How to stay injury free in 2015
Happy New Year from Balanced Osteopathy! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2015
I know many of you will take this opportunity to throw yourself back into sport, perhaps dusting off the running shoes after their winter hibernation in the back of your wardrobe. If you have had a break, chances are your body is not quite in the condition it was when you last worked out, so here's a few tips to make sure you stay injury free on your road back to fitness.
1) Get stretchy! You knew I was going to say it. Its that thing we all know we should do, but very rarely make the time for. It's important to maintain flexibility no matter what your sport is. If you really can't squeeze in 5 minutes at the end of your workout to stretch out, then why not try doing a yoga class once a week to keep supple?
2) Ease in to it - don't do too much too soon, as this is a recipe for disaster! Throwing yourself into lots of exercise from nothing might seem like a good idea, but often this is when injuries surface. By building up your exercise regime steadily, you build back up the strength and condition required for your sport and are less likely to hurt yourself.
3) Resistance training - incorporate resistance training into your weekly regime. By strengthening your core and your glutes, you protect your low back and reduce the risk of injuries to the hips, knees and feet/ankles. Try doing some pilates core exercises to give your low back and pelvis some support, and get your glutes firing with some single leg exercises.
4) Balance! Injuries are broken down into two categories 1) acute/traumatic and 2) overuse. Injuries from overuse develop when one muscle or joint is taking too much of the load during activity, this usually happens over a long period of time because of a pattern of imbalance that is placing too much strain on one area. This is where we come in - an Osteopath takes a look at whats happening with the whole body. Where are those imbalances? What's not moving or working enough and what's doing too much? An Osteopath can help restore balance to the musculoskeletal system not just to rehabilitate sporting injuries, but to help prevent them developing in the first place. Click here to book an appointment.
So good luck with whatever your fitness goals are this year! And here's to a pain free 2015.
See you soon,
Rebecca
