From low impact yoga and Pilates through to football and wrestling, all forms of exercise come with an inherent risk of injury and danger. In order to protect your body and muscles as best as possible – and to minimise the risk of injury – it’s important to make sure that you always take care of yourself.
As an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Jens Buelow has seen a number of injuries and conditions caused by improper practice during sport and exercise. From knee tears to shoulder instability, injuries can be painful and debilitating. Often preventable, sports injuries and damage can be minimised by following a number of steps and practices before, during and after activity.
Warm Up Properly
Regardless of the type of exercise or sport you play, cold muscles tend to injure and damage faster. To prepare and protect your body, make sure to always complete a full body warm up. Warming up improves blood flow to working muscles and helps to reduce stiffness while increasing mobility and flexibility.
To maximise the effectiveness of your warm up, complete an active and dynamic set of movements for five to ten minutes before engaging in more rigorous activity.
Learn Proper Technique
Improper form is one of the easiest ways to cause an injury. Before engaging in a new movement or activity, make sure that you learn proper form and have your form assessed by someone with a comprehensive understanding of the movement. Improper form – especially when lifting weights or completing exercises with a weighted component – can cause significant damage to muscles and put strain on joints.
If you’re part of a gym, book a session with a trainer to make sure that your form is correct and that you’re confident and comfortable with all movements you attempt.
Wear Appropriate Attire
Low quality shoes or disruptive exercise attire can cause damage and pain to your body. Before you begin a new exercise regime or join in on a new sport, make sure that you have appropriate clothing and footwear to support your activity. Often, sport and exercise specific clothing is specially designed to offer maximum comfort, support and stability to reduce injury and damage. Plus, proper clothing and footwear results in less distractions, allowing you to focus on your workout or your sport.
Know When to Stop
When exercising, it’s important to know your limits. By understanding your body and knowing when to stop, you can prevent injuries due to exhaustion, fatigue and loss of proper form. Never work out to the point of pain and make sure that you always stop and rest if you feel any type of pain or discomfort – including dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain.
Restorative Knee and Shoulder Surgery
Based in Perth, Dr Jens Buelow specialises in providing quality restorative knee and shoulder surgery for clients of all ages. Working with patients experiencing sports and exercise injury, Dr Jens Buelow offers effective surgical solutions and services to restore mobility and comfort.
Learn more about our expertise. Contact us on (08) 9212 4200.