Muscle Tears – risk factors

Some common factors associated with muscle tears are:

• Dehydration – it is important to keep hydrated with fluids and electrolytes before, during and after sport activity to prevent muscle cramping and muscle tears.
• Insufficient warm up – warm up before activity must be dynamic. This aims to warm up the muscle, increase blood flow to the muscle and facilitate neural pathways to muscle to activate the muscle. Should not do static stretching. Warm up should involve dynamic stretching and cardio work. Warm up should last approximately 10 minutes.
• Fatigue and lack of strength of the muscle – muscles are more likely to tear if not strong enough to handle the tensile load put through the muscle in sport. Need to consider strength and endurance.
• Lack of pre-season training and sports specific activities – it is important to ensure you adequately prepare for the sport you are playing by making sure training is specific and a good pre-season is done.