Injured? Again?? Here’s why… And how to stop it happening again.

For the most part, injuries don’t just happen “out of the blue”– unless we’re referring to a freak accident – such as falling off your mountain bike or twisting your ankle in a trail-run. Your diet, your training programme and your lifestyle all have a major impact on whether you get injured or not.

Simply put, injuries are a result of consistent, excessive stress placed on your musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Subsequently, muscle imbalances that develop over a period of time affect your entire body as well as the kinetic chains that are involved in those specific movement patterns. Repetition under relentless load eventually weakens the body - at which point the injury presents itself. 

Stressors to your body may include any one or more the following:

1. An unstructured, amateur training programme, where key aspects – such as periodisation, rest and recovery are not factored in correctly.

2. Inadequate sleep – You may have a great coach or training programme, but unless you’re consistently sleeping enough each night, your body will eventually succumb to illness or injury. Most athletes need at least 7 hours every night.
 
3. Eating too many refined, man-made foods. These cause acidity throughout the body which slows recovery and affects athletic performance. Consume only alkaline-forming foods such as raw vegetables, good quality proteins and healthy fats. In addition, make water your drink of choice throughout the day. (How much water should you drink? Your bodyweight in kgs x 30mls, then add in 750mls fluid per hour that you train). 

4. Eating too many “bad” fats. These cause considerable inflammation throughout the body which dramatically affects recovery and more specifically, joint health!

5. Eating too much sugar and consuming alcohol. Both of these significantly lower testosterone, whilst increasing acidity thereby affecting muscle repair and recovery, joint integrity as well as wiping out your good bacteria, which are essential for a healthy immune system.

6. Having too much environmental stress – such as work / domestic / social / emotional stress.

7. Old injuries that are still creating compensatory patterns and thus causing even more muscle imbalances.

The greater the intensity of all the above stressors, the more antioxidant-depletion your body goes through. With this depletion, the risk of injury increases, the worse the injury is and the longer your body takes to heal! 

How to Avoid Getting Injured (Again)
•    Don’t underestimate the effect of overtraining on performance: It’s far better to go into an event 10% undertrained, than 1% overtrained.
•    When warming up for any activity, start out with light, aerobic activity with a low heart rate. Then proceed into more dynamic, joint mobility drills, with the movements mimicking the activity you’re about to participate in. Static stretching should be minimal (or even excluded) from the warm-up and rather be included in the post-training cool-down. Spend at least 10 minutes warming up, with longer warm-ups during the winter months. 
•    Learn to pay attention to what your body has to say and back off training when you need to. Many focused athletes find it more difficult to do so. Your body will give you signs when you need to: If your body jerks involuntarily whilst falling asleep, it’s a sign that you’re pushing too hard. Or if your eyes are sensitive to light, it can be a sign that you’re training too hard. If you wake up feeling “run-down” and find yourself yawning all day, with stiff, tired muscles, you need to back off: You’re overreaching and entering into overtraining. 
•    Eat healthy, unsaturated AND saturated fats – such as fish oils, olive oil, coconut oil and full cream dairy as these are necessary for tissue repair, hormone production and a healthy nervous system. “Bad” fats found in heated, processed oils and most refined foods cause considerable inflammation throughout the body. I use Solgar’s Double Strength Omega-3 formula - Pace & Power stocks this.
•    Make sure you have built a solid aerobic base before commencing an interval-training programme. In addition, warm up for at least 10 -15 minutes before doing high-intensity anaerobic/ interval /sprint training. 
•    Get at least 7 to 8 hours uninterrupted sleep at night.
•    Eat a diet that is rich in antioxidants – fresh, raw vegetables. In addition I recommend using Solgar’s Omnium – An advanced antioxidant and phytonutrient formula. We stock this at Pace & Power
•    Supplement daily with a probiotic, such as Solgar’s Advanced Multi-Billion Dophilus. This maintains a healthy immune system. Pace & Power has this in stock.
•    Take 5 grams of Pace & Power’s L-glutamine after training and before bedtime as this will hasten muscle repair and recovery.
•    Make sure that you’re eating enough protein: Aim for 1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day. I use LeanPlex to top up my daily protein needs.
•    Get a second opinion on your training shoes and/or your orthotics.
•    Consider training with a biokinetist to correct muscle imbalances and enhance mechanical efficiency.
•    Supplement with a good quality joint formula that contains a daily dose of least 1500mg of Glucosamine Sulphate – My personal favourite is one by Amipro - Pace & Power stocks this one too. 

List of Supplements to Prevent Injury or to Hasten Healing: 

At Pace & Power, we stock all.

•    L-Glutamine
•    Glucosamine Sulphate
•    Omega / Fish Oils
•    Antioxidant Formula