Whether you're training for a race, playing recreational sports, lifting weights, golfing, or simply trying to stay active, an injury can quickly interrupt your routine.
Not every sports injury is preventable. Accidents happen, and sometimes injuries occur even when you're doing everything right.
But there are practical things you can do to reduce your risk and improve your body's ability to handle the demands of your activity.
Here are seven places to start.
1. Build Strength
Strength training is one of the most useful tools for preparing your body for physical activity.
Your muscles and connective tissues need enough capacity to tolerate the forces your sport places on them.
That doesn't mean every athlete needs to train like a powerlifter.
Your program should reflect the demands of your activity and may include exercises for:
- Legs and hips
- Core and trunk
- Upper body
- Single-leg strength
- Rotational strength
- Sport-specific movements
A good [rehabilitation and movement] program can also help rebuild strength after an injury.
2. Increase Training Gradually
One common way people run into trouble is doing too much, too quickly.
Maybe you haven't run all winter and suddenly start running five days per week.
Or you haven't golfed for six months and play 36 holes in one weekend.
Your body adapts to physical stress—but it needs time.
Gradually increasing training volume, intensity, duration, or frequency gives your body an opportunity to adapt.
3. Warm Up for What You're About to Do
A warm-up doesn't need to take 30 minutes.
The goal is simply to prepare your body for the activity ahead.
For many sports, that means progressively increasing movement and intensity rather than spending a long time performing static stretches.
A runner might begin with walking and easy jogging.
A lifter might perform lighter versions of the exercises they're about to train.
A golfer might gradually work from easy swings toward full-speed swings.
Make the warm-up specific to the activity.
4. Don't Ignore Strength or Mobility Limitations
You don't need perfect flexibility or perfect movement to participate in sports.
But significant limitations can sometimes make certain activities more difficult.
For example, restricted shoulder movement may affect an overhead athlete, while limited ankle movement or poor lower-extremity strength may affect running, jumping, or squatting.
The goal isn't to achieve arbitrary flexibility numbers.
It's to have enough mobility, strength, coordination, and capacity for the activity you want to perform.
5. Give Your Body Time to Recover
More training isn't always better training.
Hard workouts create stress that your body needs time to recover from.
Recovery can include:
- Adequate sleep
- Proper nutrition
- Hydration
- Easier training days
- Rest days
- Managing overall training volume
Massage therapy may also help some athletes manage muscle soreness and tension as part of their recovery routine.
But massage doesn't replace adequate sleep, nutrition, or appropriate training.
6. Pay Attention to Pain That Keeps Coming Back
Normal training soreness and an injury aren't necessarily the same thing.
A little soreness following a difficult workout may be expected.
But symptoms deserve more attention when they:
- Keep returning
- Become progressively worse
- Change how you move
- Limit your strength
- Cause numbness or tingling
- Prevent you from participating normally
- Don't improve with reasonable activity modification
Continuing to train through an unresolved problem can sometimes turn a manageable issue into a much longer interruption.
7. Treat the Problem—Then Rebuild Your Capacity
Getting out of pain is only part of returning to activity.
If an injury has reduced your strength, mobility, coordination, or tolerance to activity, those qualities may need to be rebuilt.
Depending on the injury, treatment might involve:
- Activity modification
- Progressive exercise
- Mobility work
- Strengthening
- Chiropractic care
- Rehabilitation and movement
- Massage therapy
- Referral for additional medical evaluation when appropriate
The eventual goal should be to get you back to doing the activity, not simply feeling better while you're sitting in the treatment room.
Where Does Chiropractic Care Fit?
Chiropractic treatment can be one part of managing certain musculoskeletal problems that interfere with sports and exercise.
For example, someone dealing with back pain, neck pain, joint stiffness, or another musculoskeletal complaint may benefit from manual treatment when it's appropriate.
But an adjustment isn't a substitute for training.
For active patients, I prefer combining appropriate treatment with exercise and progressive loading so we're addressing both how you feel today and what your body needs to do tomorrow.
What About Massage Therapy?
[Massage therapy] can also be useful for athletes who are dealing with muscle soreness, tension, or stiffness.
Some people simply find massage helpful as part of their recovery routine.
Like chiropractic treatment, however, massage should complement the fundamentals rather than replace them.
Sports Injury Care in Maple Grove, MN
At Northwood Chiropractic & Wellness, our goal isn't simply to tell active people to stop doing the things they enjoy.
We want to determine what's limiting you and develop a plan to help you safely return to activity.
That may include chiropractic treatment, rehabilitation, exercise, massage therapy, activity modification, or referral when additional evaluation is needed.
Whether you're a competitive athlete, weekend warrior, golfer, runner, lifter, or simply someone who wants to stay active, the goal is the same:
Build a body that's prepared for what you ask it to do.
Start Feeling Better for Just $19
Your first visit includes a consultation, comprehensive exam, X-rays if needed, and your first chiropractic adjustment when clinically appropriate.
Dr. Greg Beenken
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