Unfortunately, there are no known ways to completely avoid injury (apart from wrapping yourself in bubble wrap and never leaving the house), but there are a number evidence based strategies that can help to minimise your risk of getting injured AND if you do get injured, reduce injury severity and speed up recovery.

Don’t wait to get injured to start thinking about injury prevention 

One of the best indicators of future injury is previous injury. If you follow any professional sport you probably notice that some players just seem to be injured ALL THE TIME. 

For example if you roll or sprain your ankle, did you know you are approximately 7 times more likely to sprain your ankle again, even with the other ankle that wasn’t injured in the first place! 

So getting started with injury prevention can help save you a lot of trouble in the future.

If you do get injured, take care of it properly the first instance to save you trouble in the future.

If you are, or have been injured, don’t stress too much because you can minimise your risk of re-injury though an appropriate rehab program and ongoing injury prevention strategies that we will get into below.

I believe this is especially important for children and teenagers. Injuries experienced at these ages can have a huge impact on future injuries, health and also impact their attitudes towards sport and exercise. 

For any sport of fitness venture, start GRADUALLY 

If you’ve ever been to the gym or gone for a run after a long break from exercise you probably remember how sore you felt the next day and wondered how you lost all of your strength or fitness.

The human body is great at adapting to new changes however jumping into a sport or exercise too fast doesn’t allow the body time to adapt the new load which increases your risk of injury.

Starting a new sport or exercise gradually will allow time for the body to:

Increase the necessary mobility or flexibility 

Build the required strength and control

Improve endurance to minimise fatigue – don’t play a sport to get fit, get fit to play a sport

Build up your coordination, technique and skill to move efficiently 

The level you start at and how quickly you increase your exercise load depends on your previous exercise history, fitness and skill level.

Listen to your body!

Minor aches and pains are normal to experience with sport and exercise. However if pain persist longer than expected or starts to impact on your sport, exercise or everyday life then it is important to address the issue early. 

This might involve:

Temporarily reducing your training load to give your body time to rest and recover 

Beginning a preventive exercise program or prehab 

Seeing health professional to help manage your problem and work out a strategy to prevent it happening again.

Invest time in preventative exercise ie. “prehab”

As clinic physios, a large portion of our time is spent on rehab. A patient will come in with an injury and it is our job to help manage that injury, return the patient to their previous capacity, and improve the way their body moves to prevent it from happening again. 

This may involve: 

Restoring muscle length and joint range of motion

Building up strength to support the body

Addressing areas of weakness such as strength, balance, coordination and technique

Advice on injury management and return to sport

Prehab essentially follows the same rules but with one key advantage! You don’t have to be injured! Prehab involves addressing all the points listed above in order to prevent injury from occurring in the first place.

Taking some additional time to focus on mobility and specific exercises related to your sport or exercise can help to minimise risk of injury and also improve your performance.

A prehab program should differ depending on your sport/exercise, position, age and ability, and should get more challenging as your body adapts and gets stronger.

One example of a prehab program is the FIFA 11+ warm-up for Football or Soccer players. This involves a range of exercises aimed at mobility, strength and technique performed as a warm up before training/games. This program is well researched and been found effective at reducing injury rates (particularly ACL injuries) in players. It only takes 10-15 minutes to complete.

FIFA11+: Injury Prevention Exercises Examples

The full FIFA11+ Warm Up consists of mobility work, strengthening exercises and preparation for running and landing. The two exercises below provide a snapshot of the strengthening component. The aim of these exercises is to strengthen the hamstrings and prepare them for demands of sport.

NOTE: The FIFA 11+ Warm Up is designed for players 14 years and older. For younger players some of the exercises should be modified.

Nordic Hamstring Curl:

This exercise is best performed with a partner so perfect for a team environment.

Starting Position: Start by kneeling on the ground with your knees hip width apart and a partner holding you down at the lower legs

Slowly lower yourself down to the ground while keeping your body straight from head to knees

Keep your arms out in front and catch yourself when you can no longer control the movement.

Exercise Prescription: 

Beginner: 1 set of 3 – 5 repetitions

Intermediate: 1 set of 7 – 10 repetitions

Advanced:  1 set of 12 – 15 repetitions 

This is a very challenging exercise so you may find it difficult to lower yourself at first. Start gradually and aim to get lower to the ground as your strength improves.

Static Side Plank

Starting Position: Start by lying on your side with your lower leg bent to 90 degrees and your upper body supported with your forearm.

Lift your hips and upper leg off the ground while supporting yourself with your lower leg. Hold this position for 20-30seconds and repeat on the other side.

Exercise Prescription: 

3 sets of 20-30seconds each side 

Exercise Progression:

To increase the challenge – try performing the exercise with your lower leg straight

Prehab should be specific to your body and your sport you are embarking on!

So If you are looking for some help on where to start or if you need someone to create a program for you, call us today on 9629 4608 to book an appointment or book online here.

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