What do you do if you pick up an injury or niggle? Most people would go straight to the telephone directory or search the internet and hope to find the right person to get them fit and well again. We would first suggest you sit back and ask yourself some searching questions.
Amongst these questions should be:
Q: Was this an isolated injury or has there been a pattern?
If the injury is isolated, eg: twisted in a challenge or stepped awkwardly, it may just be you need standard treatment from a qualified sports injury therapist. However, more and more we are finding even these injuries have an underlying cause. There is stronger evidence emerging that when you pick up an injury there was a pattern leading up to it that was unrecognised. For example, someone who twists their ankle may have a foot function problem which would mean the foot is already unstable and, in that sense, was an injury waiting to happen. At The Footbed Clinic it is more important to break the pattern and prevent a repeat of the injury.
Q: Did I do the correct warm-up or cool-down?
When we ask people if they do their warm-ups and cool-downs to allow them to exercise safely, we frustratingly hear at times that people stretch before exercise without warming up the muscles first. It is important to realise that cold muscles and tendons are not pliable and therefore fibres can easily be torn. This minor tear can, during your exercise, magnify into a full-blown injury. It is vital to warm the muscles and tendons up before starting your stretching regime by a gentle straight line jog for 5 minutes or by using an exercise bike for 5 mins. And just as importantly, if not more so, to stretch as much at the end of your exercise as at the start to gently cool down the soft tissue.
Q: Have I changed my training regime?
Have you done anything differently? Have you increased your mileage, intensity or added a new element to training? These are all things you should take into account if you suffer an injury. It does not mean you should necessarily stop your progression in your regime, but it will give important information on why the problem has occurred. For example, we quite often see runners who start to incorporate some hills in their training will suffer some knee, hip and lower-back pain on the downhill parts of those runs. This gives important information, usually indicating under maximum stress that the foot is overpronating. So changes will need support and possibly different footwear to eliminate the increased stress risk.
Q: Had I hydrated and eaten the right foods?
Hydration and nutrition are strong contributing factors to the body's performance. Dehydration has various effects on joint and muscle function so it's important you seek professional advice to ensure you have an appropriate balance of hydration and nutrition.
Q: Is my injury footwear-related?
Injuries can occur from people expecting footwear to last forever, or at least until their shoes fall off their feet! There is a direct correlation between "dead" footwear and injury. It is unrealistic to expect a shoe of any kind not to wear out when it is worn for long periods or for high intensity exercise. How quickly it will wear out depends on a number of factors including your footstrike, weight, activity levels and the ground surfaces worn on. This comes to the core of the Clinic's activities in giving people individual consultation to find the most appropriate footwear and providing individual customised insoles to go in that footwear.
