How To Stay Fit During Isolation
Time in isolation has been difficult for all athletes, with professional sportspeople through to weekend warriors limited by competition and training facility shut downs. With the news that some states and professional sporting leagues may be moving towards reducing restrictions, a return to sport may be on the horizon for us all.
Maintaining a good level of strength training and fitness has benefits for mental health, boosting athletic performance and minimising injury risk. A systematic review conducted in 2016 concluded that training load has an effect on an athletes incidence of illness and injury (Drew & Finch, 2016).
Staying fit during isolation.
It is widely accepted that rapid change in training load is linked to a rise in injury and illness risk and that maintaining a consistent training load has a protective effect against injury. So what does this mean?
As physiotherapists it’s an all too common sight to treat injuries that occur from people who jump head first into a new health and fitness routine without allowing their body to adapt to the change. Patience and consistency is key when it comes to training as it allows bones and soft tissue such as muscles and tendons time to adapt and become more resilient as they cope with new stress.
Professional athletes are not immune to injuries from improper training loads either, as discussed by Myer et al (2011). This study examined injury data from the 2011 NFL season which was interrupted by a contract lockout. In this season players had a shortened preseason and were not allowed to access team training facilities or medical staff. The results show a significant spike in soft tissue injuries at the beginning of the new season. In a normal NFL season an average of 6-10 players suffered from achilles tendon rupture. In comparison the shortened 2011 season had 10 ruptures within the first 2 weeks of training camp. While we would like to think that athletes on multi-million dollar contracts would be able to maintain a decent level of physical readiness year round, it is clear that this may not have been the case in 2011.
(Myer et. al, 2011).
So what can we learn from the mistakes of the 2011 lockout?
There is likely to be two groups of people who will emerge from the end of the COVID lockdown – those who use this time to continue to train and bullet proof their bodies for when things are back to normal and those who don’t. We know that when sport returns it will likely be on an accelerated timeline, and this could spell trouble for those who are unprepared.
While working out alone and with minimal equipment can be a little confusing or daunting for some people, we can safely say that the benefits are well worth it. It may be wise to use this time as an extra long pre-season or to address those nagging injuries that you have put up with for years.
The team at Keilor Road Physiotherapy can assist athletes of all levels on advice and exercises for maintaining training load throughout the COVID lockdown. Book an appointment for ideas on creating a home training set up, managing previous injuries or come in and take advantage of the pilates & exercise studio. Servicing Niddrie, Essendon, Airport West, Keilor & Melbourne’s Northern suburbs for over 40 years, you can book with one of our highly trained expert physiotherapists below or call 93794557 to speak to one of our admin superstars..
Related links
References
Drew, M.K., Finch, C.F. The Relationship Between Training Load and Injury, Illness and Soreness: A Systematic and Literature Review. Sports Med 46, 861–883 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0459-8
Myer, G. D., Faigenbaum, A. D., Cherny, C. E., Heidt Jr, R. S., & Hewett, T. E. (2011). Did the NFL lockout expose the Achilles heel of competitive sports?.
Article by
Sheree Harris | Physiotherapist
Sheree completed her Bachelor of Applied Science (Physical Education) from RMIT and worked for numerous years as a Secondary School Physical Education and Science teacher, prior to completing a Doctor of Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne.