Preventing most sports-related pain and injury ultimately comes down to exercising smart. For example, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, warming up for 10 minutes before working out can reduce your risk of sports-related injuries by as much as 80 percent. Exercising smart also means paying attention to your internal cues. Most injuries can be averted by listening to your body, which will send warning signals well in advance of injury. You may feel a twinge in your calf or that “something just isn’t right” in your hamstring. If that’s the case, skip your activity. It’s better to ease off for a day with a minor strain than be put out of commission for weeks with a severe injury.

Taking a day off or stopping during a workout isn’t wimping out. The world’s best athletes do it all the time. So should you. According to the American Institute of Preventative Medicine, “If you continue to exercise when injured, further damage can leave you laid up for weeks or months and may even affect you for years afterward.” Be smart, and your body will reward you for it.

Strengthen Your Body

One of the most effective ways to avoid sports-related injuries is to incorporate strength training into your training program. No matter what your fitness level, do two strength-training workouts a week. It’s an insurance policy against most injuries and longevity in your sports career. By lifting weights or using resistance machines, you will build up the resiliency and elasticity of your tendons, muscles and ligaments, which are especially vulnerable to sports injuries. The "charlie-horse" is an example of lack of resiliency.

Focus on Proper Technique

Using poor technique during exercise can lead to an array of injuries. Some static stretching can actually cause injury (when the muscle reflex to return to normal gets into a “tug-of-war” with your body). Active-isolated Stretching (AIS), where you repeat stretches for 3 seconds at a time, is the preferred method for stretching, unless you are sure about the static stretches you do. When running, for example, too high of a vertical bounce can cause knee pain or injury, because you place too much impact stress on your body when you land with each step. Spend a little time to learn how to shuffle along more smoothly, and you will dramatically reduce your risk of knee pain.

Plan for rest

When you take time away from physical exercise, you allow your muscles time to recover and repair, which is an essential preventive measure against sports injuries. That’s why you should set aside your rest days along with your workout days.

Soak in a hot tub

Taking a deep soak has been a tradition since pre-Roman antiquity and for good reason. It can relax every muscle in your body. Here’s the theory: by vasodilating (dilation of a blood vessel) your circulatory system, a hot tub allows fresh blood to enter your capillary beds and bring in healing oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, while flushing them of waste products. This is an effective therapy, but it must be done with caution.  Regulate the water temperature so it’s never hotter than 105 degrees F. If you suffer from diabetes, gout, high blood pressure or any other health condition, consult with your doctor before super-hot tubbing.