Injury Prevention Lucan

There are a couple of areas that need to be addressed when you are training for an endurance event and want to ensure Injury Prevention across a number of disciplines e.g. Triathlons / Adventure Races / Marathons.

The topics below should give a good overview to help assist in the reduction of developing injuries while training.

• Warm up & Cool Down
• Foam Rolling
• Core Strengthening
• Training Tip
• Recovery Strategies
• Common Training Mistakes & Injuries
• Injury Management

Warm Up

• Allow 10 – 15 minutes warm up
• Include elements of the discipline you are training for e.g. Jogging, Strides, Jumping Jacks, Dynamic drills
• A good warm up prepares the body for the training session
• Move muscles & joints through full range of motion
• Get the blood pumping throughout the body, build your warm up slowly
• A good warm up help prevents any acute injuries

Cool Down

• Walk/jog for 5-10 minutes – keep moving at a slower pace
• Perform static stretches hold for 15 seconds x 2-3 reps
• Static Stretching increases muscle length
• Foam Rolling after your session helps reduce trigger points and increase muscle tightness
• A good warm down helps recovery and prepares muscles & joints for increased training volumes

‘Foam Rolling’

• While it can be sore form rolling is a great to self-massage/release tight muscles and keep the supple after training.
• Roll along the entire length of the muscle 10 times
• Stop on trigger points and pulse over them 10 times
• Spend 1-2 minutes on each muscle
• Foam roller can be used on legs / back as shown on video below.

 Core Strengthening

• Your “core” refers to the muscle of your Pelvic floor / Back / Abs and Hips
• Core muscles work to support the spine and pelvis helping to maintain good posture during daily and training activity.
• A strong core leads to more efficient performance and reduces the energy required when training making you more efficent
• Perform core work on rest days or build in a Pilates class on easy training days.
• Below are some links to short videos to target Hips & Glutes, Low back and Shoulders.
• Your focus should be on quality more than quantity

Training Tips

• Wear suitable training gear and weather appropriate
• Don’t just focus on cardio, work on technique and technical skills of disciplines.
• Build in rest days – weekly and easy weeks – monthly, these allow the body recover then increase volume monthly.
• Vary your training daily between disciplines.
• Build in core / strength / resistance training into your schedule.
• Rest when tired.

Recovery Strategies

• Always perform a cool down
• ‘Foam Roll’ regularly
• Have regular massages to aid recovery & loosen tight muscles, i.e. 4-6 weeks serviceyourbody.ie

Common Training Injuries & Mistakes

• Acute sprains, Fall and Trips
• Overuse Training can lead to overuse injuries
• To many intense sessions per week, i.e. 1 or 2 max per week
• Not enough rest or recovery
• Ignoring pain, training through pain
• Not doing strength and resistance work
• Not stretching or doing a cool down

Managing Injuries

Acute Injuries – P.R.I.C.E Protocol

P:      Protection is meant to prevent further injury, avoid weight-bearing, partially immobilising the injured area.

R:      Rest is important to allow for healing, as well as “relative rest” that allows for healing, such as gentle, pain-free, range-of-motion and basic movements of the joints and muscles around an injury.

I:      Ice refers to the use of cold treatments to treat acute injuries. 2 mins on the injured site / 2 mins off the injured site, repeat for 20 minutes, break for 20 mins and repeat.

C:      Compression is the use of a compression wrap, such as an elastic bandage, to apply an external force to the injured tissue. This compression minimizes swelling and provides mild support.

E:      Elevation of the injured site is recommended, it is best to have the injured site above the heart e.g. for ankle injury lie down and place ankle on a pillow so it is higher than the heart.

Do not train through pain when:

• it is sore enough to prevent you training and you have to stop mid session
• if the pain last more than a week
• if you can not train the following day

If you are suffering from on going from exercise call us for an appointment and assessment:

serviceyourbody.ie 086 8318931