How to most efficiently prevent injury!

In my eye’s injury prevention is the most important part of being able to live the lifestyle you want. We’ve all had pain of some description that has hindered our ability to partake in activities that we’d like to be able to. In this post I’ll share with you the 3 (really 4) ways in which I promote injury prevention so that you can decrease the likelihood of injury and optimise your life.

Key points about exercise-based injuries:
Almost all exercise-based injuries I’ve seen have been load based injuries, which happen due to:

1.       Too much load (e.g. Squatting with too much load causing injury)

2.       Loading applied too often (e.g. Increased frequency and duration of running causing injury)

3.       Unusual loading (e.g. incorrect technique or rolling of the ankle)

The Three S’s (and 1 M) of injury prevention:

Get strong!

Strength training improves your ability to withstand load. This means that as your strength increases so does your ability to negate and deal with physical stress e.g. training. An overload in physical stress is one of the most common causes of exercised based injuries (as stated above) and therefore an increased ability to cope will help you remain injury free!

Get Stable!

Stability is too often overlooked in general strength training programs leaving a person physically strong however lacking in stability. This can lead to insufficient ability to control your body in space, increasing the risk of unusual loading. It can also be a factor in a structure being loaded too often as unstable joints often lead to overworking of certain muscles whilst others should be working.

Get Smart!

Get smart’s main meaning is to apply the principles of progressive overload whereby all movements are incrementally increased in order to see gradual improvements, ensuring optimal safety and helping avoid injury.
Get smart also applies to learning the techniques of movements prior to applying heavy load. If there are any movements you’re unsure about seek guidance from me and/or your gym trainer.

MOVE!

It’s in this section I like to point out one of my favourite, yet very simple quotes “use it or lose it”. This plays a big part in both my injury prevention and rehabilitation thought process as I believe that if you don’t use your whole body in ways in which you plan, you’re ability to do so in future may be hindered. My number one example of this is those who suffer from back pain and avoid movement for protection are at an increased risk of developing chronic back pain than those who move (safely) early in its onset.

That’s my summary of injury prevention!

Any questions as always please don’t hesitate to contact me on Jamey.beyondfitness@gmail.com
Thanks for reading,
Jamey Pemmelaar (Osteopath)