Sports injury prevention and measures

The core prevention logic of most sports injuries is "adapting action patterns to individual physical conditions + pre-risk screening + dynamic adjustment of exercise intensity". There is no universal solution that is suitable for everyone. All suggestions for "standard preventive actions" that are divorced from the basis of individual sports and body structure may in turn cause injuries.

Last month, a young man who just joined the running group I often went to usually just sat in the office and was fascinated by watching other people run half marathons and win medals. After training with the veteran team members for three days, he dared to run 15 kilometers. The 10% rule often mentioned in the running circle is that the weekly running volume should not increase by more than 10% of the previous week. Of course, some experienced runners say that it is okay to increase by 20% when you are in good condition. The premise is that you can accurately sense your body signals and not bear the muscle soreness. Think about it, it's like a child who has just learned to walk and wants to run a hundred meters. If he takes too big a step, he will fall easily.

Many people think that as long as they warm up enough, they will not be injured. In fact, there are still different trends in the academic and practical circles regarding how to warm up. The traditional sports training system advocates static stretching for 10-15 minutes before exercise to fully stretch the ligaments of the shoulders, waist, and legs before moving. This method is indeed friendly to people with poor flexibility and rarely move. It can greatly reduce the probability of muscle strain. However, exercise physiology research in recent years has also pointed out that static stretching for a long time before exercise will reduce the risk of muscle strain. Explosive force can easily lead to force imbalance problems for fans of strength training and ball sports. This group of people is more suitable for dynamic activation, such as jumping jacks, walking lunges, and arm circles. It is enough to raise the body temperature and activate the target muscle groups. Static stretching can be done after exercise, which can better relax the muscles and improve flexibility. I usually do 5 minutes of dynamic activation before doing strength training. If I have a yoga class scheduled that day, I will first do a few minutes of static stretching to open my hips. In my own test, it is indeed much more comfortable than stretching my legs for 10 minutes before doing any exercise. I have never had any problems with my legs being weak and unable to generate strength when practicing deadlifts.

There are still many people who are superstitious about "standard movements" and think that following the blogger's tutorial will be foolproof. In fact, this is not the case. I met a girl in the rehabilitation department before. She practiced squats according to Pamela's video. After a week of practice, her knees hurt and she had difficulty walking down the stairs. She went to check for patellar chondromalacia. The rehabilitation therapist evaluated her and discovered that she was born with internal knee buckle, and the force on the outside of the quadriceps was much stronger than the inside. Squatting according to the universal requirement of "knees and toes in the same direction" would put all the pressure on the outside of the patella. Later, they adjusted her movements so that her toes were slightly turned out 15 degrees. When squatting, she added an elastic band to cover the top of her knees to support them outwards. After practicing for half a month, her knees no longer hurt. So really don’t stick to the “standard”. Everyone’s joint mobility and muscle strength distribution are different. If you feel a pain or stiffness in a certain joint when doing a certain movement, don’t force it. Either adjust the angle, or practice the corresponding weak part first, which is better than anything else.

There are also many novices who have just started to exercise. They first buy a bunch of knee pads, wrist pads and waist pads to fill a cabinet. In fact, it is really unnecessary. Protective gear is used to provide extra support to weak areas. If you have no problem with your own joints, wearing knee pads for running every day will prevent the muscles around the knee joint from being exercised and gradually become weak, making you more susceptible to injury. I used to wear a waist protector when I was doing heavy deadlifts in CrossFit. I usually did light weight training with my waist bare, just to train the stability of my core. If I relied on a waist protector to support me, my core strength would never improve. If I forget to wear a waist protector, my waist will easily slip. Of course, if you already have an old injury, you must wear corresponding protective gear when exercising. Don't hold on. A recurrence of an old injury is more than 10 times more difficult than a new injury.

I have been playing sports for almost 10 years, and I have seen injuries of various sizes, ranging from hundreds to dozens. Ninety percent of them are not a problem with the sport itself. Either I am eager for quick success and want to lose 20 pounds in half a month, so I start to gain weight as soon as I get started, or I am struggling with my body by sticking to standard movements, or I feel a little pain and still carry on thinking that I am "practiced enough." Really, exercise is to make yourself comfortable, not to complete KPIs. Listening to your body's signals is more effective than reading any popular science article. If it really hurts, don't blindly search Baidu to find out the correct number. Find a regular rehabilitation practitioner to take a look. It doesn't cost much, and it also prevents minor injuries from becoming chronic and affecting the sports experience for several years to come. It's not worth the gain.