Sports injury prevention measures

The vast majority of common non-external impact injuries in daily sports - such as ankle sprains, muscle strains, rotator cuff wear, meniscus degeneration, etc., are essentially caused by "exercise load exceeding the body's current adaptability". The core prevention logic has never relied on "external patches" such as protective gear and ointments, but on "layered adaptation + dynamic adjustment". More than 90% of such injuries can be avoided in advance, and there is no need to wait until the pain reaches the point of needing rehabilitation before regretting it.

Last week, I met a 32-year-old half-marathon runner at the sports rehabilitation studio I often work with. He usually sits all day at work, but occasionally runs 3 kilometers after get off work. He felt that he was full of physical fitness, so he directly signed up for the city half-marathon. He had never even tried long-distance training of more than 10 kilometers before the race. When he ran 17 kilometers, the pain on the outside of his knee was so painful that he could not lift it. It was found out that he had iliotibial band syndrome. He had to recover for at least a month. The hiking plan in Western Sichuan that had been booked was immediately scrapped. This is a typical "I think I can do it", completely unaware of the limits of your body's tolerance, which is the most regrettable preventable injury.

When it comes to prevention, most of the first thing that comes to mind is buying protective gear. This matter has been debated in the sports circle for almost ten years and there is no standard answer: "Purely natural" people say that wearing protective gear will make the muscles around the joints dependent. For example, if you wear a belt for a long time to practice deadlifts, your core strength will never be developed, and it is easy to lose your waist once you take it off.； “"Protection first" also said that high-risk actions must be worn, otherwise the loss will outweigh the gain if you get injured. My own experience in teaching students is that you really don’t need to go to extremes. Wearing them when you are a novice, your movements are not finalized, or when you are reaching the extreme weight/intensity, it can give you enough support and room for error. When your movement pattern is stable and the surrounding muscle strength is improved, you can completely remove it for daily training. There was a little girl who just started to practice deadlifting. She had to wear a waist brace for 60kg. After practicing for 8 months, she now doesn’t need to wear it for 100kg or less. Her core is very stable and she has never had any problems.

Oh, yes, action mode is really 10,000 times more important than how much you can lift or how fast you can run. I have seen an uncle who has been playing badminton for 12 years. He relies on swinging his arms to smash the ball and never uses his waist and abdomen to exert force. Now it is difficult to raise his hands to put on clothes. The small muscle groups around the rotator cuff have never been activated. They rely entirely on the large muscle groups to compensate. After more than ten years of hard work, they have already suffered irreversible wear and tear. There are also some novices who practice bench pressing. They press without tightening their shoulder blades. After two exercises, their shoulders hurt so much that they can't lift them up. They think they have done it well, but in fact, their movements are as crooked as grandma's. I used to practice CrossFit's wavy jumps, but my movements were deformed and I still held on, and my waist was stretched for half a month. The lesson was really unforgettable.

Many people's understanding of warm-up is still about "flailing your arms and twisting your waist" and going on the field in two minutes. What's the difference between this and no warm-up? You see, professional athletes have to warm up for 20 minutes before a game. They also need to do dynamic stretching and activation of small muscle groups. For example, before playing basketball, practice a few sets of one-leg standing balance to activate the small muscles around the ankle joint, so that you will not sprain your feet when you jump and land. Don't believe it, there was a high school student who came to rehab last month. He squatted on the side and checked his mobile phone for half an hour before playing. In the first 10 minutes, he sprained his foot when he landed on a rebound. He tore his ligaments and took two months off. He even complained that I never warmed up when playing before and it was fine. This is a matter of probability. If you don't warm up 10 times and it's fine, you may get caught on the 11th time.

There are also many people who think that prevention is just something before the game, and they just wipe off the sweat and leave after the game. In fact, if the muscles are in a state of tension for a long time and do not relax, the elasticity will become worse and worse, and it is easy to strain the next time you exercise. Nowadays, some people say to do static stretching after exercise, some say to use a foam roller, and others say to do cold therapy. In fact, there is really no standard answer. You can do it however you feel comfortable. As long as you can rub out the tense muscles, it will be useful. After I finish running, I like to use a foam roller to roll my legs for ten minutes, which is more effective than stretching. But my colleague likes to do static stretching for 15 minutes, and I haven't seen him have any problems. By the way, in the past, everyone believed in the RICE first aid principle (ice, braking, compression, elevation). Now the industry advocates the POLICE principle, which means that after an acute injury, you do not need to lie down completely and immobilize. After the 72-hour acute period, you can do some light weight-bearing activities to promote blood circulation and recover faster. There is no need to blindly apply ice for several days. The concepts are being updated, and there is no need to stick to the same old routine.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there is really no universal formula for preventing sports injuries. Just don’t compete with your body. Slow down when you feel sore, and stop immediately when you feel pain. Don't believe in the "no pain no gain" poisonous chicken soup. The signals sent by your own body are more accurate than any professional advice. If you have an old injury, you must ask a rehabilitation practitioner for advice before exercising. Don’t blindly follow the trend of Internet celebrities, otherwise the recurrence of the old injury will be more troublesome.