What are the measures to prevent sports injuries?

Judging from the practical experience of team doctors and front-line fitness practitioners who work with the team all year round, the essence of sports injury prevention is adaptive adjustment covering the entire cycle of exercise. There is no unified plan that is universally applicable. The core is to follow your own physical condition and don’t just follow the standard templates on the Internet.

Just like an old bicycle that has been ridden at home for several years, you can't just pedal it every time you grab it. You have to first check whether the brakes are working and whether the tires are inflated enough. The same goes for preparation before exercise. Last week, I led a veteran half-marathon runner. He used to take advantage of his five or six years of running experience and just shake his arms twice in the summer and start sprinting. As a result, he suffered from iliotibial band syndrome for three weeks, and he even struggled to climb stairs to work. There are a lot of controversies about warm-up on the Internet. Some people say that static stretching is completely useless. Some people say that you must stretch for 10 minutes before moving. In fact, it all depends on the event: if you are practicing powerlifting today, doing static stretching before the game will reduce the muscle support and easily cause waist pain. ； If you are running a long distance of more than 10 kilometers, adding 2 minutes of static calf stretching before the race can actually reduce the probability of cramping in the middle. There is no need to stand on one side.

Many people think that if they warm up enough, they won't get injured. In fact, dynamic adjustments during exercise are the key to preventing most acute injuries. Lao Chen, who often comes to the gym to play, just sprained his foot last month. He wore professional badminton shoes worth thousands of dollars, and he warmed up for 15 minutes. But in the end, he couldn't keep up with the ball. He had to turn sideways hard enough, and when he landed, he tore his ligaments. He had to lie down for two months before he could barely get off the ground. Nowadays, some people on the Internet shout "no pain, no gain". The team doctor will frown when he hears this. Muscle soreness is normal, but if you feel pain in your joints or pulling pain in a certain muscle, you must stop immediately, no matter how standard your movements are and there is only the last set left. Last week, there was a young man who had to press 1.5 times his body weight during bench press. When he reached the third press, his shoulders already clicked and he still had to hold on. In the end, his rotator cuff was injured and he had to find someone to help him even put on a pullover.

Don't think that everything will be fine after exercise. Many minor injuries caused by chronic wear and tear are caused by being too lazy to recover after the game. Many runners squat down on the side of the road to check their mobile phones after running. Even walking slowly for two minutes to relax is troublesome. Over time, the pressure in the knees cannot be released, and the patella will soften in their early thirties. There is also a lot of controversy about post-match relaxation. Some people say that the foam roller is an IQ tax, and others say that the more painful it is, the better the effect. In fact, as long as you do not roll it hard on bone seams and joints, and just press it gently along the direction of the muscles for three to five minutes, it will be much more effective than lying there and studying rehabilitation science for half an hour. If your muscles are still stiff and your joints are wrinkled when you wake up the next day, rest for an extra day. Don’t push yourself just to post on WeChat Moments. Exercise takes decades, so it’s really not enough for one or two days.

To put it bluntly, the most important thing about injury prevention is not to compete with your body. If you catch the signal it gives you, you can avoid most injuries.