Why are we seeing so many and what can you do to help yourself??
Over the last few weeks at the osteopathy clinic in Cobham we’ve seen a flurry of patient’s with sports and exercise related injuries. Why could this be and what sort of conditions are we seeing??
The types of conditions we’ve been seeing have been; muscle strains, ankle sprains, tennis and golfers elbow, low back injury, achillies strains and the list just goes on…….
Why are we seeing so many?? In Cobham, Oxshott, Weybridge and the surrounding areas, a lot of people are very active and enjoy a wide range of different sports. We’re coming out of the winter period and becoming more active. Great news but can sometimes come with a risk of injury. Lack of fitness due to a period out of the sport you enjoy, taking up something new as a new years resolution or popping off on ski holidays for the first time in a year.
So, what advice can we offer to you guys to help reduce likelihood of needing to get help?
- Be really strict with your warm up before sport. Think dynamic warm up. Try a low impact slower version of the thing you’re about to do rather than stretching pre exercise.
- Don’t exercise for too long as you’re getting back into it. A quick 3 hour game of tennis after not playing for a few months might be a mistake! Be patient and build up over time.
- Give yourself good rest days between sessions. If you never give your body time to recover this accumulates and weakens parts of our bodies which can lead to injury.
- Cool down properly. Most people say ‘i just don’t have time to stretch after exercise’. My answer to that is simple. MAKE TIME!!! Sorry for shouting 😉 So many injuries are partially created by us not releasing tight muscle after sport leading to shortened tight muscle when we next exercise. This builds up over time until something goes pop! Think long term. 3 minutes stretching after exercise might = significant reduction of likelihood of injury and time not doing the thing you love.
- If you don’t have time to stretch try foam rolling. It’s much better than doing nothing!
- The biggest and most important bit of advice is LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!! If during sport you feel a little niggle or tightness due to over exertion STOP. Often your body will recover in a few days if you do this. If you push through and ignore pain (which is commonly your bodies alarm system to say something’s not right) you may well cause significant further damage. Early warning signs are so hugely important to listen too!!
- Enjoy your exercise and remember most of us are not training for the Olympics. Don’t push too far out of your comfort zone. A challenge is good but again think long term. Do you want to be playing the sport you love till you’re in your 80’s?? Be the tortoise not the hare.
I hope you find some of these tips helpful and if following these simple steps you’re still struggling you know where to find us.
Thanks for reading
