Dealing With Common Injuries

Injuries have a way of creeping up on you when you least expect it. Whether you are an amateur athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone who enjoys doing things around the house, sooner or later you will be dealing with some sort of injury. From your body's perspective it doesn't much matter if you hurt your back lifting a power tool, over extending to get that basketball or at the gym; it hurts and you are going to hear about it.

Repetitive Motion

Some of the most common injuries people deal with are strains and sprains, inflammation and those caused by repetitive motion. Repetitive motion injuries occur when you do the same thing over and over again; increasingly such injuries result from computer use. Few people actually have an ergonomically correct work station and months of typing in an inappropriate position causes carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, neck and back pain and a plethora of other minor injuries. All these injuries are treatable, to one degree or another, but it is better to prevent them when possible.

Rest, anti-inflammatory medication, ice, physical therapy and even cortisone shots can help treat the symptoms of repetitive motion injuries. Creating a comprehensive care plan with your primary care physician is an important part of preventing further injury. Together you will come up with some changes in your routine or posture that may help even more.

Whiplash

Whiplash injuries are another common source of pain and problems. Most whiplash injuries are the result of motor vehicle accidents, but they can occur in sports from repetitive stress injuries. Headaches, dizziness, swelling and muscle spasms are common in a whiplash injury.

In an automobile accident it is usually the anterior muscles of the neck that get damaged. These muscles are notoriously hard to treat, since they are hidden away on the inside of your neck. Whiplash injuries can take a while to manifest, and don't show up on x-rays since the injury involves soft tissue. Proper treatment is critical to prevent long term problems. Massage therapy can help in this case, as can more traditional therapies.

Sports Injury Prevention

The best way to avoid common sports related injuries is to warm up before you start any activity that is outside of your norm, and to stretch afterwords. People seem particularly reluctant to warm up before they start an activity. It only takes about 5 minutes of walking to start warming up your muscles, and it reduces your chance of injury dramatically. Before you join your aerobics class or head out for that run, spend a few minutes doing something low-impact and gentle.

When you finish your workout, stretch. It can't be stated clearly enough that stretching is good for you. When you finish exercising your muscles are warm and ready for stretching. Stretching them out gets them to their maximum natural length. Long muscles are more effective and less prone to injury. Not stretching will lead to tighter muscles, and tighter muscles tear more easily. Get a good book on stretching and perform a couple of stretches per muscle group you used. You will feel much better for doing it.

While you can certainly treat most minor injuries at home, anything that lasts for more than a few days, causes severe pain or any numbness or loss of feeling should be reported to your doctor right away. Take care of your body; you are stuck with it for your whole life.