When performed properly, kickboxing is an amazing full-body workout with cardiovascular and weight loss benefits. Like any other sport or activity, you have to follow safe practices to avoid injuries.
To stay safe and enjoy the sport fully, we’ve outlined some of the top causes of injury when kickboxing. Read on to prepare for any upcoming kickboxing classes!
No Recovery Time
Kickboxing is along the same lines as high interval training with cardio. This is amazing for creating a calorie deficit, and when applied with a healthy diet, can lead to substantial weight loss. However, participating in any activity of this type too long and too often, especially when brand new, can lead to injury.
For this reason, your body needs recovery time in between kickboxing classes. Your muscles demand time to rest and rebuild. Muscle strains and sprains are possible results of not taking adequate recovery days.
Diving in Too Quickly
Anyone who hasn’t been exercising regularly or who is just starting with kickboxing needs to take their time working their way up to longer and deeper workouts. Not preparing your body in this way is not only damaging to your physical body but also to your long-term engagement in the sport.
Beginners need to think of this time as the warm-up period. Muscles need to be stretched and strengthened before going full out. If an adjusted schedule building up endurance to more intense classes isn’t followed, similar injuries already addressed above will occur.
This also leads to overly sore muscles which cause quick burnout. Soreness that lasts for a week or is only on one side of the body means that you’ve overdone it. For longevity with the sport, start slow to get to where you want to go.
Improper Technique
Kickboxing has to be taught by a trainer. It isn’t like running or cycling where you get up and go by yourself. There is a learning curve, and those interested in kickboxing need to be open to listening to their instructor.
Operating outside the bounds of what the instructor has taught you to do can lead to injury, as well as, not putting to practice the proper techniques they are showing you. Kickboxing training is essential to proper form and preventing strains in areas such as…
- Back
- Shoulders
- Hips
- Ankles
- Knees
Contact Injuries
Kickboxing is a contact, combat sport. Other contact sports like football, wrestling, and karate all have similar injuries that can occur.
Just as football players can receive concussions from tackling, kickboxers can sustain concussions from blows to their head when in a kickboxing match. This is why it’s important to follow those safe practices. However, things do happen when in combat.
It’s possible to sustain lacerations, contusions, and fractures of any kind but more specifically finger fractures when kickboxing. However, you should also be wearing the appropriate gear to avoid these.
Kickboxing Classes
Hopefully, these injury possibilities haven’t scared you away from kickboxing. There are risks to any sport you try, and this one is overflowing with benefits for your body, brain, and overall health!