What Can Happen if You Don't Take Care of Yourself during Sports: Dehydration and Muscle Strains

Dehydration:

    

As a 14 year old in high school, and other competitive sports, I have noticed that many people refuse to drink during sports, whether it be water or Gatorade, because they, “aren’t thirsty,” and this can end up in the wrong place. I myself have found it difficult to force myself to drink during sports, but I know it is essential to staying healthy. If your body is giving off liquid through sweat, you have to put it back into your body someway, by drinking. If you do not give your body the fluids it needs, then you can become dehydrated.

                Dehydration can be defined as, an abnormal loss of water from the body, especially form illness or physical exertion. Dehydration can cause things such as; increased thirst, dry mouth, weakness, dizziness, confusion, fainting, and decreased urine output. In extreme cases, dehydration can result in; difficulty breathing, chest or abdominal pain, seizures, no urine with-in 12 hours, and a fever higher than 103 degrees.

                Drinking during sports is very important, even if you don’t feel thirsty, you should know that you have to drink anyways. If you do not drink,it can end very badly, so make sure you keep yourself healthy.   

Muscle Strains:

                 In any sport, or even just when you are working out at the gym, it is very common for people to pull muscles. Pulled muscles are, when your muscle is overstretched or torn. Some symptoms of pulled muscles are; swelling, bruising, redness, pain at rest, pain when muscle is used, weakness of muscle, and/or inability to use muscle at all. Some major causes of pulled muscles are; not stretching properly before physical activity, overexertion and fatigue, lifting something heavy, lifting something in an awkward position, or poor posture.

                In order to heal your muscle, you have to do a series of things. You have to; rest/avoid using muscle for a few days, apply ice immediately after injury, wrap injured area with elastic bandage in order to reduce swelling, and elevate. A few weeks after your injury, stretch your muscle every day, not only before and after exercise, all the time. Some medicines you can take are; Advil, aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen.

                There are also many ways you can prevent muscle strains.  Some examples are; not overexerting yourself during physical activity, getting proper training for sports and exercises, learn how to properly lift heavy objects, and strengthen your muscles. Some ways you can get proper training are by, joining a sports team or getting a personal trainer. If you are at a high risk of getting a muscle strain, try to get that fixed!