How To Prevent Injury in Two Steps

I recently did a great interview with Gina of The Healthy in Real Life Podcast. We discussed when surgery is appropriate for injuries, when to use ice versus heat and what some of the most common injuries are that I see as a physical therapist. I highly recommend listening to the full episode when you have a few minutes in the car!

She also asked if I had any tips to help prevent injury during exercise.

There are many factors to consider when trying to avoid injury. These include the experience level of the participant, the instructor, other workouts that person might be doing, previous injuries and various conditions such as pregnancy or scoliosis.

Despite all of these factors, two main points came immediately to mind:

MOVE YOUR BODY IN DIFFERENT WAYS DURING THE WEEK. If you are a runner, try a yoga class. If you are a cyclist, do some kickboxing. If you do CrossFit, add in Pilates once a week.

Cross training with movements in different planes of motion will help build strength in supporting musculature and help prevent repetitive injuries.

DON’T ADD PHYSICAL STRESS TO AN ALREADY STRESSFUL WEEK. Even good stress can be taxing to our bodies. If you suddenly have a week of party planning, a big work presentation and sleepless nights with the kids, that is NOT the week to go hard in every workout. Injuries can occur when we ask our already stressed bodies to work even harder.

Use exercise for stress relief, but consider a long walk outside, a swim or some grounding moments on your mat.

Then jump into the hard training again the next week!

This was such a popular topic that I went into more detail and recorded a short ten minute video elaborating on how to prevent injury during exercise. I hope it gives you some tips on how to stay healthy and prevent injury!