(Akiit.com) Sports are a fantastic way to stay in shape and take your mind off of the stresses and strains of everyday life. The only downside to being active is that sometimes, working out or playing sports can lead to injury. Injuries while playing sports like football or hockey are fairly common, as are gym injuries. The good news is that most injuries are easy to treat, as long as you give yourself the time to heal, that is.
For those of us that are somewhat addicted to our sport of choice, the idea of having time off to recover from an injury doesn’t bare thinking about. And so, to prevent this from happening, we ignore the problem, we pretend it’s not there. It’s silly I know, but ignoring a sport or workout injury is actually surprisingly common. That being said, it’s not something that’s advisable to do, here’s why.
You’ll make it worse
Let’s start with the obvious one, shall we? It’s not rocket science, but even so, it’s worth mentioning. If you continue to run or play sport with an injury, the chances are you’ll make it worse. Of course, this depends on what the injury is and where it is on your body, but if it’s anything to do with your legs or arms, you’ll definitely make it worse.
It could lead to permanent damage
If you fail to have an injury looked at, regardless of how minor it may seem, it may lead to more serious damage. Something which can sometimes be permanent. For instance, if you damage the ligaments in your leg and then continue to run on it, you could cause permanent ligament damage. This could then affect your ability to continue playing sport or exercising. Ask yourself, is it really worth the risk?
You may need expensive treatment
While most minor sports injuries can be treated with rest, if it gets worse this may no longer be the case. Say, for example, you injured your hip ligaments while running; you may need to undergo hip arthroscopy to have the problem treated. Whereas, if you’d just rested in the first place, the ligament damage would probably have healed on its own.
It will get more and more painful
Still not convinced that it’s not worth continuing to exercise on an injury? No – then what about the pain? If you continue to play sports on an injured ankle, for example, the pain you’re in will only get worse. Your injury won’t be able to heal, which will make it more and more painful. Unless you’re going to give your injury time to heal, it may end being a long-term problem. This could result in long-term pain that can’t be fixed. So, unless you want to have daily pain to deal with, take the time to let your injury heal.
It can be tempting to continue to exercise with an injury, but unless you want to make things worse for yourself, it’s just not worth it. Take the time to let your injury heal and then, once it’s healed, get back out there.
Staff Writer; Sherry Fuller