If you’re an athlete, there’s a huge chance you or someone you know has sustained a knee injury. Knee injuries are common, and range from mild to severe, and can be unavoidable in certain contact sports like football. Knee injuries aren’t just exclusive to athletes; you can even sustain a serious knee injury in your everyday job! But with proper preventative measures taken, you can drastically reduce your chances of sustaining a devastating knee injury. Follow these three steps every time you play a sport, and you’ll know that the likelihood of you incurring a knee injury has dropped substantially.
Stretch, stretch, and stretch some more
Stretching might be the most overlooked preventative measure you can take to avoid any sort of injury to you knee. When you stretch, you get your muscles loose and ready for any sort of physical activity. Your muscle tension decreases the more you stretch, which dramatically lowers the risk of a knee injury. Make sure you stretch before and after your workouts.
Not only do you decrease the risk of injury when you stretch, but you also increase your energy level. Stretching increases blood circulation to different parts of the body, which results in more energy. There are literally no negatives to stretching, so be sure to spend a lot of time stretching before any sort of physical activity.
Consider wearing a knee brace
Prophylactic knee braces are an important preventative measure you can take to avoid knee injuries, especially in heavy contact sports like football. More and more people are even starting to use prophylactic knee braces for sports like skiing or snowboarding, because they can help prevent serious knee injury whenever you take a nasty fall. Prophylactic knee braces are especially important if you have any history of knee pain or injury, because wearing one will drop the risk of you experiencing an injury again.
There are a lot of different kinds of prophylactic knee braces to consider if you decide to start wearing one. Check websites like BetterBraces.com and find one that will fit your needs.
Don’t try and do it all
Even if you aren’t an athlete, knee injury still could strike you if you aren’t careful. You can experience knee injury no matter what your job is, because it can happen to all of us. If you work in an environment that requires a lot of heavy lifting, make sure you never strain yourself. That extra trip back and forth to the warehouse could be the difference between a serious knee injury that keeps you out of work for weeks and a healthy knee that keeps you working.
Consult with your human resources department if you ever feel like your job is demanding too much of you physically. You should never be expected to do something that could cause injury to yourself. They might be able to give you tips on proper stretches or activities that could make your job easier and prevent any type of injury to yourself, whether it’s knee related or not.
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