Are you a weekend warrior? Someone who works a desk job during the week but enjoys extreme sports or outdoor activities on the weekends? While doing physical activity on your time off is a great way to stay in shape, it can put you at a higher risk for musculoskeletal injuries, especially if you're an inactive throughout the work week or are over the age of 35.

In your teens and twenties, you may have regularly engaged in sports and found that you could always heal quickly after a strain, bruise, or bump. By your thirties, you begin to take longer to recover, and by time you've reached our forties, you start expect that you can't just "bounce back" after an injury like you did when were young. This concern only heightens as you reach your fifties and beyond.

So what do you do if you want to stay active and healthy as you age? Noblesville chiropractor Dr. Dahlager frequently works with weekend warriors and athletes recovering from sports injuries. He has a few preventive strategies you can take for avoiding bursitis, tendonitis, and other sports injuries:

1. Engage in physical activity throughout the week. Cramming all your exercise for the week into one or two days will put you at a higher risk for injuries, since your muscles can start to quickly de-condition throughout the week.
2. Warm up. While it's tempting to skip warms up, doing so is like asking for another muscle strain or injury. Spend at least five minutes warming up the area of your body you are about to work.
3. Switch up your activities. Try engaging in different types of sports or activities to avoid overuse injuries, like tennis elbow or runner's knee, which can develop with repetitive motions or strenuous activity.
4. Listen to your body. "No pain no gain" is not always true when it comes to exercise, especially if you've endured an injury before. Stop doing that exercise if you experience any unusual, sharp, or stabbing pains. Ensure that you allow yourself enough to properly heal, even after a seemingly "mild" muscle strain.
5. Increase your intensity gradually. Start with a level that you know you can handle and only increase it by 10% each week. Trying to all out too soon will certainly lead to injury, since you need to develop more strength and endurance over time.
6. Get chiropractic adjustments. Having a healthy spine will decrease your risk of back pain, herniated discs, and other spinal concerns.

Contact your Noblesville chiropractor to learn how you can stay active and pain-free as you age.