Rehab & Injury Prevention

Blisters

What causes blisters?

Blisters are caused by friction from shoes or ciothlng which rubs repeatedly on the skin causing friction burns. As the outer layer of skin separates from the inner layers the space between fills with lymph fluid.

Blister prevention

Ensure that shoes fit correctly.
Protect the potential 'hot spots' by applying a second skin
Keep feet as dryas possible. Wet shoes, boots and socks will cause blisters far quicker than dry ones.
Wherever possible change socks regularly and use foot powder to help keep them dry.

Sprained Ankle

What is a sprained ankle?

A sprained ankle or twisted ankle as it is sometimes known, is a common cause of ankle pain. A sprain is stretching and or tearing of ligaments (you sprain a ligament and strain a muscle). The most common is an inversion sprain (or lateral ligament sprain) where the ankle turns over so the sole of the foot faces inwards, damaging the ligaments on the outside of the ankle.

Grades of Severity for Sprained Ankles:

Sprained ankles, as with all ligaments sprains, are divided into grades 1-3, depending on their severity:

Grade 1 sprain:

Some stretching or perhaps minor tearing of ankle ligaments.
Little or no joint instability.
Mild pain.
There may be mild swelling around the bone on the outside of the ankle.
Some joint stiffness or difficulty walking or running.

Grade 2 sprain:

Moderate tearing of the ligament fibres.
Some instability of the joint.
Moderate to severe pain and difficulty walking.
Swelling and stiffness in the ankle joint.
Minor bruising may be evident.

Grade 3 sprain:

Total rupture of a ligament.
Gross instability of the joint.
Severe pain initially followed later by no pain.
Severe swelling.
Usually extensive bruising.

Treatment of a Sprained Ankle

R is for rest..
I is for ICE. Apply an ice pack or similar immediately following injury for 15 minutes. Repeat this every 2 hours.
C is for compression - This reduces bleeding and helps reduce swelling.
E is for Elevation

Shin splints (Periostitis)

What are shin splints?

The term shin splints is a name often given to any pain at the front of the lower leg. However, true shin splints symptoms occur at the front inside of the shin bone and can arise from a number of causes.

Symptoms of shin splints:

Pain over the inside lower haif of the shin.
Pain at the start of exercise which often eases as the session continues
Pain often returns after activity and may be at its worse the next morning.
Sometimes some swelling.
Lumps and bumps may be felt when feeling the inside of the shin bone.
Pain when the toes or foot are bent downwards.

Shin Splints Treatment

What can the athlete do about shin splints?

R.I.C.E
Wear shock absorbing insoles in shoes. This helps reduce the shock on the lower leg.
Maintain fitness with other non weight bearing exercises such as swimming, cycling or running in water.

Rest and Recovery After Exercise - Improve

Sports Performance

Most athletes know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to high-level performance, but many still over train and feel guilty when they take a day off. The body repairs and strengthens itself in the time between workouts, and continuous training can actually weaken the strongest athletes.

Rest days are critical to sports performance for a variety of reasons. Some are physiological and some are psychological. Rest is physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen. For recreational athletes, building in rest days can help maintain a better balance between home, work and fitness goals.

In the worst-case scenario, too few rest and recovery days can lead to overtraining

What Happens During Recovery?

Building recovery time into any training program is important because this is the time that the body adapts to the stress of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery also aliows the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. Exercise or any other physical work causes changes in the body such as muscle tissue breakdown and the depletion of energy stores (muscle glycogen) as well as fluid loss.

Recovery time allows these stores to be replenished and allows tissue repair to occur. Without sufficient time to repair and replenish, the body wiil continue to breakdown from intensive exercise. Symptoms of overtraining often occur from a lack of recovery time. Signs of overtraining include a feeling of general malaise, staleness, depression, decreased sports performance and increased risk of injury, among others.

