Open the gate! (steadily)
As we look forward to things opening up and we start getting back to our regular routines and interests, there may be a temptation to jump right back into your usual activities such as gym, team sports and other recreation at the level you were used to before lockdown.
However, after a period of being less active, our bodies need time to adjust to more vigorous movement. We run the risk of injuries such as sprains and strains if we don’t allow for a gradual return to exercise. We need to realise that we may have lost fitness, agility or become tight in certain muscles (or clothes!) over the last few months from the reduction in our activity.
Research* has shown that we are more than twice as likely to get an injury if we increase our activity by more than 10% a week. So, plan to ease your way back to doing the activities you love. Hopefully you have been maintaining some regular physical activity during lockdown. However, if not, now is a great time to start. Initially, you would want to focus on creating or maintaining healthy habits of physical activity, nutrition, thinking and sleep. Have a regular routine, warm up beforehand, use good technique and ideal posture with a strong core, and allow adequate recovery between sessions.
The team at Dynamic Motion Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology are available to help the people of our community to Move at their Best. We can provide you with an assessment, specific advice and strategies to guide you in your safe return to sport and recreation. We can help address any issues getting in the way and provide treatment for any of your niggles or pains that might have come up from more time at home sitting down in the last few months.
May you enjoy and make the most of our newfound freedoms within our beautiful Shire or why not consider our Fit 4 Life programs to ease your way back into exercise?
*reference – http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096581
