Do you have a niggle or injury that is aggravated with exercise? Dropping your fitness routine altogether will cause problems in the future, so please follow our 4 point article on how to manage niggles or injuries with your exercise…
1. A warm-up is essential to manage or prevent injuries
Without a doubt, prevention is the best way to combat these sports injuries. Proper warm up is essential and stretching after exercise can make a big difference. Make sure you allow time to ease your body up to the level of intensity you are going to exercise at, especially if you are exercising early in the morning. Recent research has shown that up to 80 percent of back sprains occur within two hours of waking up.
2. Listen to your Body
During the workout, stay within your ability and listen to your body. This is especially the case if you are new to a fitness program and where you might still be learning the movements. For the first month of any program, class or new exercise you should be ready to take it slow and stay focused on learning technique.
Knowing the difference between muscle burn and pain is also really important in understanding your limitations. If something is truly painful stop doing it! Pain is the body’s way of protecting itself. If you are experiencing pain, our team of Physiotherapists will properly assess what is going on in your body and devise a plan to manage the issue before returning to the exercise.
3. If you get injured, follow RICE
If you do happen to get injured during exercise, the best process to immediately follow is RICE:
Rest – rest the affected area
Ice – apply cold pack covered in a towel for 20 minutes every two hours for the first 48 to 72 hours
Compression – bandage injured site
Elevation – elevate the injury above the level of the heart.
4. Alter Your Program
Injuries and niggles should be improved by resting the affected area for a period of time. But be careful not to interrupt your training schedule too much as once out of the habit of training it can be hard to get back into it! Instead alter your program, avoiding exercises that aggravate the injured site. For example, if you’re getting headaches or neck pain don’t do overhead lifting or sit-ups which involve lifting your head off the floor. Instead concentrate on exercises and stretches that open up your chest, or do leg work or low impact cardio. If in doubt, make an appointment with one of our Physiotherapists and they can do a full assessment and offer recommendations for your condition and fitness level.