how to avoid injuries after lockdown

After months of lockdown, gyms in England reopened on 12 April, with many already eager to get back into their ancient fitness routines. But while it may be tempting to get straight back to what you were doing, doing so can result in injury – so it’s better to gradually ease back into training after months off.

Injuries occur during weighty training exceeds tissue tolerance – so basically when you do more than your body can handle. Fatigue, muscle and tendon strength, range of motion of joints and previous tissue injuries can all enhance likelihood of injury.

The most common injuries associated with overtraining are tendinopathies and strains. Tendinopathy describes a situation where tendons, the tissue that connects muscles to bones, do not repair themselves properly after previous damage. Typical tendinopathies occur in buttock, proximal thigh tendon (thigh) and Achilleswhile the most common muscle strains occur in arm AND kneeHowever, understanding how our bodies change in response to training can lend a hand us reduce our risk of injury when we return to the gym.

Exercise is stressful for our body. That’s why a training session “alarms”various body systems (including the musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory systems), disrupting the body’s normal state. These systems then respond to stress by developing resilience and adapting beyond their current capacity – often referred to as supercompensation. Essentially, this process leads to us becoming stronger or more capable.

Importantly, adaptation occurs after training and takes time. If the body is not used to the type of training or has not recovered properly from the previous training session, it can lead to injury or illness. Therefore, it is crucial to gradually enhance training stress over time and ensure that you are well recovered between training sessions.

It’s also vital to remember that after a long break, even if you can still do the same amount of training as before, the strain on your body may be much greater. For example, let’s say that before lockdown you were able to do a 20-minute run on a treadmill at 10km/h with an average heart rate of 125bpm. You enthusiastically complete the same run after lockdown – but your current heart rate is now an average of 160bpm.

This shows us that while external training load (the exercise described in the training plan) is the same as before the lockdown, i.e. the body’s reaction to training, internal training load is significantly greater. In this case, a higher heart rate indicates a greater load on the cardiorespiratory system. So the same session became more tiring.

And if you’ve been moving less during lockdown, it’s possible that your lower limb strength and coordination have suffered. This means you’ll be less able to handle the impact of running, which will put more strain on your joints, muscles and bones. Without better or longer recovery, this build-up of stress could lead to injury within weeks of training.

Risk reduction

To avoid common injuries, a cautious approach to high-impact activities, such as jumping, can be beneficial, as well as those that require muscle stretching, such as lowering a weight. While these activities are beneficial to muscle and skeletal health and should be recommended for most people, they are still challenging to perform, and you should take the time to develop proper technique before lifting heavier weights or performing more intense exercises.

Here are some other things you can do to avoid injury when you return to the gym:

• Hot-up
  Studies have shown that warming up has a positive effect on Improve your performance AND reduce damage. A good warm-up should consistently raise your heart rate and prepare your body for the exercise you’re about to perform. Consider including exercises that mobilize key joints and engage major muscle groups, such as bodyweight squats and lunges.

• Monitor your feelings during training
  Monitoring your internal load—your body’s response to a training session—is a great way to avoid doing too much. You can utilize ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scales, such as: Borga The CR-10 scale, which measures your effort on a scale of one to ten. This allows you to rate your overall effort for different training activities to lend a hand you determine how demanding you trained.

• Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  Low, intense workouts are popular and can be a sheltered and effective way to improve your health and fitness. While they are very intense, they are brief in duration, so the overall training load is usually manageable. However, consider choosing a low-impact option (such as cycling) initially, as high-intensity, high-impact exercises can enhance your risk of injury after a period of time off.

• Do some strength training
  Performing strength exercises such as lifting weights, two to three times every week can prepare our tissues for more convoluted activities, and also bring a number of health benefits, such as improved mental health, prevention of falls and reducing mortality.

Other tips include staying hydrated, wearing appropriate clothing and footwear, and taking enough time to recover – with particular attention to sleep and good nutritionRecovery strategies like foam rolling, compression garments, and even icy water therapy can lend a hand some people, but the best way to recover is to focus on sleep and eating.

Of course, don’t let the risk of injury discourage you from exercising. Take things slowly at first, which will make it less likely that you will get injured. Most importantly, enjoy exercising and develop a routine that is beneficial to your lifestyle.