With the COVID-19 restrictions easing again in Victoria, people are getting back to sport and personal training. BUT – we have seen time and time again with the easing of lockdowns, in recreational and elite sports, there was an increase in injuries (muscle strains, ACL tears, tendinopathies etc) for athletes in the same situation. Why will this time be any different?
We have written a lot about load - to schools, on this blog, in newsletters and to GP's - and with another lockdown been and gone, we need to be better prepared for the return to training and games. This ultimately comes down to load and capacity.
What is load?
Load is the work placed on the muscles, bones, tendons and other structures which includes weight lifted, distance, duration, speed/intensity and frequency.
Why is load management important?
Increasing training load by more than 10% per week increases injury risk by 21-49%. Each structure has a capacity to tolerate a certain load load and if that capacity is exceeded, injuries occur. If we don’t do anything – as in during COVID - our capacity reduces. We have to build this up again in an appropriate way so that our tissues are able to tolerate it without fail.
Take home messages
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If you are getting back into sport or PT and have developed a niggle, please get in contact with us on 95801985 so that we can appropriately assess you and develop a play to get back to and stay fit and well!