Injury and Rehab
Over the years I have been a personal trainer I always have a client on a rehab program (I call these ‘special needs’, which means they work off a special program just for them) whether it be an immediately post injury treatment and rehabilitation process or a new client wanting assistance in the rehabilitation process. Some stages it is a client referred from an osteopath/physiotherapist or sports physician to work with the client to ensure a full and fast recovery.
It is very important that I encourage the client to work around their specific injury and keep exercising to ensure they stay motivated and do not lose focus on what they have achieved in their fitness levels prior to injury.
Simple exercises to include for lower body injuries are swimming, body weighted exercises, lighter weighted exercises if need be, and even rowing. For upper body injuries, same applies for body weighted exercises and light weighted, plus cycling, water running and walking in general.
The main focus now is to keep active, whereas many years ago it was less mobility during rehab, now it’s move with correct programs in place.
These following points will help with the rehabilitation process:
- Early diagnosis – make sure you have a skilled health professional investigate your injury and give you the correct diagnosis – (Dr Google isn’t always right).
- Individual – Your injury may not be the same as your friends/brothers etc, no injuries are identical, and every programs needs to take into account the specific injury, sporting requirements and level of training. Your injury may affect you more if you are a runner compared to a cyclist or rower, so your rehab will differ.
- Mobilisation plus strengthening – you need to keep mobile and strengthen your functional movement early in the process. This should be done along with joint range of motion, so everything is worked together.
- Muscle condition – due to rapid muscle mass loss and strength post injury, it is vital that you have a structured strength program as soon as possible. Light weights or body weighted exercises is a must. Include swimming as well.
- Re-education of Motor patterns – you need to be aware if the injury will effect motor pattern problems and cause imbalances. This means when you are completing a certain exercise it recruits the correct muscles and you have proper control. This must be done before returning to full sport/specific exercises.
- Proprioception – this being a lack of feedback to the brain from the injured area. Ensure balance and stability type exercises are in your program. Eg. Ankle injury and your toes push harder down for balance to protect the ankle in movement – hence having muscles under the foot affected due to compensation.
- Range of motion – its common post injury to lose range of motion due to inflammation or muscle spasm. Swelling and pain can cause you to not weight bare on the injured area, causing joints to react differently. You need to keep the range of movement up to avoid the flexibility to deteriorate and making the return to sport/exercise longer.
- Functional activities – further on in rehab program you’ll need to reproduce the movements and activities to replicate at the same speed and surface etc and work to the same level of fatigue so as the recovery is truly effective.
- Cardiovascular fitness – this is very essential to the rehabilitation program. You not only need to ensure the strength side is kept up, but making sure the cardiovascular fitness is maintained, this helps to promote oxygen delivered to the injured area, which increases healing and help injured clients/athletes stay positive.
So please do not slip into the “I’m injured” so therefore you don’t train. Please ask your trainer what you can do. There are many ways to work through injuries and keep your fitness levels on track. Staying active gives your brain a healthy message, this in turn gives you a healthy body.
I hope this helps you x
