Badminton is a sport that is suitable to be played by all kinds of people. The sport can let us relax and exercise, and it is also a good way to strengthen our body. It is trendy in this region where you can find badminton courts everywhere.
Even though badminton is a good sport to play, it is also a sport that easily gets injured. Therefore, how to prevent injuries while playing badminton becomes very important. Some amateur players said they play relaxing. They will not get injured. But in fact, whether it is amateur or professional, you should pay attention to self-protection while playing badminton.
Before playing badminton, you need to know some correct ways to prevent injury.
1. Having Enough Warm Up Before Playing
Warm-up your body before playing is essential. It is best to do a 25 to 30 minutes warm-up in advance, and you should extend your warm-up time if you play badminton during winter.
The correct wrist warm-up action should focus on (right-handed) right arm straight forward, palm out, and use your left hand to move back the five fingers of your right hand to achieve the effect of stretching the wrist joint and ligament. In addition, you should fully warm up the joints of the waist and legs, ankles, Achilles tendon, shoulders, and elbow joints.
2. Develop the Correct Badminton Stroke
It would help if you learned badminton by following someone who is master the right stroke of playing badminton. This includes grip, smashing, footwork, etc. If you didn’t practice these drills correctly in the first place, not that you won’t gain the benefit of exercise, but you will get injured from your body without knowing it.
Practicing badminton correctly is very important, and mastering the correct drill and footwork will make you feel a lot easier on the court. If you have the budget, I recommend you get a professional coach to learn to play badminton. By doing so, you can master the correct stroke and improve your playing skill. This will also reduce the possibility of injury.
3. Choosing the Right Badminton Court and Relevant Equipment
Avoid playing at the badminton court, which is slippery, hard, and uneven. You should find an indoor badminton court that qualifies for tournament play. These types of courts will be safe for you to play with, and you no need to worry the court will cause you to get an injury.
4. Buy the Right Racket
Try not to buy a racket that is too heavy or with a hard middle pole. A good racket that fits your playing style will help to keep your wrist and shoulder in good shape.
There are some points you need to remember when choosing a suitable racket:
Weight
According to the personal level and strength, beginners generally use a lightweight racket (19~22lbs) and gradually increase the number of pounds according to their own skills; a heavier racket (27~32lbs) is suitable for a powerful or professional player. Don’t try to straight go for a heavyweight racket when you start to play badminton. Otherwise, you will get yourself injure easily.
Select a Racket with a Larger Sweet Spot
The sweet spot is the best hitting area of the racket surface. The hitting point is in the sweet spot will give you enough hitting power, control, and vibration. You will feel comfortable with the large sweet spot you have.
When the racket’s sweet spot is larger, it is less likely to hit the non-sweet spot when hitting the ball, so there is less chance of vibration and less chance of getting injured.
Handle Size
If the racket’s grip is too small, when the ball does not hit the sweet spot, the torque of the racket is larger, and the damage to the arm is greater. If the handle is too big, the palm won’t grip the racket properly, and it is easy to feel fatigued. A suitable handle should allow about a 5-8 mm gap between the ring finger and the palm when the forehand holds the racket.
Racket with Medi Hardness: A racket with less hardness allows you to have enough power to hit a ball without consuming too much energy. This can reduce the fatigue of the arm.
5. Wear the Right Shoe
The badminton sport is required regular and aggressive running. Therefore, buying the size of the shoes that fit nicely on your feet is crucial. If they are too large or too small, your feet may not have a good grip and can be very uncomfortable, resulting in an injured toe and ankle.
6. Protective Gear
Badminton is an intense sport, and you must have protective gear, especially in the wrists, waist, and knees. All these are the body parts that can get injured easily. For example, the knee will rub against the rubber floor when you hop over to save the ball. If you are wearing knee pads, it will provide great protection for your knee from getting injured.
The wrist is a frequently active part, and having a wristband can prevent the wrist from being strained during exercise.
The ankle is also relatively easy to get injured. So, before you play on the court, you must first wear the appropriate badminton shoes, and then do the foot-warming. It is best to wear ankle protection gear to protect your ankle from getting injured.
In addition, there is some badminton protective gear such as waist protectors, shoulder pads, and elbow pads, which can provide protection appropriately to different parts of your body.
7. Don’t Play Excessively
Don’t play badminton for a long hour. When exercise is excessive, the body’s motor function will decline, and it will be prone to unresponsiveness and uncoordinated movements. It would be best if you rested immediately to avoid excessive fatigue.
8. Relax Your Body After Playing
Sudden stop after strenuous exercise will affect the oxygen supplement and venous return, lower blood pressure and cause adverse reactions. Therefore, do not stop your body movement immediately after playing badminton. It would help if you did a cool-down exercise to relax your body and rejuvenate the body to normal slowly.
What are the Common Injuries Found From Playing Badminton?
Increasing numbers of people are suffering from badminton injuries each year. The most common badminton injuries are primarily caused by the increasing popularity of badminton among players who are not as physically fit as needed. The four most common badminton injuries are wrist and Achilles tendon injuries, “tennis elbow,” and knee problems.
The common injuries from playing badminton are:
- Ankle Sprain
- Knee Injury
- Sprain Wrist Injury
- Wrist and Achilles Tendon Injuries
- Tennis Elbow
Relevant Treatment For These Injuries
Ankle Sprain
If you are suffering from an ankle sprain, you should apply a compression bandage once you get the sprain. This will help to immobilize your ankle. By doing so, it will reduce the swelling area and provides stability to your ankle.
Knee Injury
Knee injuries are common among badminton players because badminton is a sport that demands abrupt start-and-stop changes in direction. This effort takes a heavy toll on players who have weak or middle-aged knees.
Players suffering from a knee injury can get exercise training and bracing to strengthen the patellar tendon. This can help in reducing the symptoms of a knee injury. The process generally needing you to go through a series of knee strengthening exercises.
Sprain Wrist Injury
If you have a sprain wrist injury, you need to rest your wrist for at least 48 hours without doing any serious exercise on it. You can perform stretching and strengthening exercises to ease the injury.
Wrist and Achilles Tendon Injuries
The Achilles tendon is the thick tendon at the lower part of the calf just above the heel. When badminton players suffer from Achilles tendinitis or rupture their Achilles’ tendons, the injury is usually due to playing too many games on too many consecutive days, failing to warm up properly before playing, a lack of flexibility and strength, wearing the wrong shoes or playing with the wrong racket.
Tennis Elbow
An injury known as tennis elbow can be caused by playing badminton with rackets that are too tightly strung or too light, or by gripping the racket too tightly or having weak forearms. Tennis elbow afflicts badminton and tennis players and rock climbers, baseball players, and golfers.
If you get a tennis elbow result from playing badminton, you will need to off from playing the game for some time.
Over time, the tennis elbow can get better on its own. If the situation remains the same after some time, you may seek doctors, and they may suggest you choose a coach to evaluate your badminton technique or the movements involved to come out with the best treatment to reduce stress on your injured area.
Although badminton may seem like a mild athletic endeavor, players should consider their overall fitness level before leaping into the sport. If their overall level of physical fitness is up to par, then badminton should present no difficulty.
If a player is not physically fit and wants to take up badminton without injury, he should improve his fitness level before taking up the sport. With a little common sense, players can safely enjoy the sport of badminton without injury.