Exercise and fitness are important for all ages, and create dramatic changes in your overall health and well being. However, it is important for all levels of athletes and non-athletes to have proper warm-ups, stretches, and conditioning, in order to prevent injury. Too often, sports-related injuries occur and injury could have been easily prevented had the athlete thoroughly prepared their body for practices and games.
So what is an appropriate warm-up?
The warm-up, which typically lasts between 10-15 minutes, feeds the body. Whether it’s a run, a jog, a swim or a brisk walk, the change in activity does several things:
- It increases the blood supply to your muscles
- It increases your heart rate
- It begins to produce more lubrication for the smooth joint motion
Now that the body is warm, the next step is to thoroughly stretch.
Following a warm-up, the increased temperature allows them to elongate their muscles without risking injury. There are two types of stretches: static and dynamic.
Static stretching is the most common form of stretching, because it can be performed at any fitness level. A static stretch is generally held for 20-30 seconds, in a slightly uncomfortable position, to encourage additional lengthening of the muscle and deeper movements.
Dynamic stretching is used to prepare the body for competition-specific functioning. This kind of stretching is the best way to prepare the joints for movement and activation.
When stretching is done improperly, it limits the flexibility and mobility of not one, but many areas of the body. For example, if an athlete has tight hamstrings, they’re also going to be limited in their hip and knee flexibility and strengthening mechanics. They’ll also be at risk for back and knee problems. Why? Because the hamstrings move the hip joint and also cross over the back of the knee joint. This is why a tight and weak hamstring can often lead to knee pain.
The importance of conditioning:
Summertime is often the cue to relax, lay by the pool, go on vacation and take some time off. While that may be true to an extent, it’s important, particularly for athletes, to make sure you are keeping up with both in-season and off-season conditioning routines so you aren’t losing the progress you’ve made. Summer is the perfect time to get in shape! it’s important to maintain a basic level of fitness in order to minimize the chances of injury when you return to your sport.
A complete conditioning should consist of the following components:
- Flexibility
- Strength
- Endurance
- Skill
The goal of flexibility is to loosen the tissues around the joints in order to eliminate improper, insufficient movements. Increasing flexibility gives you an increased ability to perform multiple movement skills. With increased flexibility comes the challenge of losing strength. Shoulders are the perfect example. Let’s talk about swimmers. When it comes to these athletes, very frequently, they focus on increasing their shoulder mobility and flexibility to improve their technique. Also very frequently however, they tend to neglect their scapular strength. Strength itself means “the state of or quality of being physically or mentally strong.” Neglecting strength training can limit your ability to control your movements and can lead to worse results.
Endurance is another key component of a conditioning program. In order to participate in any event, the athlete must posses the cardiovascular and muscular endurance to perform their sport. Whether it’s walking, biking, rope pulling, swimming or running, an athlete needs to assess their current level of endurance and build on that gradually. This prevents burn out and the risk for injuries.
The final component of a complete conditioning program is skill. Once the athlete has the proper level of flexibility, solid strength in all movement patterns and endurance to last a full practice, it’s vital to now Incorporate in sports-specific skills into the conditioning program. In order to do these sport-specific skills properly and without the risk for injury, flexibility, strength and endurance have to be at optimum levels as well.
By: Cierra Washington, ATC
If you are a parent, a coach or an athlete and are concerned about injuries or want more information on specific drills to prevent injuries, Call our office TODAY at 703-450-4300. Our clinicians can speak with you about what those injuries are, when they cause problems and help you come up with a plan to address those injuries. CLICK HERE for a basic warm up and cool down stretching routine.