Short-term recovery, sometimes called active recovery occurs in the hours immediately after intense exerclse. Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts during both the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout as well as during the days following the workout. Both types of active recovery are linked to performance benefits.

Another major focus of recovery immediately following exercise has to do with replenishing energy stores and fluids lost during exercise and optimizing protein synthesis (the process of increasing the protein content of muscle cells, preventing muscle breakdown and increasing muscle size) by eating the right foods in the post-exercise meal.

This is also the time for soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments) repair and the removal of chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity during exercise.

Long-term recovery techniques refer to those that are built in to a seasonal training program. Most well-designed training schedules will include recovery days and or weeks that are built into an annual training schedule. This is also the reason athietes and coaches change their training program throughout the year, add crosstraining. modify workouts types, and make changes in intensity, time, distance and all the other training variables.

Sleep Deprivation Can Hinder Sports Performance

In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won't have much Impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood. Some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to Increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair)

Other studies link sleep deprivation with decreased aerobic endurance

10 Ways To Recover Quickly After Exercise

There are as many methods of recovery as there are athletes. The following are some of the most commonly recommended by the experts.

Rest. Time is one of the best ways to recover (or heai) from just about any illness or injury and this also works after a hard workout. Your body has an amazing capacity to take care of itself if you allow it some time. Resting and waiting after a hard workout allows the repair and recovery process to happen at a natural pace. It's not the only thing you can or should do to promote recovery, but sometimes doing nothing is the easiest thing to do.
Stretch. If you only do one thing after a tough workout, consider gentle stretching. This is a simple and fast way to help your muscles recover.
Cool Down. Cooling down simply means slowing down (not stopping completely) after exercise. Continuing to move around at a very low intensity for 5 to 10 minutes after a workout helps remove lactic acid from your muscles and may reduce muscles stiffness. warming up and cooling down are more helpful in cooler temperatures or when you have another exercise session or an event later the same day.
Eat Properly. After depleting your energy stores with exercise, you need to refuel if you expect your body to recover, repair tissues, get stronger and be ready for the next challenge. This is even more important if you are performing endurance exercise day after day or trying to build muscle. Ideally, you should try to eat within 60 minutes of the end of your workout and make sure you include some high-quality protein and complex carbohydrate.
Replace Fluids. You lose a lot of fluid during exercise and ideally, you should be replacing it during exercise, but filling up after exercise is an easy way to boost your recovery. Water supports every metabolic function and nutrient transfer in the body and having plenty of water will improve every bodily function. Adequate fluid replacement is even more important for endurance athletes who lose large amounts of water during hours of sweating.
Try Active Recovery. Easy, gentle movement improves circulation which helps promote nutrient and waste product transport throughout the body. In theory, this helps the muscles repair and refuel faster.
Have a Massage. Massage feels good and improves circulation while allowing you to fully relax.
Alternate Hot and Cold Baths or Showers. Some athletes swear by ice baths, ice massage or alternating hot and cold showers to recover faster, reduce muscle soreness and prevent injury. The theory behind this method called contract water therapy is that by repeatedly constricting and dilating blood vessels helps remove (or flush out) wasteproducts in the tissues. Limited research has found some benefits of contrast water therapy at reducing deiayed onset muscie soreness (DOMS). How to use contrast water therapy: While taking your post-exercise shower, alternate 2 minutes of hot water with 30 seconds of cold water. Repeat four times with a minute of moderate temperatures between each hot-cold spray. If you happen to have a spa with hot and cold tubs available, you can take a plunge in each for the same time.
Get Lots of Sleep. While you sleep, amazing things are taking place in your body. Optimal sleep is essential for anyone who exercises regularly. During sleep, your body produces Growth Hormone (GH) which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair.
Avoid Overtraining. One simple way to recovery faster is by designing a smart workout routine in the first place. Excessive exercise, heavy training at every session or a lack of rest days will limit your fitness gains from exercise and undermine your recovery efforts.