Participation in sports is the best way to help youngsters achieve physical fitness, develop healthy habits, grow self-esteem, and improve critical thinking skills and teamwork. But children do sustain sports injuries such as bruises, strains or sprains for not adhering to the recommended safety measures. Although it’s not possible to prevent sports-related injuries, these three tips will keep you safe on the field.

1. Remember to Warm-up

Start your physical activity with 5-10 minutes of moderate to low-intensity aerobics such as rope jumping, jumping jacks, walking or jogging. These exercises develop your musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems for more strenuous activities, increase body temperature and improve both blood circulation and a range of motions. You can try static stretching or dynamic stretching following your aerobic activities based on your fitness requirements, but do remember to prepare your body for the actual sporting event.

2. Avoid Over Training

All young athletes must stay safe and refrain from over-training or overuse injuries. Never play when you’re in pain. As far as overuse injuries are concerned, they occur steadily over time. Though these injuries are subtle in nature, identification and prevention is a must. Young athletes should also rest and recover from their injuries. Sudden or unexpected increase in exercise level, load, duration, force and intensity should be avoided at all cost.

3. Drink Lots of Water

Staying hydrated is important before participating in any sporting activity. Drink 16 ounces of water or any healthy sports drink two hours before an event. When you are exercising, drink 5-10 ounces of liquid every 15-20 minutes. For activities that last more than one hour, try commercial sports drinks with sodium, carbohydrates and potassium.

The goal of every young athlete is to stay strong, fit and healthy for optimum field performance without getting injured. We at Florida Wellness offer sports medicine, sport injury care and sports physical exams, in case you are injured. Contact one of our wellness centers in Florida to know how we can help you achieve your fitness goals.