Injury Prevention:  Start PRE-habilitation to Avoid Rehabilitation

People get injured all the time – some are activity related others freak accidents like a friend of mine who shut his trunk of his car and dislocated his shoulder.  Many injuries are sports related or environmental injuries such as heat stress.  Stuff happens!

But there are ways to avoid many of these common injuries that occur daily in life and in sporting activities – the method I prefer is called – PREHABILITATION.

Defined by the National Institute of Health, doctors use pre-hab to prepare a patient for the inactivity associated with post surgical procedures.  The addition of functional exercises prior will help a patient rebound more quickly.  Generally speaking, a pre-hab program consists of warming-up, stretching to full range of motion, a cardiovascular component like walking or swimming, and a resistance training component mixed with functional tasks.

But, many physical therapists and athletic trainers are using pre-hab as part of a daily program to help prevent the nagging injuries as well as the ones that require surgery.  To be specific, a Pre-hab program to prevent injuries focuses on a person’s or athlete’s imbalances in the body.  Most imbalances occur in the following regions of the body:

Abdominal region / lower back – Many people work their stomach muscles but neglect their lower back causing an imbalance that can lead to injury in both sports and daily life.

Chest and Upper back / Rear Shoulder – Many young athletes try to bench press a truck but neglect their upper back and rear deltoids which can lead to shoulder injuries to a sloping of the upper back.

Thighs and Hamstrings – A very delicate combination of exercises needs to be configured so the back of the legs (hamstrings) do not get under worked.  A hamstring injury usually occurs when running sprints or jumping. Usually the upper side of the hamstring receives the injury so a smart stretching plan that incorporates the top and bottom of the hamstring connections is critical.

There are many other natural imbalances in the body.  Basically, any movement your body makes there are two  or more groups of muscles or joints that is stretching or flexing to make or oppose that motion.  Understanding this and following some of the ideas in the articles in the StewSmith.com Article Archive will help you further.

The links below will help you train smarter and hopefully prevent injury.  Injuries occur all the time but can be easily avoided by training smarter – not necessarily harder!

Fitness Beginners, Go from Zero to Sixty

Lower back Pains

Shoulder Workouts and Rehab

Knee and Running Injuries

Prevent Running Injuries

The Stretching Plan

When it is TOO hot to run

Nausea During Workout

Can you Die If You Drink Too Much Water?

And many others at the StewSmith.com Article Archive

Stew Smith, former Navy SEAL and fitness writer is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (www.nsca.com) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).  Email him personally at stew@stewsmith.com or stew@mycustomworkout.com

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      Stew Smith, CSCS is a Naval Academy graduate and former Navy SEAL and fitness author.  His fitness credentials are held by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (www.nsca.com) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.  He can be reached at stew@stewsmith.com by email if you have any questions.