Coming back from an injury and time out can be scary

Coming back from an injury and time out can be scary, challenging and frustrating all at the same time… but don’t let it stop you from getting back on track.

Take your time, be committed with your workout routines and recognise when you need help from professionals.

Before you start always consult with your doctor, personal trainers and physical therapists.

Follow these tips to help you get back your strength, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness to prevent injury recurrence.

Postural Form and functional training

Look at yourself in the mirror or ask someone to take a picture from the front side and back then review how you stand … regardless of the exercise remember form is so important:

•  Lengthen through the spine.

• Allow for the natural curve in your spine.

• Shoulders drawn back and away from the ears.

• Learn how to engage the abdominals and Pelvic floor at the same time as breathing! You need this skill before you advance. It’s a must for the men too!

• ·Strengthen your glutes (squats and lunges don’t always cut it) activation exercises like the oyster and all fours (dog taking a wee) Work a treat add a resistance band as you progress.

• Hinge from your hips shoulder back engaging the abs and glutes as you return to standing. Not allowing the back to take over. 

• Start all exercises with a small range of movement and perform slowly checking you are not increasing the pain – if you feel increased pain STOP and reassess.

Choose the right exercise

If you are a runner and want to get back to running after an injury or haven’t run for a while, it’s important to take your time and strengthen the areas which will enable you to run effectively and support a smooth return.

Starting off slowly build up your distance and in some circumstances go back to basics. I would recommend a couch to 5k app, build up slowly, assess how it feels and be prepared to scale back even if your ego says otherwise!!

If you have knee pain for example … do find the cause. The route cause of knee pain could be anything from weak Glutes, misalignment of the kneecap or other leg bones, problems with the feet for example.

Consult with your health professional who will advise of the type of exercises you can do to strengthen around the knee to prevent further injury.

 When you begin exercising choose an exercise that is less challenging than the exercises you did pre-injury or choose to limit the weight and range of motion of the exercises.  

For instance, when coming back from a shoulder injury, decrease the weight you use and then only lift as far as you can while remaining pain-free. When first coming back, you may even want to remove the weights altogether and limit yourself to bodyweight exercises or resistance bands. Over time, you’ll be able to reach full range of motion. You can then safely increase the amount of weight you are lifting or add more challenging exercises.

TOP TIP: Do the exercises prescribed and continue to do so, don’t just stop when you are better!

Shannon our Sports therapist has the ‘touch’ Magic hands according to our clients, so to book an appointment for massage myofascial release trigger pointing and postural corrective exercise prescription ring 0114 236 2129