Therapists are familiar with this question, and the answer is complex. Accidents happen, and oftentimes, no one sees them coming. That being said, you can reduce your risk of injury by being prepared. 

Before we talk about how to prepare, let’s consider why injuries might happen to start with. Injuries can happen when the demand or load that is placed on the body exceeds its capacity or tolerance to accept load. 

DEMAND > CAPACITY

Demand is the stress experienced by the body. The factors that influence demand include the volume/intensity of activity, psychological stress from life or even trauma. Capacity is the body’s ability to accept stress and perform according to it. Capacity is affected by nutrition, hydration, sleep quality, joint and muscle health as well as fatigue among many others. When the body does not have the capacity to meet the demand of an activity, the risk of injury will increase.

Understanding the complex relationship between demand and capacity can help determine where to focus efforts in reducing the risk of injury. One approach is to increase one’s physical capacity so that they have a greater ability to handle the demands of any given activity. The first step in doing this is to understand what ranges of motion will be required to perform an activity. For example, the range of motion required at the hips and ankles are different if you are running or squatting. The second step is to ensure you have the adequate range of motion and strength to move your joints through that range of motion. To understand the importance of joint range of motion, we’ll use the brain-joint map analogy.

Every joint in the body is represented in the brain like a map. Some joints take up more real estate than others. As you develop from infancy into adulthood, you explore various ranges of motion through activity and play.  As you continue to explore various ranges of motion, the map for each joint becomes more vivid. Think of moving to a new city: At first, the area is unfamiliar and you may not know your way around, but the more you visit the same locations, the more familiar you become with the route. As time goes by, some individuals stop exploring ranges of motion or areas of the map. When you stop exploring regions of the map, your brain starts to forget how to navigate that area. After a while, that area of the joint map becomes unfamiliar territory. Years down the road, if you are forced into this unfamiliar territory, you may encounter obstacles with limited capacity to navigate them.

For example, if you are fairly sedentary and decide to take up a recreational sport, you may be asking your joints to perform in positions that haven’t been explored in several years. Exploring an unfamiliar range of motion (or territory of a joint map) in a high demand environment can lead to injury. Exposing yourself to a wide range of positions can help maintain and improve your capacity to accept load in positions you may not spend a lot of time in. That way, if you decide to start a new activity, your body will be better prepared to move through the ranges of motion required to meet the demands being placed on it, thereby lowering the risk of injury. 

A qualified manual therapist can help you determine if your body has the ability to meet the demands of a sport or activity. They do this by performing a joint-by-joint assessment to find out if there are any limitations in the body. A treatment plan and exercise routine can then be prescribed to help improve the range of motion in those limited areas.

To start increasing your physical capacity, incorporate exercises or activities that push you outside of your normal day to day positions. Yoga, Pilates or basic range of motion exercises can all help challenge your body to move in ways that you don’t spend a lot of time in. The more you explore positions that you spend very little time in, the more prepared your body will be to perform at its best. 

If you are curious about whether your body has the physical capacity to meet the demands of any given activity or sport, book an assessment with a member of our team.