Sports injury prevention precautions

The core logic of sports injury prevention has never been to assemble a complete set of professional protective gear and copy the training plan of professional athletes. It is to "first conduct risk assessment to match your own foundation, then modify the action pattern, and finally control the load rhythm." There are no shortcuts, and there is no unified standard that applies to everyone.

Let's be honest, I've seen too many people rush into the training ground without even knowing what old injuries they have or what's wrong with their posture. A while ago, a young man in the running group had just joined the group for half a month. He couldn't even run 10 kilometers smoothly. He insisted on following the old team members to sprint for the half marathon, wearing the casual sneakers he usually wears when going out on the street. In the end, he developed iliotibial band syndrome. The pain was so painful that he even struggled to go up and down stairs. It took him two months to recover. As for whether to completely correct your posture before exercising, there are now two completely different opinions in the circle: Most rehabilitation practitioners insist that if your posture is incorrect, exercise will be in vain. If problems such as high and low shoulders and long and short legs are not adjusted first, the force exerted will always be asymmetrical, and the more you practice, the more serious the injury will be. ； However, many first-line strength coaches feel that there is no need to stop training completely for correction. As long as the load is controlled well, the weak side muscles can be gradually corrected during the training process, which is more efficient than relying solely on rehabilitation training. Both statements are supported by clinical cases. There is no need for ordinary enthusiasts to worry. As long as they don’t feel tingling or numbness when practicing, they don’t have to wait for their posture to be “perfect” before moving.

Don't believe in the theory that "standard movements are omnipotent". The standard movements of professional athletes are adapted to their joint mobility and muscle strength, and may not necessarily apply to ordinary people. When I used to practice shoulder presses, I always followed the instructional videos to lift my arms until my forearms were completely perpendicular to the ground. As a result, after a week of practice, my acromion impinged and I felt pain when I raised my arm. Later, I found a rehabilitation practitioner and found out that my acromion was born with an arc shape. Lifting a heavy weight to the highest position would inevitably rub the rotator cuff. After that, I changed it to half-strength, and there was no pain anymore. If your knees already snap, don’t force yourself to squat until your thighs are parallel. You can still train your legs by squatting until your knee joints are 120 degrees. Don’t injure yourself for the sake of a “standard.” I once read about a fitness blogger who, in order to make a video showing "standard squats", held in the air pressure on his knees and directly tore the anterior cruciate ligament. He had to lie down for three months before he could get off the ground. It was really unacceptable.

There has been debate over whether protective gear is useful or not for a day or two. Conservative rehabilitation practitioners believe that except for the acute phase of old injuries and the post-surgery recovery phase, there is no need to wear knee and waist braces. Otherwise, your stabilizing muscles will deteriorate and you will be more susceptible to injury. ； However, many coaches in the public fitness circle feel that when a novice's movement pattern is not finalized, wearing a protective gear can at least cover the bottom and avoid acute sprains. My own experience is that you can wear heavy weights when you are a novice, and you can slowly remove them when your movements are stable and your core strength has improved. If you have old injuries, just follow the doctor's advice honestly. Don't listen to others who say "wearing protective gear is for the weak" and just carry it. Don't just wear a full set of elbow pads, knee pads and waist pads when you are not injured. You have to wear a weightlifting belt to practice a 10kg bench press. It is really unnecessary.

One thing that many people tend to overlook is that load control is really not calculated based on a formula. "The increase in running volume per week should not exceed 10%" has been circulated in the running circles for a long time. It is really not an iron rule. If you work overtime for three consecutive days this week and sleep only 5 hours a day, let alone a 10% increase. Halving your running volume is not an exaggeration. Muscle control will plummet under fatigue, and the probability of sprained ankles and strains is more than three times higher than usual. Some people think that stretching is necessary before exercise. The latest research has long said that long-term static stretching before exercise will reduce muscle explosiveness and increase the risk of injury. It is enough to do some dynamic stretching to warm up and activate the target muscle groups. For example, before doing shoulder exercises, use an elastic band to do a few sets of shoulder external rotation to activate the infraspinatus, which is much more effective than standing there and stretching your shoulders for 3 minutes. If you have muscle soreness after exercise, rolling on a foam roller for 10 minutes will have a much better relief effect than doing static stretching.

In the final analysis, exercise is to make yourself comfortable, not to compare weight, running volume, or check-in frequency with others. The tingling, numbness, and lack of effort signals sent by your body are the most accurate early warnings of injury. Stop when it hurts. Don't force yourself to "break the limit". It is more effective than any professional prevention guide.