Kev here again and I’d like to talk to you about recovery…
The more health conscious we get as a nation the more this question pops up in the clinic…..
“Will I return to 100% and be able to do everything I used to be able to do, again?”
The answer to this I find it’s often varied and depends entirely on what the person is like and the activities they do;
…for example a young adult who plays football and comes in with a muscle strain has every chance of getting back to playing football to the same standard and in fact the aim is to return even stronger.
However an older adult who has taken part in a lot of sport throughout their life and has a degeneration problem probably won’t get back to the same 100% they had in their earlier sporting years.
So what does the older health conscious adult do you ask?…
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Well there are a number of different solutions to this but the one I like to advise my clients on can be taken from our very own top tier of English football.
Two players who literally burst on the scene during the 90’s had very similar injury problems at the same stage in their careers.
Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen.
So what made one go on to win more trophies and play more games than any other footballer at the top and the other’s career to fizzle out at the same club as a substitute before retiring?……
The treatment they received, their training methods, genetic make up, yoga perhaps? All of these may have made a difference however I believe their differing career paths were determined as one of them modified their playing style and the other didn’t (or couldn’t?)
Giggs (and Sir Alex) changed from a flying winger to a more central role where he was just as effective and involved in the game HOWEVER the pressure on his explosive muscles were reduced massively.
So the answer following these degenerative problems, which will hit all of us who lead an active life is modification!
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Most of the time at the 50-64 age range it’s your knees and it stops you from playing sports you’ve played all your life and often even jogging.
Why not take up swimming or cycling to take the pressure off your joints?
It is essential that you don’t just stop your healthy lifestyle and instead find something you can do….not just for the health benefits but for your on stress levels.
I’ve actually seen this first hand from my dad when the osteoarthritis in his knees stopped him playing cricket….
This caused him to be miserable as he didn’t have what he’d done for the previous 30 years on a Saturday (and my mam dragged him shopping instead!).
However…once he got out cycling and walking his mood changed dramatically and he was like a completely different person!
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Often when simply stopping all exercise it causes the muscles (especially in your lower back) to stiffen up, which then causes OTHER problems as you get older.
We really can’t emphasise enough how IMPORTANT it is to stay active in whatever way you can!
Find something you enjoy that you can do easily without too much pressure, even if it is at a lower intensity.
And this will keep you healthy physically as well as mentally immediately and in the long term.
Be back soon,
Kev 🙂
If you want to see more blogs I have written take a look here http://www.paulgoughphysio.com/blog/kevan-spanton/
AND If you think you may have overdone it on the exercise or sports have a read of this for some useful hints & tips http://www.paulgoughphysio.com/sports-injury-clinic
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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