In a word, change. Change is what causes injuries.

As healthcare professionals we always try to ascertain the mechanism of injury, what movement caused the injury. This can be anything from a football tackle, to lifting a toddler or a sneeze (more common than you may think). These are sudden changes, when the forces acting on the tissues in the body have a sudden increase in their size or the forces are applied in a different direction. A sudden change has been introduced, and as such an injury has occurred. Of course, change doesn’t have to be sudden.

The straw that broke the camels back, or the extra pound that caused the back ache. A change in body weight clearly has an effect on all of our body structures when we move about. Increasing the size of forces, and even moving our centre of gravity can lead to injuries.

The body can adapt to change, but structures can take a little time. Over time we can train the body to lift heavy weights, run fast, run for enormous distances, contort into impossible positions and many more amazing things. This is all possible because the tissues in our bodies can adapt over time, they respond to stimulus when they are overloaded by making themselves stronger, longer, denser or whatever is required.

Rate of change is what matters. Push things too fast and an injury is more likely. Rate of change can be very different for each of us, depending on age, fitness,and health status. An increase of running 15 miles a week more is clearly different for the couch potato and the marathon runner already running 50 miles a week.

Be kind to your body, and make gradual changes to reduce the risk of injuries. Consistency is key, huge improvements come over the long term, but consistency isn’t possible if we are injured.

By | 2014-09-19T16:51:21+00:00 August 26th, 2014|Blog|0 Comments