Welcome to the Tim Meakin blog. Tim covers various aspects of sports law and he represents the interests of both sports organisations, coaches and managers from Toton. In today's blog, Tim Meakin shares how to avoid sports injuries. Let's get started!

Playing sports is a lot of fun. Getting hurt is not. To reduce the risk of injury:

• Wear the right gear.  Players should wear appropriate and properly fit protective equipment such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and eyewear. Young athletes should not assume that protective gear will prevent all injuries while performing more dangerous or risky activities. 
  
• Take time off. Plan to have at least 1 day off per week and at least one month off per year from training for a particular sport to allow the body to recover.
• Strengthen muscles. Conditioning exercises during practice strengthens muscles used in play.
• Increase flexibility. Stretching exercises after games or practice can increase flexibility. Stretching should also be incorporated into a daily fitness plan.
• Use the proper technique. This should be reinforced during the playing season.
• Play safe. Strict rules against headfirst sliding (baseball and softball), spearing (football), and checking (in hockey) should be enforced.
• Do not play through pain.
• Avoid heat illness by drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise or play; decrease or stop practices or competitions during high heat/humidity periods; wear light clothing. Check out Tim Meakin Toton's book which offers a series of expert masterclasses reviewing current best practices in the sports injury prevention and rehabilitation field here.

Sports-Related Emotional Stress

The pressure to win can cause significant emotional stress for a child. Sadly, many coaches and parents consider winning the most important aspect of sports. Young athletes should be judged on effort, sportsmanship and hard work. The main goal should be to have fun and learn lifelong physical activity skills.

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