Most sports-related injuries involve damage to the body’s joints. Common joint injuries range from twisted ankles to damaged knee ligaments. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help prevent these types of injuries from occurring. When exercising for health and fitness, you can be more at risk for overuse injuries. Fortunately, you can build strength in your joints and avoid joint injuries by stretching and exercising correctly.
Here are some injury-prevention tips to help ensure that you’re fully equipped to exercise properly and avoid injuries:
Avoid doing too much, too soon.
Avoiding increasing the length of your workouts by more than 10 percent from one week to the next will help you keep the intensity of your workouts consistent and avoid putting too much strain on your joints.
Cross-training is key.
Repetitive-motion injuries caused by doing just one sport or workout are some of the most common. You can prevent these by doing different sports or activities that work different muscle groups. A day of rest for your muscles is much needed.
Be sure to wear proper shoes that provide adequate support during exercise.
Having the proper support will ease the stress on your joints and help reduce the risk of injury during activity.
It’s important to know your personal limits and not exceed them when exercising or participating in physical activities. Proper care of your joints can preserve function in the long term and encourage prolonged physical activity.