Returning to Exercise
Following a stressful year with Covid, and with many of us taking a long break from exercise over the festive season. The team at Village Physiotherapy Shellharbour love to see our clients getting back into exercise and living active lifestyles, however, lately we have been seeing many of our clients have jumped back into their usual fitness regimes only to start the year with a new injury.
Below are a few tips to help you to get back into exercise without the pain!
Don’t pickup where you last left off:
- Reduce the intensity – eg: don’t start lifting your max weight that you haven’t tried for weeks!
- Reduce your load/duration – eg: don’t running recommence running long distances x5 a week if you haven’t run for months!
- Although you initially should reduce how much you do when you recommence, the key is to gradually progress and increase your activity. You should slowly build back to your normal level of activity over a period of time and don’t rush back into it.
- Incorporate variety into your fitness regime
- Remember to always warm up your body and cool down after your exercise
- Ensure your footwear is still supportive and appropriate for your activity
- If you’re inflamed and sore after a session, apply the RICE method (rest, ice, compress and elevate the injured area)
How can physiotherapy help you if you’ve already overdone it?
- Physiotherapists can perform specific tests and assessments to determine what part of your body you have injured and how this has occurred.
- This means that physiotherapists can help provide treatment and can provide you with the right education and tools to be able to self manage your condition.
- Physiotherapists can also provide you with the correct supportive braces or devices that may be required to help you recover from your injury.
- They can then provide you with a rehabilitation plan to help you recover and get back on track to safely recommence your activities or return to sport.