Hello and welcome to this week’s blog – Most Injuries Occur When People Rush … The fourth part in my series about staying injury free over the summer months.
Most injuries occur when people rush to do too much too soon, after doing too little for too long. Then other types of injuries occur when you ignore your body whispering an issue to you by creating a creak, crack, ache, or small pain. The only way it can get your attention to fix it is to scream at you loudly, effectively putting you out of action for several weeks, or worse, months. Want to avoid that? Take note of some basic advice below.
Pay attention to creaks and aches.
Work out why something is creaking or aching, and stretch it, or have it massaged, then get stronger to prevent it from hurting again.
Move in ways you do not usually move.
Second in the list, but probably the most important. Mix up how you move! If you’re a runner, try dancing or other whole-body movements regularly. If you’re a dancer, maybe try weightlifting. If you sit all day long, and take an occasional walk, get out and move in ways that don’t look anything like sitting or walking! Just get up and move in a way you do not usually move.
Seek out remedial treatment when needed.
Know when you need treatment in the shape of physiotherapy, chiropractor visits, sports massage, osteopathy… if you know you need a treatment, stop beating about the bush and get it dealt with sooner rather than later.
Try something different.
If you feel a bit bored by your regular sport or activity, there is a high chance that an injury is not far away. Take you attention away and something is bound to happen. So, take a break and do something different!
Take regular rest.
I can not emphasise this enough – schedule rest weeks into your training plan for every six to eight weeks. A rest week can simply be a week of walking if you’re a weightlifter, or swimming if you’re a footballer. But rest from your usual training plan regularly and without fail.
Have regular active rest days scheduled.
And as a continuation of the above, a rest day each week is very important. You do not have to sit still on the sofa all day but rest completely from your usual workout that occupies you the rest of the week.
That’s it!
Don’t forget that alongside Sports Massage, I still offer Personal Training for you, tailored to your injury recovery and movement needs. Contact me on [email protected] to find out more.
See you soon!
Chloe