Injuries, tweaks and twinges.
It’s that time of the year. We start to see an increase in the number of tweaks and twinges… For the most part, they are not serious, but they are annoying. Especially when you have life that needs living, and they do set you back.
But they can be avoided.
The no.1 cause of injuries at this time of the year is due to temperature. You’re likely to be starting your session at a colder body temperature, and cold muscles and connective tissue have less elasticity. Plus the body’s natural reduced circulation in cold conditions increases the risk of injury.
In other words… We must make sure that we warm up well and don’t load the muscle/body too quickly.
The how-to is simple: wear layers and shed them slowly. Although your body temperature might be feeling hot after a gentle 5 minute jog, the individual fibres of your muscles are probably not yet warmed up. Especially if you’ve just been sat our your desk for hours or you’ve been feeling chilly on a school run… In other words increasing your body temperature is not exactly the same as warming up each individual muscle. The harder the intensity of the exercise, the longer and more extensive the warm up should be.
The other cause which I see a lot is this: we finish a session, you’re all hot and sweaty, we do a few minutes of stretches and then we stand around chatting… In our wet sweaty gear…“But I’m hot” you say. Yes, but the air around you is cold. And your muscles are cooling down too fast. They don’t like that… and may often decide to go into spasm in protest. Not fun!
So. Let’s be sensible, and injury-proof ourselves this winter…
