The sun is shining, spring is in the air, and the stay at home order (fingers crossed) may be lifted soon!  Gyms and golf courses will be opening, spring projects begin, and you become more active…this is a good thing!  BUT. Before we start jumping back into our normal routines like we never left, it may be a good time to review some key things to help reduce the risk of injury and stay on our A game. 

1.  The first, and maybe most important thing you can do is understanding proper Load Management.  Load can be defined simply as the amount of physical stress you’re putting on your body.  Whether that’s the mileage you run, weight you lift, or eve the time you spend working in the yard.  A 2015 study indicated athletes are 4x more likely to sustain an injury if their workload was increased by over 1.5x on a week to week basis.  An easy way to understand this is if you were to run 1 mile every day for a week, and decided to up it to 1.6 miles in week 2 of training, you are statistically more likely to be injured.  In no way is this some sort of scare tactic, quite the opposite as we always encourage pushing yourself and progressing…just be careful on how much and how fast.
2. We’ve already talked about how important sleep is for your immune health, but it is largely important for musculoskeletal health as well.  A 2017 research study on 340 athletes found that those who slept less than 8 hours per night were 61% more likely to be injured in their sport compared to those sleeping over 8 hours!  Although many of these referenced studies are athletes, I would be willing to put money the same would apply to recreational exercisers like many of us!
3. A common question I get asked is “What type of exercise is best?”.  Although I support any type of exercise or activity, the research has shown time and time again that strength training is superior for injury prevention than any other exercise.  One study I commonly reference from the British Journal of Sports Medicine compared 3 different groups.  1 group stretched, a second who worked on proprioceptive (balance) exercises, and the last being strength training.  Of those 3, the strength training group showed a 66% percent less likelihood of being injured compared to the other 2.  This may be something to consider trying once the gyms open up!  If you have any questions or need guidance on what workouts would be best for you, please don’t hesitate to get ahold of me, I’d love to work with you.
4. Although this next tip coincides with load management, it’s worth mentioning.  And that is less can equal more.  A 2014 study of over 400 top level athletes in Finland saw athletes that took at least two rest days, or days with little to no exercise, were over 5x less likely to be injured.  Some of us may feel guilty about not being to exercise due to gym closure, and eager to jump back in full swing.  Just remember to once again, take it slow and take days off.  Let you body rest, recover, and grow strong.
   

I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed that sunshine.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook (Advanced Chiropractic Wichita) and Instagram (@advancedchiroict) for weekly posts on exercises, nutrition, and possibly a fun give-a-way this week!