Exercise Therapy
Effective strategies for a balanced, active lifestyle
Exercise is extremely important in order to recover from any soft tissue injury. It is therefore a key part of any physiotherapy treatment. Exercise is also essential for your general health and in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
When an injury affects our muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, or joints there is a loss of strength and flexibility. Some of this will return naturally as the injury heals and we become more active. But muscle imbalances that remain after the original injury has healed often lead to ongoing problems which can include pain, loss of mobility, and decreased function.
Even if you don’t have an injury, imbalances in your muscle strength or flexibility can cause subtle changes in the way you move. This in turn can lead to increased stress in other soft tissues and joints creating a domino effect (the body works as a kinetic chain). Your body may then be more susceptible to pain and injury than if the tissues were stronger and better balanced.
Alignment and movement patterns are carefully addressed in the training of athletes, yet little attention is given to these factors in our everyday activities. Typical examples of our daily movements may include: sitting with poor posture, repeatedly twisting to one side when working between the computer and another desk; bending your neck to cradle the phone between your ear and your shoulder; always carrying your baby on the same hip. These habitual postures or movements can create uneven stresses on the body that may predispose to injury and pain.
Research clearly shows that exercise is necessary to recover from an injury but exercises are also a key factor in dealing with your everyday aches and pains or stiffness. Correcting any faulty movement patterns may help alleviate your discomfort and help prevent them from recurring in the future.
The physiotherapists at Balance will prescribe appropriate exercises for your particular needs.