Prevent Sports Injuries with Strength Training
Hamstring tears are very common soccer injuries. A
study in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in
Sports shows that preseason strength training helps to
prevent injuries to these muscles in the back of the upper legs
(Volume 13, Issue 4, 2003). Players from two of the best soccer
teams in Sweden were divided into two groups.
One group received specific hamstring training of 10 weeks
of twice a week, using a special device to overload the
hamstrings eccentrically. The trained group had less than one
third the hamstring injuries of the untrained group, and also
had greater improvement in hamstring strength and running
speed.
The findings of this study should encourage preseason
strength training for other muscle groups stressed in any
sports. While stretching can make muscles longer to exert a
greater torque on joints, it has not been shown to prevent
injuries. Muscles are injured because the force on them is
greater than their inherent strength, so they tear. Resistance
training makes muscles stronger so that they can withstand
greater forces and therefore helps to prevent injuries.
You can help to prevent injuries by stopping exercise when
you feel pain and by not exercising intensely when your muscles
feel heavy or sore.
Muscles are made up of millions of individual fibers. When
you first contact a muscle, you use only one percent of the
fibers. As you continue to exercise, you contract more fibers,
which share the load, place less force on each fiber and help
prevent injuries. So go slow before you go fast.
When you feel pain in one muscle during exercise, that's a
signal that it may be starting to tear and you should stop
exercising. Every time that you exercise intensely, your
muscles are damaged, causing them to feel sore on the next day.
Exercising intensely when muscles feel sore injures them. So do
not exercise intensely when muscle feel sore. It usually takes
at least 48 hours for muscles to recover from hard
exercise.
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Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and
practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board
certified in four specialties, including sports medicine.
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