There’s no end to the amount of grief that the human body can give you, but even with sports injuries being all over the board in terms of type and severity of the injury, there are certain maladies that are more likely than others. That’s because the mechanics of the human body put more pressure on some areas of the body than others.
Therefore, if you pay attention to those areas of the body, you can ward off some of the most common dangers you’ll confront during a workout and during your day-to-day actions. A recent report from the Huffington Post provides some key advice in this regard from a handful of doctors with experience in the injury prevention field.
Something we discussed yesterday that bears repeating is the danger of an ACL injury. Although the study we related emphasized the greater potential for injury among female student athletes, it’s important to note that the danger is readily apparent in other sections of the population as well.
The danger of an ACL injury is exacerbated when you’re not going through the proper movements. That’s why simple stretches of the hamstrings and calves won’t be sufficient. You have to work out all parts of your leg so that you have strength throughout the area, and then you also have to take a closer look at how you do things like jump and run.
When jumping, you should embrace fluidity of the knee upon landing. When your legs are stiff, they take in all of the impact, creating a “knock-kneed” movement that can be hazardous to ACL health. Running, particularly slowing down and shifting directions, also requires your attention. Yet again, you must strive for fluidity rather than jerkiness, as the human body wasn’t meant to stop on a dime. Think deceleration rather than a full stop to avoid ACL damage.
It’s not just your legs that you have to worry about. You also have to take steps to prevent common upper body injuries, such as tendonitis of the elbow. This becomes more likely if you’re stressing your elbow on a regular basis. Thankfully, you can keep the danger at bay by stretching your elbows out and not taking any chances with lifts that require you to hold your arms out wide. Such lifts increase the forces on your elbow and can have a pretty serious effect on your body.
Finally, don’t underestimate the potential for damage to your rotator cuff, which becomes more likely over the course of time. Try to strengthen your shoulder and the area all around it so that the chances of having to put up with such an injury are minimized.