Prevent Sports Injuries | Oakville, ON | Reform Clinics

Whether you are a professional athlete or a casual sports enthusiast, preventing sports injuries (such as a sprained ankle while playing tennis or a sore shoulder from lifting weights with poor form) is imperative.

You can do many things to prevent sports injuries, including warming up beforehand, wearing proper gear, and staying limber with frequent massages. If you enjoy an active lifestyle and want to prevent injury, continue reading to learn how. 

Prevention: Stretch Before and After

One of the easiest ways to prevent an injury is to stretch. Stretching before and after your activity keeps your muscles warmed up and ready for strenuous exercise and movement.

When you stretch, you prepare your muscles for movement. Your risks of a twisted knee or pulled hamstring will drop significantly.

Many types of stretching target different areas of your body. You can keep it simple, but make sure you stretch large muscles, particularly ones you’ll be working during your activity. 

The best rule of thumb for stretching is to stretch until it feels slightly uncomfortable but not painful. Additionally, hold your stretches for 30 seconds to get the full benefit.

Wearing the Right Gear to Help Protect You From Injuries

If you live an active lifestyle, chances are you have loads of gear, from straps to lifting gloves, that help take your workout to the next level (and keep you free from injury).

Here are some examples of gear you should consider using when doing a workout or playing sports:

Stay Hydrated

Believe it or not, dehydration can cause muscle fatigue and lead to higher risks of injury. Drinking water allows your body to properly deliver nutrients that help with muscle and cartilage repair and other critical bodily functions. 

The same goes for outdoor activities and sports. When temperatures are high, your body loses water rapidly, which can be dangerous and lead to injury. Keep a bottle of water handy whenever you engage in any type of outdoor exercise.

Listen to Your Body

Your body has a good way of telling you when something isn’t right. If you’re engaging in a sport or activity and feel pain or that something is off, your body is warning you that you should stop. By listening to your body, you can prevent injury by overexerting yourself, doing an exercise with improper form, etc.

Seek Professional Help if an Injury Occurs - Don't Try to Self-diagnose or Treat it on Your Own

You can follow all of these tips to reduce your risk of injury, but our bodies are fragile and can still suffer injuries or sprains. If this occurs, do not try to work through the pain. Stop what you’re doing and rest.

Ice and/or heat can be helpful immediately after an injury, but it’s important to seek professional treatment. In fact, you can sometimes inadvertently make things worse by trying to treat an injury on your own (i.e., icing something that needs heat, or elevating your leg when it actually needs to be massaged or stretched).

Get the Treatment You Need

At Reform Clinics, we offer physical therapy services such as physiotherapy  ( and more  ) so you can return to the sports and activities you enjoy as soon as possible following an injury. Call our Oakville office at 905-827-5757, complete our contact form  or book an appointment online . Our team looks forward to helping you on your rehabilitation journey!