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Keeping Your Athlete Injury Free
By: Dr Sally Blossom
The school sports season is revving up and with all the activity, I wanted to share a few
tips on ways to help keep you or your athlete injury free. Some of this may seem like common
sense, but a little reminder is always good.

Talk With Your Athlete: Often times when an athlete suffers an injury, he/she doesn’t talk
about it for fear of losing practice or playing time. Letting your athlete know it is ok to re-
port an injury and the reasons why can be a great relief to them and you! It is better to have it
checked out and know that an injury is not serious, rather than play with it and cause further
and possible lasting damage. As I always say “When in Doubt, Check it Out!”

Let Your Athlete Know the Warning Signs of Injury: Knowledge is power and gone are the
days of “just playing through it”. Get an injury checked out if there is any of the following: Con-
sistent pain during/after playing. New or continued swelling around a joint. If a joint gives way
or seems unstable. A joint “Pops” and it hurts. FInally, pain that doesn’t go away with rest.

Warm up/Cool down: Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. Before AND after practice
and play. Loosening up and warming up muscles before practice and games helps keep the
muscles and joints moving better while playing, which can help improve performance. Stretch-
ing after can help remove the lactic acid that builds up after use and improve blood flow to the
tissue, reducing soreness.

Strengthen Muscles: Weight training helps to build muscle strength. It also helps to build
bone strength. Both of these factors play into joint stability and overall strength of the body to
adapt and absorb forces encountered while playing.

Rest: This may seem counterintuitive to some, but resting is an absolute must. There is
no longer an off season for our young athletes. Many are on other teams outside of the school
teams, playing extra games and playing through the off season. Repetitive stress and strain
injuries are on the rise in young people. Their young bodies are still developing and need some
rest. Build at least one day in the week for rest!

Taking these and other suggestions to heart can help to decrease the chance of injury and
keep you or your athlete healthy for the season.

Dr. Sally Blossom is a 4th generation chiropractor who practices in the Vassar and Flint
areas. She has practiced for 12 years and her family’s practice has been open for 91 years.
Dr. Sally also serves as the sideline doctor for her alma mater, Vassar High School. She loves
sharing the benefits of chiropractic and can be reached with further questions at drsallyblos-
som@gmail.com.

54 a• Sports Finest Magazine SEPT 2019 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 545 0735 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com