5 Tips for a Fun, Safe and Healthy Summer

Summer is finally here! Warm temperatures and sunshine make summer a great time to get outdoors and participate in your favorite sports, hobbies and family games. Playing outside is an excellent way to exercise. While most summertime activities are healthy and safe, some can result in injuries like runner’s knee, tennis elbow, tendonitis, back pain and more.

McMurray Chiropractor Offers Five Tips for a Sports Injury-Free Summer

1. Start conditioning early. If you are like most people, you lead a sedentary lifestyle during the winter. Engaging in too much activity too soon can cause pulled muscles or strains, or even cause an injury that could sideline you for the season. Instead, ease into the activity over the course of 4 to 6 weeks.
2. Take a few minutes to stretch properly. Stretching warms up your muscles and reduces the risk for injury.
3. Wear safety gear. Helmets reduce your risk for serious head injury while riding a bike, skating, bicycling and skateboarding, of course, but they also protect you from neck injuries. Other important safety gear includes elbow protectors, wrist guards, and kneepads.
4. Change up your game. Many sports, like tennis, golf and running, require repetitive motions that can cause damage and inflammation to muscles, tendons, nerves and other soft tissue to result in tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, runner’s knee and other painful conditions. Play other sports to give those particular soft tissues a chance to rest.
5. See our chiropractor at Anderson Chiropractic regularly, especially if you suffer a sports injury. Dr. Scott Anderson provides a variety of therapies that treat many types of sports injuries. Our chiropractor can even help you reduce your risk for injury by performing chiropractic care including adjustments, corrective exercises, nutritional counseling, lifestyle advice, massage therapy, and spinal and postural screenings.

Summer is a great time to enjoy outdoor exercise. Do not let the risk for sports injury stop you from having fun in the warm summer sun. What was the worst sports injury you have suffered in the summer?