Sports injury prevention and treatment methods

The first is to match the exercise intensity to one's own ability, the second is to make the action pattern conform to the logic of exerting force, and the third is to respond to the body's early warning in a timely manner. Doing these three points can avoid more than 90% of non-accidental sports injuries.； There is no standard answer for post-injury treatment. The traditional RICE principle and the PEACE&LOVE principle promoted in the sports medicine community in recent years have their own applicable scenarios. The former is suitable for acute severe closed injuries (such as ligament tears, suspected fractures), while the latter is more suitable for mild to moderate strains and sprains that are common in daily fitness and amateur sports. There is no need to blindly follow a certain plan.

I was squatting in the gym last week and met a young man who had just applied for the card less than a week ago. He hung a 20kg plate on the barbell to practice deadlifts. His back was so arched that it almost touched his knees. After three sets of pulls, he squatted to the ground with his waist and couldn't stand up. The coach next to me quickly called 120, and later it was found out that it was acute lumbar disc herniation. I originally thought that I would develop abdominal muscles and look good in a T-shirt in the summer, but now I have to lie down for at least three months.

Seriously, this kind of damage is such a shame and completely avoidable. When many people first get into sports, they always like to compare themselves with others - if others can run a half marathon, I have to do it, and if my friend bench presses 80kg, I have to do it, regardless of whether I failed to run 800 meters before or whether I have enough core strength. There is actually an interesting controversy here: "Progressive overload", often said in the fitness circle, is the core of improving athletic ability, which means constantly putting pressure on the body to increase strength and speed. However, the consensus in the field of sports rehabilitation is that the weekly exercise increment (whether it is distance, weight or duration) should not exceed 10%, otherwise the risk of injury will triple. In fact, these two statements are not contradictory at all. "Overload" is the goal, and "slow increment" is just the bottom line. Stability is better than anything else.

Some people think that "exercise is just for relaxation, and picking is too pretentious." I thought the same way before, until I was preparing for the half-marathon the year before last, and the outside of my knee hurt every time I finished running. I thought it was the fate of "running Baili only hurts the knee". After seeing a rehabilitation practitioner, I found out that it was because I always had a habit of buckling my knees in when I landed, and the impact force was all stuck on the patellar tendon. I was lucky not to develop synovitis. I adjusted my landing position and added gluteus medius training three times a week, and within two weeks all the pain was gone. Of course, this does not mean that all sports must be done like professional athletes. If you just take a walk after dinner every day or do Tai Chi in the park, it is absolutely fine to do whatever is comfortable for you. But if your goal is horse racing, powerlifting PR, or playing in amateur leagues, practicing the correct movements is really the lowest-cost insurance.

Don't think that an injury is only when it hurts so much that you can't move. In many cases, your body has already sent you signals: there is pain in one knee when running, there is a clicking sound in the shoulder when pulling on the back, and there is a pulling sensation in the ankle after jumping rope. These are not proof of "practical to the point", but it is shouting "I am going to break if you do this". Last month, I was playing badminton with a friend. He twisted his foot when he jumped up and landed a smash. He said at the time, "It hurts a little but I can still walk." He insisted on continuing to play. At the end, he took off his shoes. His ankle was swollen like a freshly steamed bun. He was supposed to recover after resting for three or four days. In the end, he wore protective gear for three weeks and couldn't even go to work.

Let’s talk about how to deal with injuries that everyone is most concerned about. There have been many quarrels on the Internet before, saying that the traditional RICE principle (rest, ice, compression, elevation) has long been outdated. If you believe in the new PEACE&LOVE, there is really no need to be either/or. If you fall very hard, are severely swollen, or even feel pain when you move, and suspect a fracture or ligament break, you must brake, apply ice, and rush to the hospital. In this case, RICE is the safest choice. But if it is an ordinary sprained foot or muscle strain, you can move but hurt, and there is no obvious deformity, then you will recover faster by using the PEACE&LOVE principle: follow PEACE three days before the injury, protect yourself from secondary injuries, raise the injured area if necessary, and don’t take anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (which will inhibit tissue repair). Just use an elastic bandage to apply pressure appropriately, and don’t lie completely still. For example, if you sprain your foot, you can slowly walk on your feet for a few minutes the next day to promote blood circulation. After three days, enter the LOVE stage. Slowly increase the weight. Don’t always feel like “I’m injured and can’t move.” Don’t be too anxious. When I suffered from iliotibial band syndrome before, the pain became worse after lying down for a week. Later, I walked slowly for 20 minutes every day, added foam rollers and leg lifts to practice buttocks. Within ten days, I was running normally.

To be honest, I have been involved in sports for almost ten years, and I have seen too many people get injured because they are "too anxious": anxious to achieve results, anxious to lose weight, anxious to prove themselves, but forget that the original purpose of exercise is to make themselves more comfortable. There is really no need to endure the pain and train, and don't believe in the chicken soup on the Internet that "you can't get out of the line of fire for minor injuries". Everyone's recovery speed is different. Just because someone can run away after twisting their leg for three days does not mean that you can do it too. If you are really not sure, find a regular rehabilitation practitioner. It will be much more useful than browsing Baidu for three hours.

Oh yes, and a little reminder, protective gear is really not an IQ tax. Wear knee pads if your knees are not good, and wear wrist guards when playing badminton. Don’t think that wearing protective gear is a sign of “weakness”. When you are really injured, you will know that this little money and time are really worth it than suffering.