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