The things Every Athlete Should Know About ACL Injury Prevention
Posted by sareena147 on Monday, January 31, 2011
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL can happen to anyone. However, athletes are more susceptible to damaging their knees, particularly the ACL due to the effort that it could require in their various sports. Damaging your ACL may lead you to feel pain and depending on the severity of the injury, you may also find it difficult to walk, much less move. Due to this, you must learn the basics about ACL injury prevention in order to avoid impediment to your movements in the long term.
Do Some Stretching
Before you go through the training proper, it is strongly advised that you do some fundamental stretching first in order to warm up your muscles and joints. Conditioning your body before strenuous activity will effectively prevent injuries to your joints, muscles and bones. You will also be able to perform better as soon as your body has warmed up. By doing stretches, you are increasing the flexibility of your muscles, avoiding any strain along the way.
Improve Your Strength
Another way to make sure that your ligaments and joints will not be strained is to enhance your strength through exercising and working out regularly. If your focus is ACL injury prevention, then you need to target on strengthening your hips and thighs. A strong hip will keep your balance and stability in order to avoid straining your ligaments, especially your anterior cruciate ligament. Working out may also help you sustain your weight. Extra fat might cause strain on the lower part of your body, especially your knees.
Stay away from Possible Injuries
When playing, you need to give attention to your movements. Sometimes, this can be hard to bear into mind, particularly if you are centered on winning the game. However, this is one of the most common reasons why athletes get injured. Whenever possible, avoid movements that will most probably cause an injury to you.
ACL injury prevention should continually be a part of any athlete's precaution list. Your ACL is an important part of your knees and once injured, you'll definitely find it difficult to get back on your knees again. Literally.
Do Some Stretching
Before you go through the training proper, it is strongly advised that you do some fundamental stretching first in order to warm up your muscles and joints. Conditioning your body before strenuous activity will effectively prevent injuries to your joints, muscles and bones. You will also be able to perform better as soon as your body has warmed up. By doing stretches, you are increasing the flexibility of your muscles, avoiding any strain along the way.
Improve Your Strength
Another way to make sure that your ligaments and joints will not be strained is to enhance your strength through exercising and working out regularly. If your focus is ACL injury prevention, then you need to target on strengthening your hips and thighs. A strong hip will keep your balance and stability in order to avoid straining your ligaments, especially your anterior cruciate ligament. Working out may also help you sustain your weight. Extra fat might cause strain on the lower part of your body, especially your knees.
Stay away from Possible Injuries
When playing, you need to give attention to your movements. Sometimes, this can be hard to bear into mind, particularly if you are centered on winning the game. However, this is one of the most common reasons why athletes get injured. Whenever possible, avoid movements that will most probably cause an injury to you.
ACL injury prevention should continually be a part of any athlete's precaution list. Your ACL is an important part of your knees and once injured, you'll definitely find it difficult to get back on your knees again. Literally.