LOADED EXPOSURE
A common question we get at Trident is:
- How long till I can get back to exercising?
- How much exercise can I do?
Depending on the type and level of injury the advice will be different. But in the majority of cases we think of 2 different scenarios:
- The boom-bust scenario – when the level of activity is too high over a short time period. This doesn’t allow the tissues time to adapt, likely leading to re-aggravation. For example we see this in runners who have time off running after injury and try to return to pre injury running loads too quickly.
- The pacing pattern – this is the ideal scenario where we slowly introduce more activity depending on the tolerance to load. This will take longer however commonly leads to less re-aggravation allowing the individual to consistently develop strength and fitness around the injured area, leading to better outcomes overtime.
The take home is injuries can be frustrating but RE-INJURY can be more frustrating so following a GRADUAL LOADING PLAN is important in reducing the likelihood of the boom-bust scenario.
Thanks again to Dr Ian Skinner for sharing his knowledge!
