Sports injury prevention and first aid

Whether it is daily fitness, amateur ball games or long-distance running, the core logic of sports injury prevention is "layered adaptation + dynamic adjustment", and the core principle of first aid is "stop the loss first and then deal with it, and never blindly reset, massage, or apply heat" - this is the most practical conclusion I have drawn from having worked as a team support for amateur sports teams for 7 years and handled nearly a hundred cases of sports injuries.

Don’t believe it, last week I met a little girl who had just signed up for the half marathon. She wore the soft-soled dad shoes she usually wears while shopping to run a 15-kilometer distance. But after 12 kilometers, she was in so much pain that she couldn’t walk. The X-ray showed that she had a metatarsal stress fracture. She was preparing well for the race, but she was forced to lie down for two months. To put it bluntly, this kind of injury is due to the lack of "fit": the equipment must be adapted to the event and physical conditions. Don't shoehorn narrow-last basketball shoes into wide feet, and don't buy pure cushioning running shoes for flat feet. You don't have to go for the most expensive ones. Only those that suit you can be made. ； The intensity should be adapted to your current level. If you have only been training for two months, don’t accuse others of the weight they have been training for three years. If you haven’t run for a long time, don’t just sprint for 10 kilometers. If you can’t run uphill, just walk slowly. No one will laugh at you. ； The movements must be adapted. Don't imitate the difficult movements of Internet celebrities and do deadlifts without a stable core. In the end, my waist flashed. I was not fifty but thirty.

Speaking of which, I have to mention a point that has always been controversial: should the pre-game warm-up be dynamic or static? In the early days, when young coaches led the team, they had to press their legs and pull their shoulders for ten minutes of static stretching before the game. Now mainstream voices say that dynamic warm-up is the best, as static stretching will reduce explosive power. I don’t think there’s any need to argue about right or wrong, just look at the event: if it’s an explosive event like playing basketball, soccer or running sprints, first do 5 minutes of jumping jacks, high leg raises, and sideways sliding, and it’s enough to open up the joints ； If you are doing sports such as power lifting and yoga static support, short-term static stretching within 30 seconds of target muscle groups before the game can actually improve the stability of force production. Many foreign competition support teams now use this method.

There is another topic that people often argue about: Should I stop if it hurts during exercise? Bodybuilders often say "no pain no gain", and this is true for delayed onset soreness - the muscles are so sore the next day after training that it is difficult to walk down the stairs. This is a normal reaction of the muscles being stimulated. Just rest for two days and add more protein. But if you suddenly feel pain during exercise, or your joints snap and tingle, then stop immediately regardless of your training plan. I met a fellow bodybuilder before who lost his waist while deadlifting, and after holding on for the last set, he lay down with a lumbar protrusion for half a month. The injury that could have been healed by a week of training suddenly turned into an old problem.

Of course, even if you pay attention to these details to the extreme, you can't 100% prevent accidents - no one can predict whether you suddenly step on someone else's toes on the court or run up a mountain and miss the ball. When you are really injured, what you are most afraid of is not knowing anything and operating blindly. The last time someone sprained his foot on the field, my teammates were about to rub his ankle and spray him with safflower oil on the spot. Fortunately, I stopped him: I took off my shoes on the sidelines to see if there was any deformation. There was no sign of fracture or displacement, so I sprayed cold water on the foot to cool down, put an elastic bandage on it under pressure, raised the foot and sent him to the hospital for a X-ray. In the end, it was just a mild ligament strain, which healed after two weeks. If it had been rubbed and blood-activating medicine had been applied at that time, the hematoma would have subsided more slowly. If there had been a fracture, the bone fragments might have been rubbed into the soft tissue, making subsequent recovery much more troublesome.

Nowadays, there are two schools of thought about sports first aid. Everyone has heard of the old RICE principle: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. In recent years, a new POLICE principle has emerged, replacing "rest" with "protection + appropriate weight bearing." Many people are confused and don't know who to listen to. In fact, it depends on the situation: if you only have a mild sprained foot, the swelling is not severe, and you only feel a little sore when you step on the ground, you can use crutches to take a few steps with a little force. It will indeed recover faster than lying down all the time. ； If it's swollen like a steamed bun, you can't step on it, or even the joints are deformed, then it's better to lie down honestly, raise your feet, don't move around, and rush to the hospital.

Let me talk about my own habits. When I usually go out to play ball with the team or run in the mountains, I always carry three things in my bag: elastic bandages, cold spray, and sports tape. I never bring medicines such as safflower oil and active oil to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. They cannot be used within 72 hours of the acute stage. They will only be used after the swelling has subsided. Doing it wrong will only aggravate the symptoms. Also, if you encounter dislocation, open injury, or suspected fracture, don't try to reset it by yourself. Find a cardboard or branch to fix the injury first, and then send it directly to the hospital to see a doctor. If the reset is wrong and the nerves are injured, it will be a lifetime thing.

After all, exercise is for happiness and health. Don’t compete for results or face. Competing with your own body is the worst thing. Be more attentive and understand the boundaries of your body. If something goes wrong, don't mess around. You can have fun without suffering unnecessary sins. Isn't this the original intention of our exercise?