Skip to main content

Athlete's Health - How To Keep Athletes Healthy and Injury Free

As any athlete know, keeping the body in shape, eating the right food can help the body stay strong through long and grueling games or any athletic events. Anyone seeking to enhance their sports performance need to follow some basic tips to achieve peak performance. It can be through exercise, training or planning meals carefully to have the right balance of calories and nutrients to make the body going and strong. It is also important to know the right body conditioning to prevent injuries on and off the playing field.

Athlete's Health

The majority of all sports are good provided that the individual or athlete has appropriate preparation. Without proper preparation, any type of of sport can be dangerous or can turn out to be a bad experience especially for kids. Competitive sports follow rigorous training schedules and regimen that can be dangerous for a teenager or adolescent. Proper warm ups, stretching and strength training is important in preparing for any type of sports and injury prevention. Think of it as a car that needs to be warmed up in the morning for it to run as designed and without any glitches. A slow jog and followed by a specific sport warm up will suffice plus stretching all the major muscle groups will bring the needed blood supply and oxygen to the body. Whether an athlete is a runner, a ball player a serious weekend athlete, an amateur or professional, the workout routines will help with proper conditioning.

Proper nutrition and hydration are very important. Athletes need the right amount of protein. An athlete should consume at least 12% to 15% of the calories from protein. Calorie intake can also be adjusted by the nutritionist or team coach as required. Eat lean, high quality and low fat proteins to give the body energy increasing and muscle building nutrients. Consuming complex carbohydrates helps in providing sugar and energy. Endurance athletes can benefit from complex carbohydrates. Healthy fats from nuts, canola oil, olive oil helps in sustaining energy in the body.

Wearing the proper equipment during training and on the actual event itself can prevent further pain and injuries. This is a no brainer. Some athletes think that they are invincible. Ignorance and being stupid will only result in injury and humiliation. Any contact sport is dangerous and if the equipment does not fit or is not present, serious injuries and concussions will surely happen.

Stay hydrated. Always. Drink enough water to replace the fluids lost during any activity. Dehydration will greatly affect an athletes performance for it will sap all the energy stored in the body. An endurance athlete such as cyclists and runners will also benefit from drinking any sports beverage with water. Sports beverage contains electrolytes like magnesium, potassium and sodium that can prevent hyponatremia.

If the body is in pain, don’t train. See a doctor and a physiotherapist to check and treat the pain. Training through the pain is not just being foolish but it can also lead to a much worse condition or a permanent injury that will take longer to heal and can lessen the efficiency of an athlete. Training longer and harder have its benefits but the body needs its off days also. The off days will let the body heal itself. Over training will also lead to burn outs and possible injuries. Increase training at least 10% each week to let the body adjust accordingly. Get plenty of rest. It will give the body the time to heal and recover. Having regular sleep and off days in between training will help the mind to be more focused. If possible, practice cross training. It will help the body to be more fit and helps to strengthen the muscles that are not often used in a particular sport. It will help in enhancing an athlete's endurance, flexibility and prevent injuries.

Lastly, athletes should take advantage of sports medicine It deals with the physical fitness, prevention and treatment of injuries that are related to sports and exercise. There are times that no matter how well an athlete care for their injuries and health, it just doesn’t cut it. Most often professional and expert help is needed to achieve the best treatment. Sports medicine professionals are knowledgeable of all the injuries an its consequences if it's not properly treated. A monitored treatment by a physiotherapist and the specialist physician can do wonders.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green Tea originated in China and has been around for more than 4,000 years. It is made from leaves known as Camellia Sinensis that have undergone slight oxidation during process. Although the tea first originated in china it has become extremely popular with many cultures in Asia. As well as being a tasty drink to have while you relax it also proves to have a number of health benefits, some of which can be found below. Allergies : The body has many receptors, including those that react to allergies. Researchers in Japan have discovered that green tea has a compound in it that can block the receptor which causes the body to have an allergic response. Immunity : Another study conducted in Japan has found that if you gargle with the liquid, you can boost your immunity to illnesses such as Influenza and the Flu. Alzheimers Disease : Alzhimers is a disease that usually occurs in the elderly effecting their brain. It effectively damages the brain causing the person memory loss, mood swings

FDA Approves Non-Hormonal Drug For Hot Flashes During Menopause

The Unites States Food and Drugs Administration has approved the first non-hormonal drug to treat hot flashes associated with menopause. The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration has approved the first non-hormonal drug to treat hot flashes associated with menopause. The drug, Brisdelle ( paroxetine ), contains the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine mesylate and can be used to treat moderate to severe hot flashes experience by women during menopause. Hot flashes during menopause are known to affect 75 percent of women worldwide. According to a FDA press release , though this condition is not fatal it can carry on for five or more years in some women causing a lot of discomfort and disrupted sleep. "There are a significant number of women who suffer from hot flashes associated with menopause and who cannot or do not want to use hormonal treatments," said Hylton V. Joffe, M.D., M.M.Sc., director of the Division of Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Products in the F

What is the Best Time for Exercise?

There are many claims and counter claims regarding the best time to exercise. Conflicting research studies point to greater benefits for morning, afternoon or evening exercise regimes. In reality the best time to exercise is the time that suits you and your lifestyle best. The most important factor in choosing a time to exercise is to choose a time that you can commit to, will stick with and which can become an automatic and habitual part in your day. Exercising consistently is key to achieving the health benefits of exercise. Studies have found that people who exercised in the morning were more likely to persist with their exercise routine. They found it easier to stick with the program before the distractions of the day began to intrude. There are also claims that exercising in the morning is more effective for weight loss as it gave a kick start to the metabolism. Blood sugar levels are low so the body converts fat to fuel to meet its energy needs. In addition fat burning hormones