REDUCE THE ODDS OF INJURY

NG PREVENTI ACUTE INJURY NG PREVENTI CHRONIC INJURY

While accidents do happen, there are steps you can take to lessen the chances of suffering both acute and chronic injuries, says MTB coach Chris Kilmurray Acute injuries happen when things get out of hand and you crash, resulting in a bone or soft tissue injury, or even worse. To help prevent these, get strong and get mobile. Regular strength training, whether with a barbell, dumbbell or your own body weight, is proven to increase the strength, resilience and robustness of your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Like strength training, a regular mobility training session – such as yoga, or as part of your warm-up before riding – goes a long way to improving your chances of escaping serious injury in a fall. Your muscles and connective tissue will move optimally through far greater ranges of motion and your body will be less tense when you crash. Chronic injuries are a little more complex than acute injuries. They usually arise from overdoing it – simply too much of a good thing. Consistency and regeneration are key words here. Chronic issues like IT-band pain, sore joints or frequent cramping all come from doing too much too soon, or too hard too soon. Aim for regular rides – a couple of short sessions a week, every week, is a lot better than one epic five-hour ride a month. Regeneration is a more ‘active’ recovery. Doing relaxing and enjoyable activities away from your bike is a great way to prevent chronic injury. Other sports, walking, self-massage using foam rollers, regular short stretch sessions or even a warm bath can do wonders to offset the long-term loads that cause chronic injury.