As the weather starts to heat up again many of us start to become more active. Walking outside, tramping, and dare I say swimming (at a stretch) are back on the menu. Unilateral outdoor sports such as tennis, golf, and cricket will begin within a month. Gym memberships soar as some of us want to shed the extra kg’s from Burger Wellington and winter.
Below I outline some common mistakes and tips to prevent injury as things start heating up.
1. Ensure you have the appropriate footwear
This is particularly important for walkers and runners. These sports require repetitive actions so footwear must be appropriate. Check the soles of your shoes – are they worn out on one side of the base? Are there holes in the top of the shoes? Are they the right size? If you have orthotics, are they fraying?
Are they comfortable – comfort is the number 1 most important consideration in finding the correct footwear & preventing injury!
If you are planning on a shoe upgrade, remember 99% of the team at shoe stores are sales people NOT qualified podiatrists e.g. they will use their fancy treadmill or foot plates to assist in the sales process. If you have had multiple foot/ankle/lower limb injuries in the past, I would recommend seeing an experienced podiatrist prior to spending a few hundred on shoes.
2. Remember the 10% rule
Don’t increase your overall volume (load) by more than 10% per week. For example, if you run 30 km this week, do not run more than 33 km next week etc.
Injuries such as patella femoral pain syndrome and Achilles tendinopathy are rife come October. They occur because New Zealanders have ramped up their training load in September too quickly (noted that most overuse injuries have a 4-week delay until pain begins). This rule also applies in the gym. Ramping your squats or bench press up too quickly often leads to low back pain or shoulder pain.
3. Move more during the day
>95% of my patients sit 8 hours/day or more. When you sit, your hamstring and hip flexor muscles are in a shortened state, your butt is sleeping, and most likely, your mid back is hunched. If you go straight to training/gym/sport without having moved throughout the day, this often leads to muscle tears/pulls.
As a general rule, try to stand up every 15 min (even if you sit down straight away), and aim to walk 5 minutes 5 x day. Even those with a sit-and-stand desk still need to move regularly. Maybe throw in some dynamic hamstring and hip flexor stretches prior to ripping in to your chosen after work exercise regime.
4. Ensure your regime has variety
As the weather improves some of you may substitute the gym for repetitive bush walking or running. On top of this, some will add more outdoor HIIT training into their regime at the same time. HIIT training can often include more jumping, burpees, short running bursts, and performing exercises too quickly (the majority of time with terrible technique!). Running also requires repetitive impact. This combination can lead to a lot of loading on the legs.
As much as point ‘2’ above is important, so is maintaining some variety in your regime. Some will call this ‘cross training’. Mix things up and challenge your muscles in different ways. Cycling, spin classes, X-trainer, rowing machine, ski erg’s, assault bike, swimming x 4 different strokes etc are all cardiovascular activities that increase your fitness (challenge your heart) and don’t involve the repetitive weight bearing that running and walking does.
5. Foam Rollers and Spikey Massage Balls are your friend
95% of my patients watch Netflix or some kind of TV for 1 hour or more during the weekdays. This is the perfect time to jump on the foam roller and ‘roll out’ your mid back. If you are performing a lot of upper body exercises, use a spikey massage ball and lie on your shoulder blades (to keep your shoulders loose). If you are running a lot, add in some calf muscle foam rolling. Go slow on all of these and remember to BREATHE!
We sell both foam rollers and spikey balls. Or better yet, pop down to K-Mart and you will find them for half the price and just as effective!
I hope some of these points have given you a nudge to prevent pain and discomfort this spring.