Participating in sports or any other physical activities is a great way to keep your body active and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It holds plenty of benefits ranging from controlling your weight to reducing the risk of disease. However, the risk of getting hurt or injured will always be present. But, fret not! There are ways that you can prevent these injuries or reduce the risk of getting them.
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Every year, 50% of runners experience an injury, with up to 1/3 resulting in knee injuries. Athletes are known for ‘running through the pain’ but what if this is our body’s way of trying to warn us that we need to solve the problem before it escalates?
There are multiple factors that impact an injury – this includes gender, running patterns, previous injuries, and weaknesses. For example, men are more likely to injure their shin, ankle and foot. Women tend to suffer more from hip and knee pain.
The way we run also indicates the structures that are weak and if we are overloading our muscles or tendons. This article will look at how injuries occur and how we can prevent them.
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The Achilles tendon is our body’s largest tendon; a strong band of fibers that connect two calf muscles in the leg to the heel bone. It allows us to run, walk, jump, and controls downward movement of the ankle.
The term ‘Tendinopathy’ encompasses several painful conditions that are related to tendons. Achilles Tendinopathy is a broad term used to describe predominantly degenerative conditions affecting the Achilles tendon, with symptoms including pain, swelling, weakness, and stiffness.
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Whether you’re a gym buff, a marathon runner, a cross-fit enthusiast or a bodybuilder, it’s statistically probable that you have been or will at one point be injured. Although injuries are never completely unavoidable, there are clear evidenced-based ways to reduce the risk.
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A recent systematic review asked this question. The authors concluded that there is a clear dose-response effect regarding strength training and its injury prevention effect. This means that the greater the volume and intensity of strength training undertaken the greater the injury preventative effects were experienced. This was observed for both acute and overuse injuries across all types of sports (Lauersen et al 2018).
Written by Michael Bushell, Physiotherapist
You may be a talented rugby player, a novice marathon runner, a coach to a high school badminton player, an elderly fitness enthusiast or a weekend warrior playing park football. Whatever example matches yours, statistically you’ve either been injured yourself or have had to coach an individual through an injury. Some of us may be incredibly skilled at our sport or dedicated to our fitness regimes but are constantly injured and therefore never get the chance to fulfill our sporting and fitness goals. Although injuries are never completely unavoidable there are clear, evidenced-based ways to reduce the risk.
Written by Michael Bushell, Physiotherapist