Injuries can decrease the amount of time you can spend in leisure activities, lower your fitness, downgrade competitive performance, and lead to long-term health problems, such as arthritis. You can reduce the chance of injury and prevent it from limiting your physical activities by following a few simple techniques. Maintaining a consistent level of physical activity and not going overboard in your training allows fatigued muscles time to rebuild and protect their connected tissues. Without the proper rest in between workouts the risk of damage to bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments is increased. Warming up before exercising loosens the muscles and may prevent muscle pulls, and stretching at the conclusion of your workout may prevent strains or muscles pulls. Physical activity and stretching joints, such as the ankle, wrist, or knee may also prevent sprains. Wearing well-cushioned shoes can help prevent foot pain or shin splints for runners. You may want to avoid exercising on hard surfaces like pavement or concrete, and use soft surfaces like wood or grass that may help relieve pressure on joints such as the knee. Placing too much stress on one area of the body can cause bone stress fractures.
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