There may be nothing more annoying than a niggling injury - especially if it is caused by exercise. Nothing so serious to put you out of action for a while but serious enough to disrupt your training and cause pain. These injuries are pretty common and are also the most easily avoidable! In this article we shall discuss which injuries are easily avoidable, how they occur and how to avoid them!
1. Plantar Fasciitis (PF)
Maybe the most common and most easily avoidable injury that occurs in the body, PF is the inflammation of the connective tissue of the bottom of the foot. The inflammation in the area can cause swelling, pain and loss of power in the foot. The pain can be local to the PF, or spread to the arch, around the heel and sometimes up the achillies tendon.
PF occurs from over use and a lack of arch mobility. When the arch becomes stiff, the arch won't move in the pattern that it was naturally designed to. Now with the arch stiffened, the repetitive nature of running and impact on the ground can cause inflammation leading to PF. We often see people with arch issues who have not stretched properly before running, have poor strength in the hips and poor overall posture. This is commonly found in desk bound people and sedentary workers, however this can be combated.
PF can be avoided by:
- Stretching your calves post running for at least two minutes on each side, this helps stretch both the achillies tendon and PF which will help restore arch shape.
- Lacrosse Ball/Trigger Point Therapy: Using the ball as a massage style instrument influence on your base of your foot is a good way of keeping PF away, however if it is really sore it suggests you may already have inflammation in the area. This is something that could be done daily at your office or at home watching tv etc.
- Soft Ground Running: Jogging through the woods may not be the most appealing thing to do when it is slightly wet under foot, but the reduced impact around the foot from the soft turf will help keep away PF. Running just on the roads will increase the chances of inflammation due to increased impact.
2. Non Specific Mechanical Lower Back Pain - LBP
Now we aren't saying we have the cure for lower back pain, however we believe that a lot of back pain and injuries can be avoided. Non Specific LBP is the term used to describe back pain that occurs in absence of any clear anatomic cause or severe pathology. It can be either acute (short term) or chronic (long term) pain and has no real set recovery time. Sometimes it can cause spasms which can be so painful that even getting out of bed can be painful.
LBP can happen for a number of reasons however in the general public the main causes of the pain are poor posture, sedentary lifestyle, weak muscles around the trunk and poor lifting technique. This combined makes a pretty lethal recipe for spinal issues! The good thing is, is that all of these issues can be addressed and fixed pretty quickly. LBP is a very tricky subject but pain can be managed and improved.
You can avoid onset of LBP by:
- Improving your lifting technique: Just like your nan taught you, lift from the knees... well and hips too. If you can, keep your abs tight and drive up through the heels. Practically replicating a deadlift every time you pick up something heavy (heavy enough to cause you an issue).
- Sedentary Lifestyle: Movement and exercise is key to avoiding back pain. A lot of LBP can be caused by people being stationary for long periods of time before they move. Try to move as much as possible in the day, I know this can be tricky at work but try to walk 15/20 minutes a day!
- Increasing Strength of the Lower Abdominals: Completing movements like Dead Bugs, Straight Leg Raises and Bicycles can be used to increase the strength of both the lower abdominals and hip flexors. This helps take the strain off the lower back and helps even distribute the weight across the whole of the trunk and pelvis.
3. Neck/Traps/Upper Shoulder Pain
Now neck and upper shoulder pain is a seriously common issue amongst desk bound workers, the forward head position from staring at screens, phones and tablets takes its toll on the body. What happens is when the head is forward, it puts on a stretch on the muscles of the neck/upper back/upper shoulders. This stretched position is a by far weaker position than a good straight head position. So spending hours after hour, day after day, week after week in this forward head position, the tissues become stuck with this added tension. The tension in the tissues can often cause pain, a lack of mobility, weakness and can even change the way your body's blood passes up to your brain. With the muscles tight, it can restrict the diameter of arteries leading blood up to the heart. This can cause a spike in blood pressure and cervicogenic headaches (pain in the back/base of the skull).
We can prevent this Neck/Traps/Upper Shoulder Pain by:
- Good Desk Posture: Having a good consistent desk posture is a great way to start, as most city workers spend 8+ hours at their desk! It starts with heels flat on the floor directly below the knees, with a slight squeeze in the abs. The lower back should have a slight curve away from the back of the chair, with upper back pushed firmly against the chair. The shoulders should be in neutral and head balanced over the spine. This may be unattainable for 8 hours so start small, start with 10 minutes an hour per day a week, then 15 then 20 etc...
- Strengthening Of The Upper Back: There is a whole pletherer of exercises which can be used to strengthen the muscles of the upper back however we would suggest using these exercises
Face Pulls - Banded Scapular Retractions - Prone Pulls
Using these three exercises will not only strengthen the structures of the upper back but also enhance the upright posture of the upper back!
- Soft Tissue Release and Massage: massaging these tight tissues is great way to release the tension in the area. Once the tissues have been released, you will find sitting in a better position much easier and much less taxing for the body to complete. It is also beneficial for recovery of broken down tissues from exercising regularly.
And that concludes the most easily avoidable injuries that we see here at NRG. They may not be specific injuries but they can still be easily prevented by using good exercise, moving better and looking after your health. It is better to look after yourself now rather than wait until it is too late or costs a lot of money to fix. As always hope you enjoyed this article and let us know if you suffer from any of these pains. If you do, then use the corrective work we have suggested above and you will be better in no time!
If you want more of this free content and to be sent an email every time it is published then please fill in our form below!
Interested in personal training, injury assessment or sports massage? You book now via email or phone! We look forward to hearing from you.