Let’s Be Proactive In Injury Prevention, Dublin, Ireland.
There are many things that are in your control to prevent sports injuries. Sports injuries are common and can be hard to recover from. Our physical therapists at Dublin Physical & Chiropractic want to help you prevent them – find out how!
Did you know that over one billion people worldwide participate in some form of sport? With so many people playing sports, it’s no wonder that there are so many sports injuries.
Sports physical therapy is a specialty that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these types of injuries. If you’re an athlete or someone who participates in regular exercise, take note: there are plenty of ways to avoid getting injured during your next workout session or game!
We are located in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, Ireland, and our physical therapists are here to help prevent and treat a wide range of sports injuries, aches, and pains.
How To Prevent Sports Injuries
There are many risk factors that increase the likelihood of injury. Our physical therapists believe that it is important to be aware of them. The following are some factors that you can control:
- Frequency.
- Duration.
- Form.
- Inadquent Recovery Time.
- Not listening to your body.
- Too Much, Too Soon.
- Strength/Capacity.
- Warm-up And Cool-Down.
Many of the clients I see at our Dublin practice with sports injuries – have one of two primary drivers or causes linked to your injury. Either it was something out of their control, for example, they were hit by an opponent and twisted their knee, or it was something that was in their control. For example, they wanted to keep going even though their body was telling them to slow down and the competitive nature of the game got the better of them – and now they are paying the cost. That’s okay – sports injuries can be rehabilitated – although it takes time and hard work. But we will get you there.
Frequency
Simply training too much puts you at a high risk of injury. You need to find a balance between fight and flight, and rest and digest. Because sports can be stressful on the body if you play too hard, too much.
If you play a sport and equally find time to rest and recover you will feel the benefits, like an increase in strength and endurance, you will have more energy, your mood and concentration will even improve.
To achieve gains in strength and overall performance you need to train effectively, but you also need rest days or days in ‘active recovery’.
The frequency of exercise or sports should be dependent on the kind of training or the intensity of the training.
High-intensity training 6-7 days a week will lead to breakdown and injury. But if you mix in mobility exercises and low-intensity exercise two days a week, that will be very beneficial – and promote the benefits from the high-intensity exercise.
Duration
When you are training, the duration of your workouts can be just as important as their frequency.
Training for too long is another way to increase your risk of injury. Try not to overdo it on either activity or rest – do what feels right and listen closely to your body’s cues that tell you when you need more time to recover.
Form
When you’re practicing your sport, it’s important to always train with good form – which means doing the movement correctly every time. If you are not training properly, or if your body is fatigued, this can put a strain on other parts of the body and increase the risk of injury.
If you make a conscious effort to train with good form, it will also help you identify any imbalances in your body and allow for improvements when needed – which can prevent injury.
Inadequate Recovery Time
The physical therapists at Dublin Physical & Chiropractic recommend that active recovery work should be done on rest days or after training sessions. So this is not another workout, but something to improve circulation and help flush out lactic acid which builds up during strenuous exercise. It also helps with the removal of waste products from working muscles – allowing them to rebuild for your next training session or game.
This is usually done at a low intensity so it does not impact muscle strength or endurance. This also allows your body to recuperate, rebuild and adapt – without any impact on mood or concentration.
Not Listening To Your Body
Often when you are training for an event or playing a competitive sport it is easy to push through the pain barrier. However, physical therapists believe that this can be dangerous if done repeatedly over a long period of time.
When you are not listening to your body, it means that you may be overloading injured areas or simply ignoring symptoms – which can lead to a serious injury down the line if adequate rehabilitation is not undertaken. By staying within our limits physical therapists encourage clients to focus on their bodies and understand what they need in order to be in the best shape for training or competition.
Mobility Exercises
No one likes stretching, but physical therapists know that it is beneficial before and after a workout – no matter what your age. If you are not doing any mobility work then this can lead to increased stiffness when working out which means a greater risk of injury.
Stretching is essential for preventing injuries because it increases blood flow to muscles and joints, lubricates the body with synovial fluid which reduces wear on tendons and ligaments – allowing you to train more effectively without increasing your risk of an injury.
Regular stretching also helps prevent adhesions or scar tissue build-up in a muscle. Physical therapists, in accordance with the WHO recommend that you do mobility, exercises 4-5 times per week.
Book Your Appointment Today At Dublin Physical & Chiropractic
If you have suffered a sports injury and want to get back to feeling confident on the field or in the gym, talk to us today on 01 254 4800, and start your rehabilitation journey. Our physical therapists will design a gradually progressive treatment plan that works for you. You don’t need to have “a bad ankle” or “knee” – let’s get it right and significantly reduce the risk of another ankle sprain or ACL tear, and prevent surgery and a long rehab period out of the game.
Visit us in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin Ireland
Our physical therapy & other services extend throughout Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown including Blackrock, Cherrywood, Stillorgan, Rathfarnham, Shankill, Cabinteely, Foxrock, Clonskeagh, and Killiney.
Our office is located just outside of the center of Dun Laoghaire and is between Deansgrange and Monkstown. You can find our building entrance on Lower Mounttown Road, across from Woodland Park. We are a 30-second walk from Dublin Bus stop 2031 which is outside of Mccormick’s Pub.
