How to Prevent Sports Injuries

If you are an athlete, then you know that injuries are as natural to sports as winning or losing. 10 million sports injuries occur each year, even though exercising, thinking ahead and wearing the right protective gear can prevent many of them.

You don't need expensive gear to prevent injuries; just the basics and a bit of knowledge. Here are some of the most common forms of injuries in football, hockey, baseball, and tennis, and tips on how to prevent them.

football

Concussions

Concussions make up a large part of football injuries. Many athletes have had their careers shortened due to concussions, as in the case of Troy Aikman, who was waived from the Dallas Cowboys after suffering nine head traumas during his twelve years in the NFL. This type of injury can also be fatal.

Prevention:
Although it seems evident enough, keeping your head up is a good way of preventing the injury, and reporting even the mildest concussion to the team physician can prevent grave consequences. A deadly form of concussion called second impact syndrome can kill negligent athletes. It occurs when an athlete suffers a second concussion, while the effects of the previous one have not yet subsided.

An athlete could have a concussion when he loses consciousness after a hit, or experiences memory loss, dizziness, headaches, nausea, and loss of balance. If any of those symptoms are present, a physician should be notified.

Properly strapping a helmet will prevent needless head trauma and wearing a mouth-guard can reduce the risk of concussion.

Ankle Injuries

Ankle sprains and other ankle related injuries account for 10-15% of all football injuries. This is due to the amount of running and sprinting football players do. Some speculate synthetic grass fields might also be part of the problem.

Prevention:
Athletes whose ankle produces a cracking sound should see a prolotherapist, especially if they had an ankle injury in the past. A prolotherapist can determine if ligaments are weakened and thus prone to injury. He or she may also propose ways of strengthening the indisposed body part.

Treatment:
Some ankles click after an injury because they are not properly healed. Ironically, conventional therapy prevents ankle injuries from properly recovering. Resting, applying ice, compression, and elevation decrease blood supply to the injured area and prevent healing. Movement, analgesics and exercise are the best ways to heal ankle sprains.