An injury can stop you from enjoying your everyday activities. Injuries often occur within the sports environment, which includes not only the weather, but also the facilities, surfaces and equipment being used. It is important to understand how to effectively prevent and manage injuries so you can keep on moving. Our top tips for injury prevention are:

• Check the sporting environment for slippery surfaces or trip hazards
• Drink enough water
• Use correct technique
• Stretch before and after exercising
• Wear appropriate protective equipment
• Support existing injuries

Keep reading to learn more.

Poor, wet or slippery surfaces, lack of goalpost padding or safety netting, obstacles to trip on and sharp objects can all lead to injury. Ensuring the surfaces and equipment are safe before every game will help in preventing avoidable injuries. The rules of the game also need to be enforced and sometimes modified for children. A safe sporting environment will reduce the number of potential injuries that occur. 

 

Protective equipment such as eyewear, mouthguards, wrist, elbows, knee and shin guards, helmets, tapes and braces all contribute to safety. Make sure shoes are appropriate for the sport. See Elastoplast’s range of Support and Braces here. The safety equipment you require will vary depending on the sport you participate in. Netball and basketball injury prevention may require strapping of knees and ankles to reduce impact on these joints. Soccer injury prevention may require shin guards and ankle strapping, whilst hockey requires a mouthguard and shin guards. Learn more about taping techniques here.

 

“In one study of rugby players, mouthguards were the most common protective equipment item worn, (55% by players in schoolgirl’s grade to 73% in Senior A competition). The next most common item was taping of body joints such as the ankle, knee, and hand.”¹

One of the easiest ways to help prevent exercise related injuries is to stretch. By warming up your muscles, you make them more flexible. Check out Elastoplast’s video library of short stretches you can perform prior to exercise to help reduce the risk of injury.

Adequate fluid intake is also important; preferably cool drinks should be taken before, during and after playing sport.

Correct technique and appropriate training helps improve fitness. For children exercising, monitoring increases in activity to prevent the child from doing “too much, too soon” will help minimise injury.

Make certain that old injuries are adequately rehabilitated before continuing to participate in a sport. Once existing injuries have been adequately rehabilitated, it is important to take measures to prevent re-injury. This could involve strapping the injured area or wearing a brace, to provide extra support and stability. 

Reference
1 Marshall SW, Waller AE, Loomis DP, et al. Use of protective equipment in a cohort of rugby players. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 33(12):2131-8, 2001.

Injury Prevention