Return to Sport and Injury Prevention post COVID lockdowns

The global pandemic of COVID 19 has changed our lives in so many ways. One of the biggest changes and challenges we have faced, is our ability to come together as a community, especially when it comes to sport and exercise participation. As a sense of normality returns, many people of all ages are participating in organised sport, returning to the gym or competing at an individual, local, state, national level.

With this return to exercise and sport participation, we need to consider how to return to exercise safely and consider how to prevent injuries, both acutely and over time.

Preseason training has historically been the time in which sports persons prepare for the upcoming season, with aerobic conditioning, strength training and sport specific drills and skills being at the centre of this. This is also a time in which injuries are monitored, assessed and rehabilitated. With the advent of COVID and the disruption to most sport seasons, most if not all sports at a community and local level have not had the benefit of this preparation. 

As a result, this may predispose sports persons to injury. 

The reason for this is, progressive aerobic conditioning, strength and resistance training and sport specific drills/training, allow the body to adapt to the physiological demands of the sport, optimise performance and protect the body from injury. 

Now more then ever, it is important to prepare for return to sport.

Top Tips for Injury Prevention and Return to Sport.

• Monitor workload and training load. A 10% increase in load compared to the week prior and an overall increase of 20% load from the month prior, increases the risk of injury.
• A reduction in sport specific skills training (such as agility training) may lead to a reduction in sport performance.
• Sports training programs should include aerobic conditioning, resistance and strength training and most importantly, sport specific skills such as agility, running, jumping and throwing. 
• Don’t ignore any “niggles” or pains during sport. Seek Professional advice regarding injury management. 
• Remember nutrition, hydration, environmental factors (such as ground surface and humidity) all affect performance. 

For more information on injury prevention and strategies to optimise sports performance, please contact us here at Kinetic Sports Physiotherapy. 

With the new rules around exercise- many people have moved to running and walking, which is great! But it is also vital to continue strength and resistance exercise as well.

Resistance exercise plays a large role in not on your muscle strength but also bone density and cardiovascular health.

A reduction in strength can form in as little as 3 weeks, and muscle bulk loss from 4-6 weeks. So it’s time to restart some of those exercises! It can be as simple as body weight squats or utilising band or small weights- whatever you have on hand. 

Women over 50 are a vulnerable to develop osteoporosis. Resistance and weight bearing exercise improves bone density. Ensure you are protecting your spine if you know you do have osteoporosis. 

Looking to manage weight? Muscle mass helps you burn calories by enhancing your body composition. And can continue burning calories long after a workout. 

From an injury prevention perspective- strength exercises are vital. They improve your central nervous systems motor control, your joint control and tendon load tolerance. 

Not that you need any more reasons- but resistance exercise can also improve energy levels and promote a healthy sleep.

Interested in a specialized strength program for YOU? We can help. Book in today- we can see you in our clinic where we are following all government guidelines. If you have any questions or would prefer a telephone consult, contact our clinic and we can work our what is best for you. 

Stay safe

Stay strong

COVID-19 lockdown, we know, is ultimately good for all of us, however, for some of us, its a pain in the neck.

Our musculoskeletal system likes to move, but for many of us, studying or working from home, means we lose a portion of our daily incidental exercise (small amounts of movement that accumulate through the day and contribute to our overall activity). 

Picture this- you eat your breakfast sitting on the lounge watching the news, you start the work day at your makeshift work station, shuffling occasionally 2m to the kitchen or bathroom. Lunch is eaten on the lounge and then back to work till late afternoon- ending the day dinner, ice cream and Netflix, on the lounge again. And then you wonder why your neck and back are sore?...

Compare this to an average work day at at office, where the walk from the car park, move around the office, coffee top ups in the kitchen, venturing to eat with colleagues in the park, all make up vital incidental exercise. At school, we move between classes, we move around at lunch and recess. These little bits of exercise all add up and help to keep our bodies painfree.

So how to we keep ourselves moving?

At home- try to set timers to ensure that you don’t spend too long at your computer- walk round your space for 5mins if you don’t want to venture outdoors.

Make movement habits- When you make a coffee, throw in some stretches, or when your done for the day do a walk or stretch (leave your mat out to remind you). A sit stand desk is a luxury most of us don’t have at home- but think about tasks you could do standing instead- like phone calls. 

Move your body and joints through their range and you will be surprised that the benefits go further than just postural stiffness and pain. Movement is the key to our health and wellbeing.

Stay moving, stay safe.