What are 6 ways to prevent breaks strains and sprains?

Develop a fitness plan that includes cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility. This will help decrease your chance of injury. Alternate exercising different muscle groups and exercise every other day. Cooldown properly after exercise or sports. Stay hydrated, drink water to prevent dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke. Stretching exercises can improve the ability of muscles to contract and perform, reducing the risk of injury. Use the right equipment or gear and wear shoes that provide support and that may correct certain foot problems that can lead to injury. Rest when tired, avoid exercise when you are tired or in pain.

1. Proper Lifting Techniques & Equipment Educate employees on proper lifting techniques to avoid injuries when handling heavy objects. Stress the importance of lifting with the legs and not the back. If your workplace involves repetitive or heavy tasks, provide equipment such as dollies, carts, or lifting belts to assist employees and reduce the strain on their bodies. 2. Regular Exercise and Stretching Support employees to engage in regular physical exercise and stretching. When muscles are tight, they are vulnerable to strain. Strengthening core muscles and maintaining flexibility can help prevent strains and sprains by improving overall body mechanics. 3. Hydration & Diet Dehydration can increase the risk of muscle cramps and strains. Provide employees with water and encourage them to drink an adequate amount throughout the day to keep their muscles and joints hydrated. Diet can also affect muscle injury. A balanced, healthy diet can help strengthen and encourage muscles to be more resilient from the risk of an injury. 4. Flexible & Comfortable Workstations Consider providing flexible workstations that allow employees to switch between sitting and standing positions. Adjust chairs, desks, and computer monitors to maintain proper posture. This will help reduce the risk of neck, back, and wrist strain. 5. Wear Proper Footwear Encourage employees to wear or provide employees with proper, comfortable, and supportive footwear that fits properly. Appropriate footwear can provide stability, reducing the risk of slips and falls that can lead to sprains. 6. Regular Breaks Promote employees to take regular breaks to rest and stretch their muscles. Changing up an employee’s sitting or standing position can help prevent stiffness and muscle strain.

Wear protective equipment or braces during sports. To maintain your active life, here are a few ways to avoid injury. Rest the injury, elevating if possible. Apply ice in a bag or a cold pack 4-8 times a day for 20 minutes each. Take over the counter medicine, such as ibuprofen or aspirin.

Create Ergonomic Workspaces, there are certain controls that can be put in place to help minimize stress and strain on joints and muscles. Standing desks are an option for office employees, along with ergonomic keyboards and chairs. The placement of mechanical tools that are used repetitively should also be placed with the worker’s safe reach and proper body mechanics comfort in mind. Carts, turntables and other assistive devices should be implemented to prevent overreaching, and maintained in good working order. Thick rubber mats on concrete factory and warehouse floors will not only improve traction, but also prevent foot, ankle, knee, and back fatigue that can lead to strain. Employee Training, companies should train all employees on the importance of good ergonomic practices, this means taking regular breaks from repetitive tasks, stretching and using microbreaks at intervals, and having good posture and body mechanics. Create an Employee Health Space, employees can stand up and stretch at their desks or workstations, but having a designated place to go is the best option. Employees Need to Take Care of Their Health, workers cannot be forced by an employer to eat healthily or exercise regularly, however, a healthy lifestyle at home and work will help prevent strains and sprains. Rehabbing Musculoskeletal Strain, no matter how many programs a company has implemented, musculoskeletal strain can still happen, there are a few things employees can do at home or with the company’s help to speed up recovery from a strain or sprain, remember the RICE principle. Be Prepared For Accidents, strains and sprains can happen at work, no matter how careful management and employees are, having a team of athletic trainers as a resource for your employees is a huge benefit for prevention, education, and for injury recovery in the event of an accident.

To avoid sprains and strains, it can help for kids to: Warm up properly and stretch before and after exercising or playing sport. Always wear proper sports protective equipment. Work with a sports trainer to make sure they don’t overtrain. Wear sneakers that fit properly and offer good support. Get plenty of physical activity to keep muscles strong. Stay at a healthy weight. Avoid carrying very heavy objects. If they use a backpack, try to keep it light. They should use both shoulder straps when wearing the backpack.

Immediate treatment of sprains or strains includes protection, relative rest, ice, compression and elevation. Ongoing treatment and supervision of return to work or sport is suggested through your physiotherapist. A sprain is an injury to the ligaments and capsule of a joint in the body. A strain is an injury to muscles or tendons. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances.