As more and more of us realize the benefits of exercise and activity, it is imperative to participate and train safely. Although sports-related injuries are not totally preventable, taking relevant precautions can reduce their significance and/or severity.

Sports injuries are commonly associated with sudden breaking of bones, ripping of tendons or tearing of muscles but in non-contact sports most injuries come on gradually. An athlete's greatest strength can often be his greatest weakness. Their competitive streak that drives them to train excessively is their worst enemy when it comes to handling injuries. Injury avoidance should be as high a priority as increasing strength, gaining cardiovascular fitness or improving flexibility. The following are some basic guidelines for reducing the probability of getting injured and are as relevant to the weekend warrior as they are to professional sportspeople.

Introduce New Activities Gradually
A significant proportion of injuries occur when an athlete commences a new activity (or significantly increases the intensity/duration at which they are performing that activity). For example, a common recommendation for runners is to increase their mileage at no more than 10% per week. In addition, a proper training program targets both cardiovascular conditioning and sports-specific muscle strengthening.

Never Train Hard When Stiff
If you are sore after every workout then you're not giving your body time to recover. If you try and train at a high intensity when still stiff and sore, then movements are not co-ordinated and injuries are more likely. Allow at least 24-48 hours to recover from strenuous activity. Properly delivered massage can reduce recovery time appreciably.

Avoid Exercising When Extremely Tired or in Pain
In training or competition, you should not try to push through pain and continue when exhausted. Fatigue has been shown to be a highly significant risk factor with respect to injuries.

Warming Up and Cooling Down
Warm muscles stretch better than cold muscles. Tendons, muscles and ligaments are more likely to tear when the muscles are cold and stiff. Warming-up also help to divert blood flow from non-essential areas to working muscles.
Cooling down, which should last for around 10-15 minutes after strenuous activity helps the body temperature return to normal as the products of fatigue are flushed from muscles. Having a shower as soon after the cool down as possible reduces the degree of stiffening up (ideally a hard training session should be followed by a massage for optimum recovery!).
However, a warm-up before training or an event needs to be more than just stretching. Studies have shown that effective stretching prior to training has no effect on the probability of an athlete getting injured. Stretching on it's own has no protective benefits even if it does loosen up calves, hamstrings, etc. Warm-up needs to replicate the activity albeit at a significantly reduced intensity level.

Wear the right shoes
As shock absorbers, your feet are subjected to huge pressures during strenuous exercise. Proper footwear is necessary to cushion the loads and the footwear needs to be appropriate for the activity. Wearing shoes that are too light or are unevenly worn are very common causes of injury.

Calcium deficiency (for Women)
Women need to ensure that they are getting sufficient calcium in their diet as stress fractures are 10 times more likely in women than in men. Also women who have irregular periods appear to be particularly susceptible to stress fractures.

Interestingly enough two factors are considered the best predictors of injury. These are:
(a) Prior history of injury - most injuries are recurrences of previous problems.
(b) Number of consecutives days of training you carry out each week. Reducing the number of consecutive days of training can significantly lower the risk of injury (even if the total weekly training time is the similar).

However careful, you may be, injuries happen (particularly in competition). The usual sequence of events is
(1) You feel a little pain before or during training but ignore it.
(2) The pain continues and may even be felt after training although your training is not affected significantly.
(3) The pain becomes so great that it begins to interfere with your normal training.
(4) Finally the pain is so bad that your are unable to train (or compete).

The time to take action is directly at stage one - don't leave it to late to contact your health care practitioner and stop doing the activity that makes the exacerbates the injury.