Five Tips to Prevent Injury & Recover Faster!
By: Marium McFarlane, BExSc & MPhty
Principal physiotherapist and owner of AFIA Physiotherapy, Gold Coast
From regular Pilates to clinical Pilates to reducing your risk of osteoporosis at the gym, here are five of my best tips to prevent injury and boost recovery for your mind, body and soul!
How times have changed! Thirty years ago, your typical physiotherapist was a staunch AFL massage therapist and someone that was kept on the sidelines at football clubs to strap the player's knees and shoulders.
Today I'm proud to say that physiotherapists are much more than that.
These days, you'll find us restoring, maintaining, and making the most of a patient's mobility, function, and well-being through physical rehabilitation and injury prevention in hospitals, medical centres, home visits, Pilates studios, and plenty of other places.
In the six years I've been working in the physiotherapist industry, the only area I haven't been involved in yet is sports!
It's part of the reason why I decided to start my clinic - so my team and I can provide hands-on treatment and injury prevention techniques through gym exercises and Clinical Pilates.
"Why would I want to teach my patients about injury prevention?"
We're all about helping people feel strong and healthy and live happier, healthier and longer with more flexibility, mobility and energy in their body and soul. prevent injury
Plus, what's the good of having the specialist skills to help people live better lives if you do not share it with them.
It's about encouraging and educating our patients to take care of their health first, and then if they have an injury they can't self-manage, that's where we come in. It's the same as your dentist reminding you to floss and brush twice a day. It's about education, consistency and prevention.
And injury prevention covers a big umbrella of options, including home resistance band exercises, bodyweight exercises, Clinical Pilates, gradual loaded programs at the gym, and other functional fitness equipment.
What's the difference between regular Pilates and Clinical Pilates?
A Pilates instructor teaches regular Pilates. Clinical Pilates is prescribed and supervised by a Clinical Pilates trained Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist (E.P.). Clinical Pilates is used for rehabilitation after surgery or injury to improve posture, flexibility, control and balance whilst promoting core strength.
So, it's not only suitable for rehabilitation, but it is a workout that challenges your body in the way bodyweight exercises can't. * The name 'Pilates' comes from the creator, Joseph Pilates, who developed the Pilates exercises in the 1920s.
A general Pilates session usually includes exercises that promote core strength and stability, muscle control and endurance - including movements that stress proper posture and balanced flexibility.
It can also be helpful in training for sports or in physical rehabilitation, as mentioned earlier, and this is supported in this article on the Mayo clinic website.*(LINK)
Increase bone density and reduce your risk of osteoporosis at the gym and prevent injury.
Although intimidating for anyone not accustomed to the equipment, going to the gym can be a safe and effective exercise.
Strength training is a vital part of health and fitness for everyone. By stressing your bones, strength training can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
While osteoporosis is not at the forefront of most active young individuals, most of us reach our peak bone mass between 25 and 30. Unfortunately, by the time we reach age 40, we slowly begin to lose bone mass, which this article supports: (LINK).
Now that's got you thinking about your bone health, right?
Simple Tips for Managing
Once again, prevention is better than a cure, so it's always best to have a Physiotherapist, exercise physiologist, or specialised personal trainer take you through a program to avoid injuries in the first place.
But if the inevitable does occur, here are some of my top tips for managing an injury:
Avoid Googling it
During my time at university, I was taught the gruelling task of researching journal articles. Examining the author, the journal it was published in, if it's peer-reviewed, and the list goes on.
Now, unless you're doing the same when you look up your symptoms online, it is very likely that the information you're reading is not correct. Something that a physio could easily explain can be misdiagnosed online, leading to many lengthy and expensive appointments.
Not to mention the worry and concern that comes with the wrong diagnosis. For example, you may have injured your shoulder and need three days of rest, whereas a link on Google would tell you that you have a bicep tear that requires invasive surgery and three months off work.
On top of that, new research has found that people who check their symptoms online only receive correct medical advice about a third of the time. Researchers believe that a lack of government regulation and data assurance are significant issues affecting the quality of online symptom checkers. So keep calm and close your laptop.
2. Seek out the correct health professional
Knowing which professional to see following an injury is vital in not wasting critical recovery time or making your injury worse. You don't see a Physiotherapist for a toothache.
You wouldn't see a GP for a hamstring strain. However, a Physiotherapist can diagnose most musculoskeletal injuries, and treatment can be undertaken by an Allied health Professional with MSK knowledge.
I regularly refer to Osteopaths and Chiro's when my treatment options have reached their limit and require a different approach. However, if you are ever unsure, give your local clinic a call and ask questions about what they can provide for your injury.
3. Scans don't always mean what they say!
For example, if you scanned the lower back of 100 different 30-year-olds' who didn't have any back pain - 52% of them would show disc degeneration. That goes up to 80% when you turn 50. (Brinjikji et al 2014).
Degeneration is a normal ageing process, but people will generally associate degeneration with pain. This is not the case. Being told you have something wrong with your spine is a higher indicator for slower recovery. In addition, patients are generally more anxious to move or exercise, which leads to further issues.
If your doctor recommends you get a scan, ask them if it would change your treatment plan. If it doesn't - I would suggest giving it a miss. *This does not include injuries where you have severe or neurological symptoms.
4. Slow down and action an injury treatment and recovery plan
When you have an injury diagnosed as a grade 1-3 tear, it's essential to ask your Physiotherapist or Doctor about the Physiological healing time frames.
A grade 1 tear can take 2-3 weeks to heal, but only if you follow the correct protocols for healing.
Think of a fractured radius (broken arm) - you're immediately placed in a cast for six weeks with no loading allowed. If you walk around on a torn ankle ligament, 2-3 weeks will likely turn into six weeks. And six weeks will turn into a lifetime of recurring ankle injuries.
Slow down and make a plan with your practitioner. Get them to map out the time frames to prepare yourself for the healing process mentally.
5. Set realistic goals
Recurring injuries can be frustrating, and they are usually caused by returning to exercise too soon. After the 3rd time, you re-injure your ankle; you will start to notice that your recovery is taking longer each time.
There are multiple reasons for this, chronic pain being one of them. Chronic pain is best described as persistent or recurrent pain lasting longer than three months. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450869/).
Patients with chronic pain generally have emotional distress, which can directly affect the speed of recovery.
In my appointments, there have been countless times that the tissue box is reached for by emotional patients who are distressed about their injury.
Having lower back pain that means they can't carry their child is enough to make any mum cry. By setting realistic goals, you can minimise the likelihood of chronic pain.
As mentioned above, six weeks of healing followed by six weeks of guided return to sport is the safest form of rehabilitation. "Guided" being the keyword.
We are here to help, and we haven't done our job correctly if you're back in our clinic with the same injury three months later.
There's no doubt integrating physiotherapy into part of your fitness regime is a positive step to preventing potential injury. Prevention is easier than treatment, as they say.
For additional information, visit www.afiaphysio.com.au
About Marium Mcfarlane, BExSc & MPhty
Marium graduated with a Bachelor of Exercise Science in 2013 then went on to complete her Masters of Physiotherapy at Griffith University.
Marium is the Principal Physiotherapist and owner of AFIA Physiotherapy, a business dedicated to assisting the local community with their health needs. Marium specialises in Headaches and Migraines and enjoys treating patients that have difficulties with balance and lower limb strength.
