Sport is healthy, sport makes us fit and enduring for a stressful everyday life. Regular jogging, targeted strength training or moderate swimming exercises ensure a toned body and a healthy back. But training doesn’t always go smoothly. Anyone who overstrains their muscles or only strains them on one side can be affected by sports injuries just as quickly as an experienced runner who falls during training.
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Common causes of sports injuries
Sports injuries can occur, for example, in the form of bruises, strains or torn ligaments. The cause of sports injuries is usually a lack of preparation for training, i.e. missing or too short a warm-up, as well as too short breaks between training sessions. In addition, anyone who practices hobby sports often tends to make mistakes when doing their training, since no trainer has ever demonstrated the exact execution. But unfavorable weather, for example black ice, can quickly lead to a sports injury. And if you have a clumsy opponent, you can of course quickly go home with injuries in ball or martial arts.
However, we can influence most of these causes. This minimizes the risk of injury and we can enjoy our favorite sport for a long time and, above all, without any problems.
prevent sports injuries
So you don’t have to let it get that far in the first place. Here are our tips so that you can do sports injury-free:
Proper warm-up: The be-all and end-all of any training session is the targeted preparation of the body for the upcoming exertion. The muscles become warm and elastic, so strains are less likely. For a targeted warm-up program, you should spend at least five minutes stretching and stretching and warming up a bit. But don’t let too much time elapse between the warm-up and the actual training, otherwise the preparation was completely in vain. Incidentally, stretching after exercise is just as much a part of it as warming up.
Train moderately: A lot doesn’t always bring a lot. This is especially true when it comes to sports. Always start slowly, don’t overstrain yourself and always give your body enough time to get used to the training. When the first few weeks are done, you can slowly increase the speed or duration of the training, for example.
Equipment and hydration: The cheap shoes from the supermarket may be easy on your wallet – but in the long run your joints will not forgive you for having saved at the wrong end here. Get advice from your sports retailer – not just for the right shoes, but also for the rest of your equipment.
treat sports injuries
If, despite all precautionary measures, an injury occurs, it is important to act quickly. If you have severe pain , persistent swelling or even bleeding, you must see a doctor immediately. Even injuries that initially seem like a trifle can otherwise develop into serious illnesses. The most important thing, however, is to protect the affected area and not to continue training immediately.
Treat sports injuries yourself
If you have had a sports accident, it is best to follow the LUCKY formula – rest, ice, compression, elevate yourself. In plain language this means: immobilize the injured part of the body, cool it with an ice pack for 20 minutes, apply a tight compression bandage and position the injured extremity above heart level.
You can often provide first aid yourself for minor sports injuries . In the case of slight pain and swelling, it is worth putting on a cooling, draining quark wrap first. Simply spread low-fat quark from the fridge 1/2 centimeter thick on a linen cloth. Wrap it around the injured area and leave it on for 15 minutes. Repeat 4 to 6 times every hour. Also good: Put 1 tablespoon of acetic clay (eg from the pharmacy) in 1/4 liter of cold water, soak a linen cloth with it and place it on the injury. Repeat several times as with the quark wrap. However, there are clear limits to self-treatment: If the symptoms do not subside within three to four days, it is essential to see a doctor. Of course, even if they cannot be influenced or even aggravate them.
Enzyme therapy for sports injuries
A sports injury is often dull, which means that neither blood nor lymph come to the surface of the skin , but the tissue underneath swells. An inflammatory process takes place here, which can be quickly healed through the targeted use of enzymes. The body naturally uses enzymes to heal injuries. In the case of bruises, for example, it breaks down the blood that has accumulated under the skin with the help of enzymes. This can be recognized, among other things, by the fact that the dark color of a hematoma has faded to yellowish-blue after just a few days. Here the blood pigment hemoglobin was broken down thanks to the body’s own little helpers.
There are several supplements on the market that take advantage of the healing properties of enzymes. Protein-splitting enzymes such as trypsin or bromelian are used for this. The enzymes split the proteins in the tissue and enable the body to remove them more quickly, so that the injury can heal more quickly.
Help with sports injuries
There are a variety of combination or mono preparations that are intended to help with sports injuries. Since intolerances or, in rare cases, side effects can occur, you should definitely discuss the application with your doctor beforehand. He can assess whether the preparation will help you with your injury or, in the opposite extreme case, can even harm you. You can find an overview of various preparations that are used for sports injuries in our downloadable table.
