Preventing Sports Injuries in Summer: 8 Golden Rules

Altan Yalım, a specialist physiotherapist at Therapy Sport Center, provided important information on preventing sports injuries during the summer season. Yalım stated, "As the weather improves and summer sports begin, both sports equipment prepared by municipalities and artificial turf fields, tennis courts fill with people eager to engage in sports. Remember, sport keeps us alive, energetic and young, but if we do not rest our bodies adequately, unfortunately we can turn the summer season we have been waiting for into a nightmare."

Specialist physiotherapist Altan Yalım explained the following simple points that should be considered to prevent sports injuries while passing a healthy summer season: 1-The easiest sport done during summer is long walks on beaches or in parks. Although these walks may seem harmless, if you have not chosen appropriate shoes or started with high-tempo walking instead of gradually increasing pace, you are inviting night muscle cramps or ankle problems. Selecting walking shoes with soft soles and gradually increasing both pace and distance daily will eliminate this risk. 2-Winter weight gain is among the biggest nightmares for those preparing to go on holiday. For this reason, people trying to combine strict diets with excessive exercise may invite cardiovascular risks. Weight is a problem, but particularly a dehydrated body creates serious risks both for injuries and heart health. Monitoring daily fluid intake protects us from this risk. 3-Leg and arm muscles that have remained inactive for a long period are vulnerable to muscle problems. Simple stretching exercises lasting 2-3 minutes performed before starting sports will protect us from this risk as well. 4-Team sports, particularly indoor soccer matches played once a week, are the sports activity where most injuries occur. Both inadequate field conditions and the fact that it is an overly demanding activity performed once a week are the most obvious reasons for this. Walking 2-3 days a week over medium distances and stretching exercises will protect you to a large extent from these injuries. 5-If we have started weight training during summer, we should do it on alternate days and work different muscle groups in each session. 6-If we feel excessive fatigue or strain during exercise, taking a break for a while may be more beneficial for our health. 7-Although water sports are attractive, unfortunately the most serious problems occur in these sports. If we do not have sufficient confidence in our technique, we should avoid long-distance swimming or, if we have blood pressure or heart complaints, avoid prolonged sun exposure. 8-Finally, warming up the body at the start of exercise is as important as cooling down exercises and stretches lasting 2 minutes after exercise, which will prepare us for the next day.