Kent Sport health and fitness instructor Sarah Black describes some of the most common injuries and what can be done about them.
How do we prevent an injury from happening? Well… if we all knew the answer to this, we would never have an injury! How great would that be? We cannot always stop an injury from happening; however we can avoid an unnecessary injury or delay an injury from occurring.
A few methods can be used adopting the Prehab before you Rehab approach.
In article one, we learnt about diagnosis and the treatment of an injury. So let us therefore learn now about preventive measures we should take to avoid an injury occurring.
- Know your body – be aware of your limitations and your capabilities. Always ensure you are working in your pain free zone, anything that causes pain should be avoided or modified. Master your technique and adjust your body alignment when it is necessary. Improve and progress your fitness gradually with realistic goals and challenges. The key is to push through your comfort zone, but never through your pain threshold.
- Strengthen and lengthen- The powerhouse! We hear a lot about the importance of core training. The pelvis, hips and lower back areas are highly vulnerable to experiencing injury when they are weak and not trained correctly. Seek professional advice and guidance to gain perspective and commence a programme that will maximise your core training and enhance your power.
- Nourish and Replenish – A healthy balanced diet that provides the right fuels to energise efficiently is your shield from suffering any illness or injury. Exercise requires fats and carbohydrates for energy and protein for growth and repair, as well as plenty of vitamins and minerals for optimum health. Do yourself a favour by preparing and restoring the body for exercise with the appropriate diet incorporating the right sources of nutrients.
- Warm up and Cool down – The body needs time to adapt to the extra effort and demand placed on the working muscles when we begin to exercise. When we begin to train the heart has extra strain placed upon it as the body requires extra blood flow and extra oxygen for the working muscles. Warming up gives the different aspects of your physiology a chance to prepare and work together simultaneously as you increase the intensity level. Cooling off after a hard workout will avoid blood pooling and avoid your muscles tightening up, becoming sore, reduce the build-up of lactic acid and prevent the feeling of feint.
- You’re only as strong as your weakest link- if there is an area of your body that you neglect to train it will most likely be the root cause of an injury. Take extra care and pay attention to the smaller joints, the little ligaments and the tiny muscles that provide the stability, strength and the centre of force production. Do not ignore your weaknesses and imbalances; target them through training to avoid suffering further down the line.
We are not invincible; we are not made of armour, although mentally we may have power far beyond physical means. However an aggravation in the body or disruption in the nervous system may cause a break further down in the chain. Our objective is to consolidate our health and obtain an all rounded wellbeing.
Injuries will come and go but remember the golden rule that each injury needs a diagnosis; it needs to be managed correctly and addressed carefully to prevent reoccurrence. Master the prehab before you rehab concept and you could save a few obstacles before the stumble.
With care and consideration we can bullet proof our body to withstand the impact, stress and the strains of life’s daily activities.
To learn more about injury prevention you can join Sarah and the Vicky Annis, Kent Sport physiotherapist, at the free Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic Running Workshop at the Pavilion, Canterbury campus on Saturday 15th August. Vicky will be advising how runners can improve their running efficiency, which in turn can reduce injuries. To register for the event please download the event form and email it back to physio@kent.ac.uk or drop it off at the Sports Centre reception. Workshop participants will be entered into a free prize draw to with the chance to win a massage.