Top Tips Sports Stars Take from their Physio’s
Being a professional athlete is a high-paying and glamorous occupation. You get to play a game for a living in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans. You are recognised by millions around the world. This is certainly a life that most of us would love to have.
There are however some downsides to being a sports star. A main one being the injuries that can occur. Depending on the sport, the majority of sports stars experience pain of some way, and must manage that pain in order to perform.
It is not surprising to learn that many sports stars regularly visit physiotherapists who work their magic week to week. The stress and strain on the body that sports stars have to endure each week demands that they see medical professionals who have expertise in helping to heal damage muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints and provide expert advice on how to avoid injury. Many professional athletes count their therapist as some of the most valuable members of their team. Here’s some advice that top physiotherapist tell their professional athletes.
Warm Up Well Before Games
Games don’t start when the referee blows the whistle, they start long before that, when teams are warming up. Sports stars spend more than an hour before each game going through a very calculated routine of stretching exercises designed to loosen up tight, sore and sometimes injured muscles and joints. Physiotherapist’s will make sure that a specific set of exercises are included in their warm-up, so all the important muscle groups are involved. This valuable time is never skipped and given serious attention because of its value to athletes.
If You Feel Pain Stop Playing
Some of the best advice that a physical therapist will give to a sports star is that if they are feeling a specific type of pain, they should immediately stop playing. We’ve all heard about sports stars doing tremendous feats in severe pain. Although these stories are extraordinary to hear, they severely put an athlete’s career at risk. A physio will warn the athlete, depending on the type of pain, that they shouldn’t continue to play with that pain. The focus is to prolong the career of the sports star despite the fact that it might mean a loss that day.
Always Do a Cool Down
No one pays much attention to what the sport starts to do after a game, but each has their own cool down routine that happens after the game. Some of them have a sports massage, others will see a sports physio, others will have an ice bath. All of these activities are extremely important to the continued good health of the athlete.
Even if you are not a sports star, if you play sports, you should adopt this routine around your sport. It will help you to avoid injury and allow you to play the sport you love for longer.