Do these scenes seem familiar?You’ve been sitting on the bench for three-quarters of the game, just waiting for a chance to do your stuff. Finally, the coach yells: OK, Jones. Get in there PDQ! You stuff in your custom mouth guard, grab your helmet and leap off the bench. Now there’s this stabbing pain behind your knees, and you can’t walk at all, let alone get into the game… some hero.Or maybe you make it into the huddle, and the quarterback calls for the game-winning pass with you as the wide downfield receiver. You’ve outstripped the defenseman, and see the ball floating high into the air in your direction. It’s a great pass, but a little high, and so you make that extra leap, arms outstretched, body extended beyond what you thought you could do. In mid-flight, alas, there’s a knife-like pain in your back, and you crumple to the ground. The game is over, and you blew it.What happened? Why? What can you do about it?Sports InjuriesMillions of athletes, young and old, are sidelined each year because of injuries related to their sport. As more children begin playing earlier than previously, the number of debilitating injuries is likely to grow.Among the problems of injuries unique to young athletes is the endplates of their bones, where growth is still occurring, may be damaged. Such injuries can have long-term effects on the athlete’s life well beyond the playing field.The most common sports injuries include muscle strains, tendonitis, and ligament sprains. Muscle strains happen when a muscle is stretched beyond its limit. Tendinitis frequently results from the overuse of particular muscles. Sprains occur when the ligaments that hold your bones together become injured.There’s no way to prevent injuries entirely, you can, however, minimize injuries related to muscle straining and overuse. The plan is simple but requires dedication: First, stretch daily as well as before and after sports-related activity. Second, listen to your body. When it needs rest, stop and rest. This is especially important for younger athletes.What Do Muscles Do?Your muscles know how to do one thing only, and that is to contract and get shorter. The problem with this is if your muscles are chronically tight, or short, or weak, then when you need something extra from them, they have nothing more to give and injury is the likely result.How to StretchStretching means making your muscles longer, and longer muscles are less likely to be strained when you are active in sports.Ideally, you should stretch every muscle in your body every day. However, this is not practical, but you can do a lot of stretching in a half hour a day, five days each week. When you stretch, start slow and gentle so as not to overstretch a muscle that’s been at rest.There is active, or dynamic, stretching in which you move your body in a way that requires certain muscles to stretch. For example, raise your arms and hold them out to the side. Then rotate your body to the left and then to the right repeatedly. Static StretchingThere is also static stretching in which you put certain muscles in a stretched position, and hold that position for a time. For as much as the first 10 seconds of a stretch, your body is not really paying attention to what you’re doing and no meaningful stretch is happening. After that, the muscle feels as though it is lengthening. Some recommend holding a stretch for a full minute, but in general 30 seconds is probably enough.Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, relax as completely as you can for a few seconds, and repeat the stretch. Do this three times.In addition to daily stretching, it’s important to stretch both before and after you engage in vigorous sporting activities.Football StretchesIn football, there are several muscles that need to be stretched, and here are some guidelines on doing those stretches.
- Groin
Sit on the floor or ground, and place the bottoms of your feet together. Now press down gently on the inside of your knees.
- Hamstrings
The effortless way to stretch your hamstrings, the muscles at the back of your thigh, is to stand with your knees locked straight and simply bend forward. Let your arms hang down as though you were trying to touch your toes, but you’re not doing that.Doing this stretch will help prevent straining your hamstrings the next time you leap off the bench.
- Calf Muscles
There are several calf muscles that can be stretched simultaneously. To do this, stand a few feet away from a wall, bar, or stable surface. Keeping your leg straight, lean forward to place your hands on that surface. You can either let one foot move forward and stretch one calf at a time, as shown in the image above, or keep both legs straight to stretch both calves.
- Quads
To stretch your quads, the muscles at the front of your thighs, simply bend one knee and catch hold of your foot. Then pull up toward your butt to do the stretch. You may wish to stabilize yourself by holding onto a chair with the other hand. Repeat this on the other side.This stretch has the advantage of simultaneously stretching the muscles at your ankle and the front of your leg.
- TFL and IT Band
The tensor fascia lata, TFL, is a muscle that starts around your hip and goes part way down the side of your thigh. It inserts into a tough tendon called the iliotibial band, IT band. The IT band itself doesn’t stretch much, but the TFL does. To stretch this, stand with your left big toe behind your right heel. You may need to hold onto a chair of the table for stability. Then push your left hip out to the left until you feel a nice stretch in your TFL. Repeat this for the right side with the right toe behind the left heel.
- Lower Back
This hamstring stretch actually stretches some of the muscles in your lower back. More is needed, however, so that when you make that extra leap to catch the pass, you don’t injure your back. Stand comfortably, and bend your body to the left side. Now raise your right arm to the side, and over your head, so you feel a good stretch on the right side of your lower spine.Repeat this bending to the right, and raising your left arm.
- Neck
There are at least four ways to stretch your neck, which can be done sitting or standing.First, simply let your head fall backward with your mouth open so that you feel a stretch in the muscles at the front of your neck. You can increase the stretch by closing your mouth.Second, let your head fall forward. You can increase this stretch by placing your hands behind your head and pulling it.Now, use your left hand to pull your head to the left, and repeat this pulling to the right.
- Upper Back
Place your right arm behind your head, and grab the fingers of your elevated left hand, as shown in the image above. Repeat this, but instead place your left hand behind your head.This stretch not only works on your upper back muscles but on your shoulders as well. Final ThoughtsThere are other things you can to help support and protect your muscles during a sporting event. Among the most effective are wearing padded apparel along with other protective knee and ankle sleeves, as well as getting a regular full body massage.Whatever extra you may do, the important part is keeping your muscles strong and stretched.
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