Did you know that...

Most of us would think that BADMINTON is not a dangerous sport. But badminton injuries are on the rise nowadays, because there are more people playing now compared to a few years ago, and the majority of people getting into badminton are those who have not exercised in a while.

Many people want to play badminton to lose weight. Unfortunately, being overweight escalates the risk of getting injured since the extra weight increases the load on unfit muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments.

Here is an overview of general strategies to avoid getting sidelined with a badminton injury.

According to sports medicine research, most badminton injuries are due to overuse, incorrect playing form, poor strength and flexibility, inadequate or absent warm-ups, and the wrong equipment.

Avoid overuse injuries

A study on elite Swedish badminton players by Martin Fahlstrom and Ronny Lorentzon that was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine said, there are three common errors that lead to overuse injuries. For novice players, it's a case of "too much, too soon." For more experienced players, the scenario is one of "too much all the time." Finally, for all players, it's continuing to train and play in spite of feeling symptoms already.

Learn proper form

Here are some words of wisdom from Edgar Eufemio, sports medicine doctor and head of the Philippine General Hospital Sports Clinic, on why a good badminton trainer can save you a lot of grief.

"The objective of the game is not to actually send the shuttlecock back lightly so your playmate has an easy time retrieving it. When you play, you have two things in mind--to get in shape and to win! It's no fun congratulating your opponents time and again and always having to pay for lunch, dinner or the court because it's "losers' pay." So you hit harder than you're used to. You run and jump harder. You play harder. And if you never learned the proper basics, your body breaks down. Your form is wrong, your footwork is wrong and your willingness to practice more often using the improper form and footwork compounds the problem. Worst of all, you still
lose."

Eufemio is not convinced that friends make good teachers (and he observes that relatives are probably the worst) because "a good player does not always translate into a good trainer." So he recommends that you ask around and do background checks to find the professional trainer you need to teach you correct form.

Get fit and stay fit

In an ideal world, an out-of-shape person wanting to make badminton his or her main form of exercise should undergo at least six weeks of a basic conditioning program composed of aerobic exercise (walking and jogging are good examples), strength training (with free weights, machines or rubber bands) and stretching exercises.

At the end of the six weeks, he or she can start taking badminton lessons to learn proper playing form. The fitness program should not be stopped but should continue to be the foundation or backdrop against which the game is played.

Eventually, the playing sessions can replace the aerobic exercise component of the fitness program, but the strength and flexibility exercises should continue. As the player becomes fitter, anaerobic SAQ or speed, agility and quickness drills can be added to enhance performance.

As good as strength training is for your game, Dr. James Bragman, sports medicine doctor for the CNN Radio Network, has a word of caution about lifting weights and racquet sports.

"Don't lift weights and then go out and play," he says. "You temporarily lose some fine motor control when you lift weights, and you also tire out muscles. Lift on the days you don't play, or lift after you have played"

In terms of injury prevention, it's true that "you don't play a sport to get fit; you get fit to play a sport." Now, this doesn't mean that a sport will not improve your fitness level. It will, but you can only do it safely if you are already somewhat fit.

Here's what badminton can do for you, according to Don Paup, director of the exercise program at George Washington University and committee chair for sports medicine and science for the USA Badminton team. Paup evaluated badminton based on the components of fitness using a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best.

Muscle strength: 6. You gain strength in the legs, but not as much in the arms.

Muscle endurance: 8. Muscles are constantly moving for 30-60 minutes, more in competitive tournaments.

Cardiovascular conditioning: 9. Badminton involves a lot of running and sprinting, constantly engaging the heart and lungs.

Speed, agility, quickness: 10. The shuttlecock is hit every .8 to .9 seconds, so you have to be fast.

Hand-eye coordination: 10. Anticipating and hitting the shuttlecock with the racket involves quick coordination.

Flexibility: 7. You're not as flexible as a gymnast because you need some tightening of the muscles to move quickly, but you do a lot of bending and reaching.

Body composition: 8. You lose fat and gain some lean muscle mass.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH.....IT PAYS TO BE FIT THE RIGHT WAY!!!


Posted by: Emil Ang