Next up in the “why?” series we are answering why strengthening helps or works for injuries.
The very simple answer is that strengthening works because the stronger you are the more able you are to tolerate load in different directions thus reducing the potential for injury. But we also need to understand why this works and why some athletes, footballers or us regular people keep breaking down with the same injuries over and over again. We all know someone who has a recurring injury which rears its head again and again and strengthening has been shown to help with prevention of reinjury.
It does get a little more complex than that because although someone might have a really strong hamstring (muscle on the back of the thigh) they might keep injuring it over and over again doing various activities. Now why is that?
Well this can be explained by asking ourselves is that muscle really strong and is it able to perform the movements asked of it well? This is where a physiotherapist comes in as we are able to see these small details to help get over the injury. Usually after an injury the body compensates by moving differently. We all do it, however this is the body’s way of hiding weakness within the muscles and protecting itself. Firstly we need to be able to move optimally and fluidly without any major adaptations. Then we can address where we need to strengthen and how we can do that. Taking the hamstring as an example. It could mean that the injured muscle is strong, however the glute (your bum muscle) is weak and thus the hamstring is working overtime and getting tired too quickly leading to injury. By finding the right muscles to strengthen we can help prevent and recover from injury. The same reasoning can be applied all over the body as well. This can only be assessed and addressed by a rehab specialist such as a physiotherapist.
Contact me to find out more details about how I can help you recover from your injuries or pains.
