Weekend Warriors: 5 Ways To Avoid Injury

By: Mount Elizabeth Hospitals

Exercise can never be a bad, but if you only exercise during weekends, there may be some hidden risks. We look at some ways that you can protect yourself.

For many working professionals, their lives are so hectic on weekdays, a regular exercise routine is almost impossible. Instead, at the end of every work week, they transform into ‘weekend warriors’, trading in their shirts and ties for jerseys and sports shoes of various disciplines such as football, badminton and basketball.

As we all know, a weekly sports session is a good way for working adults to not only just exercise but also to relax and unwind from the week’s stress. However, irregular exercise, varying levels of fitness and improper management of your exercise routine could actually cause more harm than good to your body.

“Ankle sprains and ankle fractures are common in sports such as football and basketball, especially when a player lands on another player’s foot or when his or her ankle rolls too far outward. Knee problems such as a sprain, muscle bruise or torn ligament are also common basketball and football injuries,” says Dr. Andrew Dutton, an orthopaedic surgeon currently practising at Mount Elizabeth Hospitals.

And, even without accidents from falls or collisions, injuries caused by repetitive motions are quite common in these sports. For basketball players, a common injury would be shoulder pain from repeated overhead motion such as shooting hoops. This repeated motion causes stress to a joint called the rotator cuff, which allows the arm to rotate. Similarly, football players are susceptible of injuring their Achilles tendon in the ankle, resulting in a condition called Achilles tendonitis.

For those of you who are worried about these injuries, Dr. Dutton has helpfully listed out five ways that can help prevent these painful conditions.

1. Posture – Proper posture is an important yet often overlooked precaution. The lack of a firm stance with uneven weight distribution raises the risks of sports injuries, and can cause back, shoulder and knee pain over time.
2. Proper Footwear – What we choose to put on our feet can also benefit of impact our overall well being. With proper and comfortable footwear, we condition our body to perform at its best without any discomfort. Improper footwear is one of the most common causes of feet, ankle and knee problems.
3. Proper Technique – Many sports often involve repetitive training, and poor technique will make a player susceptible to overuse injuries. Proper technique in terms of shooting, jumping and landing, and dribbling will minimise injuries.
4. Strength Training and Cardio – With light strength training and cardio exercises, we can build stamina and endurance. This increases the likelihood of improved resistance to injuries. For example, stronger muscles can help reduce the load that the ligaments and tendons suffer from during exercise.
5. Warm up – Without proper warming up and cooling down exercises, the body is not conditioned for the intensive activities that ensue after. It’s a step that is often overlooked, but it’s also something that can assist in reducing muscle or tendon tears.

“A serious rotator cuff injury can result in a tear in the rotator cuff tendon. In this case, a minimally invasive arthroscopy can be performed, where the surgical tools are inserted through small cuts in the shoulder and the torn tendon is reattached to the shoulder bone. The same goes for common sports injuries like Achilles tendonitis or an knee ligament tear,” Dr. Dutton added.

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