VCSST_Overuse Injuries

Newsletter

Overuse Injuries

Overuse injuries can be a common occurrence in sports, but also among the general public. There’s a popular phrase by Tim Gabbett, an Australian physical therapist and researcher, that goes, “it’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the load you’re not prepared for.” In a nutshell, overuse injuries are most often due to doing more than what your training or activity level has prepared you for, or doing too much too frequently without adequate recovery. The challenge is that adequate load and recovery is highly variable among individuals, even those on the same team or participating in the same sport. These variables include genetics, age, experience with the activity, movement competency, cardiovascular fitness, and strength.

A familiar scene is unfolding at this very time of year: warm sunny weekends and yard work. However, if you’ve been relatively inactive during the winter and early spring months, are you really ready to take on hours of mowing, raking, weeding, squatting, stooping, lifting, etc? Or, perhaps you want to get that running or weight training program started. Again, if you’ve been hibernating for the past few months, your tissues and nervous system may not be ready for the impending activity load that will be undertaken. Working with a physical therapist can help better prepare you for renewing that active lifestyle. We can help assess your mobility, strength, and general physical preparedness for the variety of activities you want to do, to help you have a more productive, enjoyable, and injury-free spring!

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