Sports injuries are damages sustained during athletic activities, personal drills, and exercises.
Sustaining an injury is definitely not a great thing, especially for sports enthusiasts. Some severe injuries, like damage to the Achilles tendon, could take a longer recovery time. Or even put an end to your sports career.
To prevent this and speed up your healing, we have compiled six proven ways, including our own CBD product in Australia, CBD Cream and Topical Ointments, to recover from your sports injury and get you running again.
The recent statistics published by Hopkinsmedicine reported a yearly count of about 3.5 million American teenagers injured through sports only.
In a survey conducted by the National Sports University of Korea with 624 athletes, there was an injury prevalence of 56% in a year. The most commonly sustained injuries were sprains (injury to tendons), strains (injury to muscles), and bruising. Interestingly, injuries in strategic regions like the ankle, elbow, and back had more frequency.
Use The RICE Method
One of the everyday mistakes made after sustaining a sports injury is to engage in strenuous practices to accelerate recovery. While this method is effective at the latter stages of healing, it will only delay your recovery if employed right after you are injured.
The best thing to do immediately after getting laid off by a strain or sprain is to Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate (RICE).
-
Rest
Take a break right after sustaining an injury. Engaging in other physical activities could worsen the already torn tendon, or create more muscle tears that would further complicate your injuries. No one wants to land on the surgery bed for incisions.
-
Ice
Sports injury around the joints could result in inflammation. This will lead to skin redness, warmth, and pain. Putting an ice pack around the injury site for 10 minutes could reduce these symptoms and help you get through the recovery process faster.
However, the use of ice should not be excessive since it could also paradoxically delay healing. Only implement this method once every four to five hours during the first week of recovery.
-
Compress
Some injuries can lead to water retention around the damaged region. Make use of long stockings if swelling occurred in your lower body. Otherwise, lightly rap a bandage around your upper body (for arm injuries).
Compression will reduce swelling until your injury is completely healed. But ensure it is not too tight to prevent blockage of the blood vessels present.
-
Elevate
Elevating the injured part above your heart can prevent edema caused by gravity, reduce blood pressure, and limit bleeding. Less pressure and faster clotting facilitate a quicker recovery.
Apply CBD Creams And Ointments
Cannabidiol in the form of CBD Cream and Topical Ointments, is an extract of the cannabis sativa plant, is often available as creams, ointments, and tinctures. CBD creams and ointments are highly effective for quick and sustained pain relief. Apply gently on the site of injury and rub slowly until the cream melts completely into your skin.
Moreover, you can also get some extra perks such as skin therapy from using CBD creams and ointments. To get a double effect, make use of oral products like CBD oils, gummies, and tinctures.
In contrast to opiate analgesics, and morphine liquid which are both strong pain relievers, CBD creams, and oil does not lead to addiction. This is attributed to the little or total absence of a psychoactive substance like tetrahydrocannabinol.
Consume Proteinous Food And Nutritious Fruits
Proteinous animal products like fish, milk, eggs, and meat can speed up recovery since amino acids are very crucial to muscle repair. Leafy vegetables, tart cherries, and beet juice also contribute a reasonable amount of nutrients to the body.
Potassium-rich foods should also be prioritized for bone healing. Similarly, the importance of calcium is not to be neglected. Calcium makes up about 99% of the total minerals in the body and contributes greatly to faster recovery and bone tissue repair.
Vitamin B, C, and D are all essential for clotting and wound healing. Include supplements containing zinc, omega-3, selenium, and copper in your daily diet during and after an injury.
Prioritize Mental Recovery
A study published on NCBI reported an existing relationship between recovery speed and psychological factors. Most athletes are emotionally traumatized at the news of their injuries, especially if it will hinder them from the pitch for a long time. Declining mental health could delay physical recovery, cause depression, and lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
One of the best ways to deal with this is to ensure you keep in touch with your family and friends. Engage in rehab programs, focus on recovery activities available, and be optimistic.
Engage In Rehabilitation Programs
Rehabilitation programs involve a set of activities aimed at restoring your physical and mental health to the pre-injury level. The main goal is to prevent further escalation of your injury and bring you back to your feet as soon as possible.
A rehab team usually consists of physicians, physical educators, a coach, orthopediatrists, physiotherapists, and nutritionists. This is to ensure the scope of your recovery is not limited to one aspect only.
Compliance is very essential for rehab programs to work.
Contact A Sports Health Professional
While all of the recovery tips above are highly effective, sometimes you might need to see your physician for further treatment. In fact, the methods listed above are much more effective when your doctor is aware.
Moreover, you will need to do some tests to detect the severity of your injury. That way, you can choose the most effective recovery method and get on with it before your injury becomes complicated.
Also, contact a sports health care professional if the injury shows no sign of recovery after two weeks.
What We Think
Sports injuries don’t always have to be so terrible as long as you employ the right recovery methods. Moreover, these injuries are so difficult to avoid even if you are fully aware of the factors that cause them.
That doesn’t mean preventive tips for staying away from sports injuries are not important. In fact, you could minimize the degree of your injury by following safe sports practices on the field or your regular juggling route.
Speed up your recovery time by practicing the RICE method, engaging in rehab programs, and making use of CBD creams and ointments.