Injuries can happen anywhere, at home or on the field. Typically an injury happens through strain or overuse/exertion of your joints or muscles.

They can come on suddenly and without warning, or in some cases become more severe over a duration.

There are many common injuries, but in this article, we will be focusing on the following.

- Muscle strain.

- Joint injury, sprains and dislocations.

- Broken bones.

Exercise and rehabilitation plays a major role in recovery. To help you get the most out of your exercise remember to follow a regimen suited to your body type, diet, and previous injury.

Important note:

The best way to avoid injury is to be mindful of the warning signs your body is giving you. If you feel repetitive pain, nerve twinges or severe cramping. This may be an indication that you have suffered an injury and should take note.

Maintaining an exercise regimen, stretching and warm up.

The best way to avoid or minimize the risk of an injury is to always follow your warm-up and cool-down before and after exercise. It should be of at least a 10 minute duration and include some light stretching of the muscle groups you plan on using in the actual exercise session. This will help prime your body due to the following;

- Increased breathing and heart rate.

- Blood flow to muscle groups.

- Warming up and stretching muscles.

-Priming the joints for flexibility during exercise.

Depending on the severity of your injuries, it is recommended that stretching and exercise be either monitored or prescribed by a physical therapist to prevent further damage. Be aware of your body and listen to it.

The Two Phases of injury recovery:

The acute phase is the immediate time following the injury, and the chronic phase is long-term recovery back to full function.

During the acute phase your injury should be diagnosed by a GP, sports doctor or in a hospital setting. This will give you access to additional information regarding the severity and nature of the injury. Often a GP or doctor will prescribe some medication which can be followed by some physiotherapy or casting/splints or slings as appropriate.

It should be noted that physiologists can help with long-term injuries with a view to recovering full function. They can also help redefine your exercise regimen to help prevent injuries in the future.

Getting advice at your local gym or clinic can also be beneficial for those on a budget, or without access to hospital/doctor care. Often you can find some great advice by just chatting to owners or operators of gyms as they have had exposure to sports related injuries. If you look hard enough you may be able to find a rehabilitation specific gym that will have a higher order of assistance however most come with some cost.

For those on a budget and looking for solutions:

- Sore hips.

These can be allieviated by the half-horse stance with a view to moving into the full horse stance to recover and maintain flexability in the hips.

- Sore shoulders.

I have found great results with the shoulder-to-floor stretch. This relieves tigtness about the shoulder and neck and is of great help to injury there.

- Sore knees

With a knee injury it is important to do exercises that focus more in the hip area, surprisingly. A good start to asess where you are is to begin with straight leg raises. Step-ups, calf raises, and side leg raises are also very good for recovering dexterity without putting too much pressure on the injured knee.

It is best to do any kind of sports recovery, exercise, or physical rehap stretching in the morning or afternoon to prepare for the rest of the day. It is also better because if there is any strain or further injury, it would be easier to get it asessed and treated the same day.

An important note: always check with your doctor if they have prescribed you pain medication as to if you should take it before or after your exercises!

Sports injury and recovery is a very large topic so I will end it here, for now!

Stay tuned for more eSports and the continuation of this series!

Have a lovely day.

@SammoSK