Former Exercise Rehabilitation Instructor Kate Lord has given us her top tips on how to help prevent injuries. She has worked with hundreds of soldiers with a variety of injuries, a lot of these injuries can be prevented. There are lots of things that YOU are in control of that can help reduce the likelihood of an injury.
1. A structured training programme.
Ensuring you follow a well-thought-out training programme is important. Ensure you do not over-train and incorporate rest into your weekly regime. Running is stressful to your joints, by increasing the intensity of your sessions and decreasing the volume, you are reducing the likelihood of injury and maximising performance.
2 Dedicating time to train your Core Stabilisers.
Good core stability can help maximize performance and prevent injury. Power is derived from the trunk region of the body and a properly conditioned core helps control power, allowing for smoother, more efficient,and better coordinated movement in the limbs.
3. Recovery and rest days.
Always dedicate time to recovery. Have a full rest day and an easy recovery day. Allocate a specific flexibility session into your programme. Although it is one of the components of fitness, it’s often neglected. It should be treated with the same respect as the other components requiring hours rather than minutes to develop.
4. Technique.
Many overuse injuries are attributed to doing repetitive actions with poor technique; this can cause excessive pressure to be applied to particular joints or muscles which can contribute to an injury. You need to dedicate time to perfect your movements.
5. Hydration and Nutrition.
Stay hydrated - As your body loses water during physical activity, your muscles can become tense. This interferes with your athletic performance and can make you more likely to injure yourself. A good balanced diet can enhance recovery within and between workouts and reduce the risk of injury and illness.
6. Warming up/Cooling Down.
The chances of an injury are reduced considerably when you warm up correctly. Muscle efficiency is enhanced since faster and more intense muscle contraction is achieved. Cooling down helps you to return the body to its pre-exercise state and incorporating static stretches helps return the muscles to their pre-exercise length.
We hope these top tips have helped from Kate.
If you have any questions then please email us on: bmfarmyprep@bmf.com