Prevent Sporting Injuries this Winter!

Sustaining an injury is every sports competitor's worse nightmare, particularly if you end up being out of action for a considerable amount of time. It's even more important to minimize the risk of injury in the winter months, with the cold weather and sodden pitches adding another worry for you and your players. To give your players the best chance of staying fit this winter, here are some top tips to help minimizing the risk of injury and to keep them playing their sport safely.

Keep muscles as warm as possible: When playing any outdoor sport, it's important that you keep your muscles as warm as possible, so they can be flexible and less at risk to injuring. Wear skin tight clothes underneath your kit, such as shorts or a long sleeve top, to help keep the heat in and keep those muscles warm!
Warm up properly: It's vitally important that your players warm up properly, and not just with a small run and little stretches. Make sure you lead a sufficient warm up with all of your players putting in the effort and stretching those muscles fully; under stretched muscles are more likely to get injured when in the game!
Treat any injury straight away: If you do experience muscle soreness or any other injury, don't attempt to play on with it if it's very painful. Get it treated straight away, as playing on with an injury could make it worse! Apply an ice pack to the affected area for 20 minutes, then take off for a couple of hours, before repeating again. Make sure you also elevate the injury and rest up - if you are in a lot of pain, then go see your local doctor.
Wear the correct equipment: Make sure that all of your players wear the correct gear necessary for the weather conditions; when playing on a slippery surface or a muddy pitch, your players should be wearing footwear with a good grip.
Listen to your body! Don't overtrain yourself, particularly after a long break off for the winter, when you may have little or no training at all. Ease back into your training gently, starting off slow and then increasing as you get nearer to the fitness you had before. If you feel any pain, don't push yourself too far and improve on your weaknesses.

Make sure your players play safe, abiding by the laws of your sport carefully and thus limiting the risk of injury. Get your team healthy and raring to go again this season!