Risks When Returning From Injury

When one achieves a very high level in whatever sport they partake in this is generally supported by experienced training staff. For the vast majority of us this will never be the case, because for those of us who take part in sport for our own enjoyment we can be left to our own devices on how we prepare for our sport. Training techniques are evolving all the time but the benefits of new training techniques don't always filter down the food chain. Or if they do it can often be through word of mouth and this can be very leading because by the time someone hears about the main point of what the message was can be diluted. For example I have heard conflicting stories of how to warm up before a game or an event. Traditionally I have always started with a light jog before I stretch my muscles but I was recently told that one should always stretch first before jogging and this helps to reduce injury. I am not sure which one is absolutely true but I am going with my traditional method until I see some evidence that stretching before jogging prevents injury. Some people consider their training techniques as classified information and don't want their competitors knowing what they do. Anyone would appreciate this point however I do believe that they are some basic pointers can always be passed down.

No matter what your sport is we are all exposed to getting injured and how we prepare can often determine how and when we get injured.
Some of the more common sports and related injuries;

Sport Injury
Tennis Tennis Elbow(Lateral Epiccondylitis)
Cricket Tearing muscles in your arm
Soccer/Football Hamstring
Swimming Swimmers Shoulder
Athletics Lower back Pain

Some of the more common injuries in all sports;

Injury
Muscle Pull
Neck Strain
Frozen Shoulder
Lower Back Pain
Tennis Elbow
Knee Injury
Shin Splints
Sprained Ankle
Foot Arch pain or strain

The point here is that no sport is immune from injury and that anyone who has played sports at a reasonably high level may have experienced some or all of the typical injuries listed above. To a very large degree they are very good treatments widely available to treat any injury. What is sometimes missing is advice on how to work your way back to a full training schedule. Why you are being treated you will get very good advice on how to rebuild the muscle to allow you to get back to training but once you are back training is largely up to oneself how fast normal training should resume. This is a critical time in any sports persons recuperation, and very often it can result in further injury. Having repeated injuries and the same part of your body can put you out of action for a long time may result in missing an important part of the season are a big event. Repeated injuries on the other hand can largely be avoided by always error on the side of caution and to take the extra time to recuperate can often strengthen the muscle back to its original strength.

Very often the decision to return back to normal training is influenced by an imminent big game or a big event. In hindsight it's very easy to say you should have trained easier but it can be very hard to make that decision when you are highly motivated to get back playing your sport as quickly as possible. The basic point is that when returning back to sport from an injury do it gradually and resist the temptation to resume full training to quickly.