Have you set New Year’s goals to exercise more, get fitter, healthier and lose weight? If so, the last thing you want to upset these goals is to get injured and lose the consistency and momentum that can be so hard to build up.
Every year, towards the end of January, we see an increase in people come to Midlands Physio & Back Pain Clinic who have hurt themselves from returning to the gym or exercise a little too eagerly after the New Year. A lot of these injuries can be prevented by having the right information and know-how.
In this blog I am going to go through 3 common reasons I see that can lead to gym or exercise related injury and what can be done to help prevent them. I also held a webinar on this last week and you can watch the recording of the full 30 minute webinar below also.
3 Common Reasons People Suffer Injury.
Three of the common reasons that I see people suffer injury from returning to exercise are:
- Training Load
- Technique
- Previous Injury
Let’s look at them in a little more detail.
-
Training Load
Training Load is huge when it comes to preventing injury. It is so important to get the balance right between doing enough to stimulate growth and fitness and not enough to risk tissue injury.
I go into this more in the webinar but basically you want to avoid spikes in activity and gradually increase your exercise load in a safe way. This not only includes the duration of how long your exercise for but also the intensity you exercise at.
2. Technique
Good technique helps to manage load and reactions on your body effectively. This is important when taking up a new exercise or activity and especially important when lifting weights. A good tip is start off slowly and use body weight only before adding speed and weight.
3 – Previous Injury.
What previous pains or injuries are something I am very interested in knowing when anyone comes in to see me at Midlands Physio Clinic. Ideally, you want your joints and muscles coordinating efficiently with each other when you move or lift something. When this happens your body feels safe and balanced.
When this balance is altered, due to previous injury or repetitive stress, it can cause imbalances in muscles and joints. This can cause overload which can lead to stiffness, pain and injury.
7 Tips to help prevent injury
You can watch the webinar below at the 22 minute mark to hear more information on these but in brief here are 7 tips you can take away to help prevent injury and keep your exercise and health goals this Winter.
1- Know your current fitness level and where you are starting from
2- Include a warm up and don’t stretch cold muscles
3- Do body weight exercise first before adding weight
4 – Vary your exercise to prevent overload
5 – Learn good technique especially when starting a new exercise or lifting weight
6 – Schedule Recovery days
7 – Listen to your body
To help prevent injury or gym related injury, watch the full 30 minute recording of my recent injury prevention webinar below to learn more. If you have any questions on the webinar then reach out and let me know.
Coming Soon : Brand New Physio Led Exercise Classes
This March we are starting out brand new physio led exercise classes (click here to learn more)
Of course, if you are starting to feel some aches or pains creeping in after exercise and don’t want to let them get any worse and turn into an injury, then please get in touch also..
You can call the clinic on 09064 66761
Or you can book an appointment directly below
Book An Appointment Here
