While many people first think of injury rehabilitation when it comes to physical therapy, a large portion of the people we assist are older athletes or people who have suffered stress or overuse injuries for many years.
No matter how active or energetic middle-aged people are, there’s the undeniable fact that older bodies slow down with time. Even the most active people over 50 can suffer orthopedic injuries that may have permanent effects on their mobility going forward. By maintaining a fitness and weight baseline and taking some precautions around the house, you can prevent injuries from slowing you down and help speed up your recovery process should an injury occur.
What’s “Prehab?”
Prehab is a layman’s term for a proactive methodology to avoiding injury. By building strength in particularly vulnerable areas, such as weak or injured parts of your body and your core muscles, you can improve mobility, balance, and flexibility to offset your potential to experience an injury.
With added emphasis on building strength in your hips, core, and shoulders (your “pillar”), posture and alignment improvements will come and allow your joints to move more freely and efficiently as a result.
Prehab for Sports Participation
If you’re like most people, you spend most of your day sitting at a desk, putting stress on your back that weakens and strains your core muscles. After spending all day sitting, it can be harmful to then get up and put stress on your body through weight training or other rigorous exercise.
Sitting also weakens your hips, reducing their mobility and flexibility. Speaking with an athletic trainer or physical therapist about prehab exercises designed for specific athletic activities can help you focus your training to boost performance in very specific ways.
Prehab for General Health
Everyone has a moment in their lives when they experience an injury while performing a simple, everyday task. Prehab for general health and daily living should be built into a personal wellness routine, looking at your body as a whole and identifying functional movement limitations. By increasing strength at a micro and macro level, you can reduce the chance of “freak” or random injuries.
Inactive and overweight people are at much higher risk for general injuries than people who lead active, healthy lifestyles. If you’re struggling to maintain a baseline fitness level or nutrition, speak with a physician or consult an athletic trainer.
Do you want to reduce your risk of injury and identify weaknesses in your general movement? A functional movement screening (FMS) from Velo Sports Rehab can help diagnose your body’s weaknesses and guide you through the strengthening process with targeted exercises and activities. For more information about preventing injury through prehab, contact Velo Sports Rehab or make an appointment with us today.
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