How To Audit Your Range Of Motion
Preventing injuries, warming up, cooling down, and drinking water to stay hydrated are all important but knowing your baseline range of motion is just as key. How exactly can you keep track and make sure we are doing it correctly? That is where range of motion becomes key and understanding what your “normal” baseline of movement.
To simplify, when our body feels threatened the muscles will automatically shut down/tighten to protect us from injuries. When this happens our range of motion will decrease causing discomfort. The goal is to restore that range of motion to prevent further injury.
This is why it is important to understand what your baseline motion is. Knowing when that range of motion is decreased will help us to restore it and get our body back to moving properly. The concepts motion is lotion or movement is medicine play a huge role in this.
Drink Plenty of Water | Take Breaks When Needed
Staying hydrated is a must. Dehydration is a loss of fluids and electrolytes that your body needs to function. You can lose water from sweating, which happens when you play sports.
It is essential to take breaks and rest throughout your workout. Athletes believe training hard makes them better, but rest is part of a balanced training session. Taking breaks will prevent your body from being overworked, which will prevent sports injuries from occurring.
If you already have an injury or feel pain when playing, you need to stop your activity. If you don’t let your body heal properly, you risk an even more severe injury and increase your recovery time. Even when you play, short breaks are necessary to allow your muscles to rest and recover.
Warm-Up and Cool Down Properly
Warming up properly is often overlooked but a critical part of preventing sports injuries. Athletes should never jump into exercise cold. Warm muscles are more likely to prevent sports injuries. Every sport is different, so make sure the warm-up suits your sport.
It is best to start slow and work up a slight sweat. Dynamic movement is recommend over static stretching. The proper warm-up increases flexibility, range of motion, elasticity on tendons and ligaments, and blood flow with oxygen to the muscles.
Cooling down after you play reduces your heart rate and stretches you out, preventing muscle pains and cramps. This gradual process also helps the muscles relax easier instead of a drastic stop from an intense workout to stopping completely.
Stretch Before and After Playing
Before and after playing, stretches beneficial to your specific sport are pertinent. Stretching gives you a range of motion in your joints, which is essential in playing sports, keeping proper range of motion, and preventing sports injuries. It provides proper balance and reduces tightness in your muscles.
The three types of stretching are:
- Static stretching: Take each individual limb to its end of the range, pushing just before discomfort.
- Dynamic stretching: Actively move your whole body to move each muscle group together.
- Ballistic stretching: Rapid and repeated bouncing to the end of your range of motion, pushing slightly before discomfort.
A proper range of motion from stretching is essential for playing sports. Stretching provides soft tissue extensibility and maintains flexibility, which keeps you loose and prevents future injuries.
See A Sports Chiropractor If You’re Experiencing Pain
Athletes put their bodies through more than the average person and have more injuries. A sports chiropractor treats sports injuries and guides athletes in their recovery process. They also reduce your risk of injury through massage and chiropractic therapy that targets muscles and joints that receive the most stress.
Apart from treating and preventing sports injuries, sports chiropractors provide musculoskeletal maintenance that athletes need for peak performance to reduce the wear and tear of an athlete’s body. If you have any pain, from a tweaked knee to unbearable sciatica pain, you should see a sports chiropractor.
Sports Chiropractor In Greenville, SC | Upstate Spine & Sport
Upstate Spine & Sport provides Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville, Five Forks, and surrounding South Carolina communities with unparalleled service and individual results for preventing sports injuries. We help our patients feel better and empower everyone to live healthier and more active lives. We offer different approaches to providing high standards of nonsurgical care with chiropractic physical medicine, soft-tissue techniques, therapeutic rehabilitation, nutrition, and acupuncture.
We properly assess your pain and develop personalized treatment plans to get you back to the sport you love. While other chiropractic offices may have you come in for periodical adjustments, we want to eliminate the pain as quickly as possible to get your back to peak performance.
Contact Upstate Spine & Sport at 864-400-8005 to schedule your consultation.
