Warm-ups before practice cut female high school sports injuries by 67%.

Pre-practice warm-ups paid large dividends in female high school soccer and basketball players. When coaches started practice with a prescribed set of warm-up exercises for 20 minutes before practice, noncontact lower-extremity injuries dropped 67% compared to standard warm-ups. These exercises focused on strength, balance, elasticity and agility. This intervention was very economical, too.

PositiveTip: Appropriate warm-up exercises can help reduce the risk of exercise-induced injuries at all ages.