I treat a number of very active patients, and one of their common questions when first visiting me is if they can use osteopathy in Bristol to prevent and treat sports injuries.
I am a Bristol osteopath with 24 years of experience helping people overcome and/or prevent sports injuries. Patients often come to me looking for hints and tips on how to maintain an active lifestyle, enjoy a multitude of different sporting disciplines, as well as minimising the risk of sports injuries occurring when training or racing.
So, I thought it would be useful to put together a few essential tips gained from my professional Bristol osteopathy experience to help prevent and treat sports-related injuries.
Periodised training
This is a key factor I advise my patients to consider. A steady build-up is essential in any training program, irrespective of the sporting discipline or the individuals age or fitness level. It’s vital to get your training time and intensity right. I recommend using a discipline specific coach or at very least looking at online training programmes. Working with a personal trainer such as the team at Active8 might be really beneficial – visit here to find out more about them.
Rest & Recovery
I believe this is the most important part of any training program. It is essential in preventing injury, and allows the body time to repair after sporting activity or training. When pushing the body, it’s important to factor in enough rest and recovery, so the body can built strength and fitness. In most sports injury cases I see, insufficient recovery is a contributing factor.
Nutrition & Hydration
The fuel that we put into our bodies is vital when it comes to ensuring good results from sporting activities be it training or racing. Good nutrition also plays a big part in injury prevention and tissue repair. It’s worth consulting a nutritional expert for advice, or at very least using online nutritional sources. Hydration is also really important. It’s essential to stay hydrated during exercise and rehydrate after. Even at rest we should consume between 2-4 litres of water per day. Read a recent News post here about hydration as well as other general health tips.
Electrolyte supplements also play an important part in rehydration and injury prevention particularly in endurance sport. The body requires top-ups of depleted electrolytes. These are key chemicals and compounds which are essential for maintaining healthy body functions.
Flexibility
I recommend patients regularly utilise stretching exercises (usually when the muscles are already warm), possibly in the form of pilates or yoga. Foam Rolling (using a cylindrical hardened foam roller to give self-massage) is useful if preventing against muscular injury by helping the muscles stay supple and stimulates blood-flow. This is helpful after training and sport.
Stability
Good body (core) stability is important in preventing sports injuries and improving performance. It’s worth incorporating regular core stability exercises into your training program. Consider a class such as Pilates or Suspension training (TRX) to improve core strength.
Positive Mental Attitude
Many of the sporting patients I work with have an amazing positive mental attitude, and this mental strength helps to maintain their physical fitness.
Active patients push themselves and work hard on maintaining optimum physical and mental strength. A positive mindset achieves incredible things.
I hope these tips are useful in preventing injury and help you enjoy an active lifestyle no matter your sporting level.
I have a number of osteopathic services available to patients in Bristol, and there are specific groups that I assist, including sports injuries, desk-based office workers, and the elderly – please visit here to find out more.
To book online for my osteopathic services in BS6 to prevent and treat sports injuries in Bristol, please visit here.
To find out more about the full range of osteopathic treatments that I provide for sports injuries across Westbury Park, Clifton, Redland, Cotham and Henleaze, please visit here.