This year Acupuncture Awareness Week (March 7th – 12th) is focusing on pain related to sports injuries. With spring in the air many people are beginning to flex their muscles and think about getting out and exercising. However keeping fit can damage your health! Did you know that 3 in 10 people in Britain exerise more than they did 10 years ago. However, more than half say they have been injured during sport in the past. Whilst 1 in 3 claim to have never recovered from their injuries. So what can you do to be as injury free as possible? See below for my top tips to avoid sports injuries:
Sprains and Strains
The most common sports injuries are strains and sprains
A sprain is an injury to the ligaments, which are the tocuh bands connecting the bones in a joint. Suddenly stretching ligaments past their limits deforms or tears them.
Strains are often called “pulled muscles” – they refer to over-stretching or over using a muscle which causes tears in the muscle fibres or tendon.
Common sports injuries include ankle sprain, hamstring strain, knee injury and tennis elbow
Top Tips to avoid sports injuries:
- Start your workout with a gentle warm-up to prevent common sports injuries
- Stop exercising when you begin to feel tired
- Work out daily for short periods rather than one long session at the weekend with nothing in the week
- Moderate your exercise with appropriate rest. The body needs time to recuperate after activity. Take into account your fitness level and age to gauge your exercise intensity
- Don’t just think of exercise as going to the gym or playing sports, exercise can be gardening, walking the dog or physical activities at work too
Should you have the misfortune to suffer a painful sports related injury then consider having acupuncture to help with the pain and repair process. Acupuncture can help with most musculoskeletal injuries. Its holistic methods not only help treat the initial injury and aid its recovery but also highlight underlying weaknesses which may help in avoiding further injuries in the future.
For further information or to book an appointment phone Angela on 07919 930188 NOW.