While pushing to improve your technique and achieving results are both important parts of workout regimes, another essential element (yet one which is all too often overlooked) is recovery or ‘prehabilitation’. 

What do we mean by the term prehabilitation? 

Whether you’re a runner, a gym bunny, you cycle, play football, or just enjoy working out at home, prehabilitation is the best way to keep your body in top condition. 

Prehabilitation is about preventing sport-related injuries from occurring. The difference between rehabilitation and the term prehabilitation is that prehab is all about being proactive and undertaking intuitive preventative measures such as regular sports massages or check-ins with the physio early on, to limit the risk of injuries developing. 

Although the tendency may be to continue pushing your body to see better results, actually it’s just as vital that you regularly check in on how well your muscles and joints are coping with the activity. This must be done proactively – after all, it’s far better to try and avoid injuries in the first place.

Even if you’re not a pro-Olympic-level athlete, incorporating regular rest and recovery is an important part of any workout routine. 

In this blog post, we’ll be outlining why prehabilitation is important and steps you can take to avoid incurring or limiting the impact of injuries. 

What different types of prehabilitation are there? 

Sports prehabilitation is a highly personal type of treatment. The assessment, plan and recommended exercises can vary to best suit the requirements of the client and their favourite sports. 

In fact, a prerehabilitation plan is typically unique to the individual. 

Prehabilitation may require the help of trained professionals such as physiotherapists and sports therapists, who will be able to work with you on a regular basis to protect your body from long-lasting damage. 

Prehabilitation can encompass a wide variety of different treatments, including: 

– Physiotherapy

– Sports massage

– Assessing different areas of a client’s body functions, such as muscle control, how they move, core stability, biomechanics, joints, posture and flexibility.

– Educating the client about the potential injuries they may incur through their sport, how these may occur, and how to limit the risk of the emerging injury.

– Discuss how the client typically takes part in their chosen sport(s), then assess any individual risks or areas for improvement.

For example, if the client plays the position of goalkeeper in football, they could receive advice about how to play in this position in a way that prevents common injuries.

– Creating a personalised plan of action for the client, depending on their sport and the unique requirements of their body. 

– Adding regular restorative activities to your week, including yoga, pilates and mobility-focused classes. 

Why is prehabilitiation important?

Prehabilitation works to protect the body against both little interior injuries that sports can cause, as well as more significant long-term damage. Prehab activities and treatments teach you what risks come with your favourite sport and how they can be avoided. 

In addition, if any injuries are beginning to appear, they can be identified early on, and treated before they are allowed to develop. 

Prehabilitation can also help you to improve your performance. It helps individuals to achieve better results by being more aware of how their body is behaving. For example, these regular treatments can improve flexibility, stability, muscle endurance, and muscle strength. As a result, this form of treatment can help you to unlock your potential safely and carefully. 

Although you can never have a complete, 100% likelihood that a sport will not injure you, understanding how training is impacting your body and what areas will be the hardest hit by your routine is the best way that you can significantly cut down this risk. 

About Nordic Balance

Nordic Balance offers 5-star-rated physiotherapy clinics in Battersea, Clapham, Wimbledon and St James’s, Central London. For more information about our range of injury recovery and prevention treatments, including physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, and sports massage, call us on 0208 090 0043.