Keep Your Eye on the Prize

As the leaves begin to fall and the air starts to chill, it’s time to pre­pare for the fall sports sea­son. Sports are a great way to get the exer­cise you need while show­ing some school spir­it, how­ev­er, they are also a com­mon cul­prit of injury. The best way to lead your team to vic­to­ry this sea­son is to stay on top of your health. To help you care for your body this fall, Bri­an Ward, MD, sports med­i­cine doc­tor and orthopaedic sur­geon, has out­lined some tips on how ath­letes can stay safe and healthy in every sport this season.

Gen­er­al Fall Sports Safety

The key to per­form­ing well — no mat­ter what team you’re on — is to prop­er­ly warm-up and cool-down to loosen mus­cles and reg­u­late blood flow. Even includ­ing sim­ple activ­i­ties such as stretch­ing or a light jog in your pre- and post-game rit­u­al can help keep your body safe from injury.

Foot­ball Safety

Because foot­ball is such a high-impact sport, nev­er ignore a head injury and always wear your gear. If you have suf­fered a head injury dur­ing prac­tice or a game, tell your coach right away and seek med­ical atten­tion if nec­es­sary. Con­cus­sions are a seri­ous, yet com­mon injury for foot­ball play­ers, and hel­mets, pro­tec­tive padding and mouth-guards should be worn at all times to avoid harm to the body.

Soc­cer Safety

Soc­cer play­ers are no strangers to knee injuries, as sprains and strains are the most com­mon types of low­er body injuries in soc­cer. This is why I rec­om­mend get­ting enough rest between games and prac­tices and nev­er play­ing if you are injured. Overuse injuries and not allow­ing your body the prop­er time to heal can weak­en your mus­cles and make you more sus­cep­ti­ble to pro­longed injury.

Cross Coun­try Safety

The best way to avoid painful shin splints and stress frac­tures at every mile is to make sure you are wear­ing high-qual­i­ty, sup­port­ive run­ning shoes. Cross coun­try run­ners should replace their shoes every few months or when they start to show signs of wear and tear.

Vol­ley­ball Safety

When it comes to avoid­ing fin­ger injuries on the vol­ley­ball court, form is every­thing. Cre­ate a tri­an­gle with your thumbs and fore­fin­gers when set­ting and keep your wrists rigid with relaxed and wide­spread fin­gers when block­ing to avoid dis­lo­ca­tions, frac­tures and sprains.

Whether cheer­ing from the side­lines, rac­ing to the fin­ish line or throw­ing a touch­down pass, exer­cis­ing safe prac­tices this sea­son is cru­cial to your health and safe­ty. Sports-relat­ed injuries can man­i­fest in a vari­ety of ways, and it is impor­tant to lis­ten to your body and seek care when some­thing does­n’t feel right.

Learn more about what you can do to keep your body in tip-top shape, or sched­ule an appoint­ment with one of our orthopaedic specialists.