Athletics are a great way to challenge and strengthen your body, but athletic activity is also the cause of millions of injuries each year. Sometimes injuries happen during intense game action, but they can also develop in practice and training sessions as a result of poor mechanics and form. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the ways young athletes can protect their spines from all sorts of athletic injuries during practices and games.
Protecting Your Spine If You’re An Athlete
Some injuries occur out of fluke circumstances, like if you get tackled at just the wrong angle or step in a hole as you’re running down a fly ball, but the vast majority of injuries occur for more common reasons that we can actively work to prevent. They won’t be 100 percent unavoidable, but if you keep these six tips in mind, you can greatly reduce your likelihood of suffering a back injury during athletics.
- Warm Up – First, always make sure that you take time to warm up before you get into intense activity. Most organized teams will have warm ups and stretching routines prior to practices and games, but make sure you take these periods seriously and use the time to get your body ready for activity. If you’re working out or going for a run on your own, still make sure you give yourself a warm up period before you begin to ask a lot of your spine.
- Use Proper Form – Proper mechanics and form are essential whenever you’re engaging in athletic activity. If your knees aren’t doing the work, more stress may be channeled into your lower spine. Whether you’re tackling someone, chasing down a fly ball or boxing out an opponent, make sure your form and mechanics are correct so that areas of your body aren’t overloaded with stress.
- Don’t Overdo It – When it comes to athletic activity, it’s important to slowly build up your endurance and activity level. If you try to do too much too soon, it’s a recipe for overstress injuries. That’s why we always recommend that you work to prepare your body ahead of tryouts or first practices of the season. Don’t ramp up your activity level too swiftly.
- Don’t Ignore Your Core – Your core muscles are very important to the health of your spine because these muscle groups help provide stability and handle stress. When we’re working out or going through a sport-specific training program, it can be easy to focus on your arms and legs and overlook your core. If you want to reduce your risk of back injuries, don’t ignore your core when doing strengthening exercises.
- Cross Train – One thing that many athletes may be doing to unknowingly jeopardize the health of their spine is to fall into the same athletic and workout habits. If you’re playing the same sport year round or you’re always doing the same workout, there’s a possibility that some muscle groups are becoming overdeveloped while others are lagging behind. Become a multisport athlete or vary your workouts to develop new muscle groups, which will not only help reduce your injury risk, but it can make you a better all-around athlete.
- Know The Signs Of An Injury – Finally, make sure that you recognize the signs of an injury and you seek medical attention if something doesn’t feel right. Learn to spot the difference between pain and soreness, and understand that missing a game or two is better than missing the rest of the season because you tried to play through an injury. If you’re unsure if your injury is serious, give it some rest and then see how it responds to gradual activity increases. Or better yet, contact Dr. Sinicropi.
