully recovered before heading back into your exercise routine at full tilt.
Compression garments
A fabulous way to speed up the healing process is with compression wear. This type of clothing helps to restrict movement in the affected area to avoid further injury as well as stimulating blood flow to it for better healing. This will also mean that more oxygen is delivered to the muscles, which will help the sprain or pull to heal better.
Compression wear is not expensive and really does help towards a faster recovery from your injury. It can be picked up from the As Seen on TV Store and is definitely worth considering if you want to do everything possible to heal quickly.
Cryotherapy
Though it is vital to rest the injured area, these types of therapies are also very useful. Cryotherapy involves using ice to reduce the swelling on the affected area. The cold temperature of the ice helps the swelling to go down and makes it less painful. Ice packs every 15 minutes are a great way to use this to speed up your recovery. Just make sure not to put the ice directly on your skin!
What you do can make a difference
If you are unlucky enough to suffer a sporting injury, then it is tempting to think that all you can do is rest. While this is important, there are other things that you can do as well to help your body get over it quicker. By doing these extra bits, you will be greatly improving the way that your body functions and in turn can heal itself. Before you know it, you will be back to full fitness and heading out to play your favorite sport again!
