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.

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.