Have you suffered an injury and not sure when to get back into training?
Or are you looking to start exercise but don’t have the confidence in your strength? Well we have some good news. Jana and I teamed up with Giancarlo from Thrive Physiotherapy to learn the best ways to recover from injury and prepare your body for whatever exercise (*and life) throws at you.
But first, who are Thrive Physiotherapy?
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Thrive Physio Plus has been developed with a simple philosophy in mind: to get people out of pain and functioning at their maximum potential through active listening, treatment techniques that work, and design and implementation of a plan with no band-aid solutions to give you the outcome you want. We care for people and our drive for outcome-based healthcare keeps us motivated and hungry to assist every client in reaching their goal.
Your best advice on injury prevention
“Get Strong!
A lot of injuries arise becoming injured as a result of their bodies not being able to cope with the demands placed on them. We see this especially with overuse injuries like tennis elbow and Achilles tendon issues.
In order to best prevent injury, we need to incorporate some sort of strength training into your program. By strength training we increase the resilience and capacity of our tissues to cope with whatever activity it is we are doing. This significantly reduces the chance of our bodies’ tissues being overloaded and therefore reducing the risk of injury.
Lastly, get some sleep. Those that get less than 8 hours sleep per night have 1.7 times greater risk of being injured than those who sleep greater than 8 hours. Sleep is heavily underrated in the injury prevention process!”
How can patients maximize the benefits of a physiotherapy treatment session?
“We are big advocates that getting people past pain isn’t enough! We believe that once someone is out of pain that we can do our best work, which usually involves targeted strength and mobility work. This ensures that not only are you going to be able to perform better, but you are much less likely to have the injury return.
In order to facilitate this stage of rehab, we run small group (max of 4 people) exercise sessions which are supervised by our physios and is a combination of Pilates based exercises using reformers and strength training. We don’t have preset programs that you work through each week, every session is different and tailored to specifically to you with your goals always front of mind.”
How do you run your physio supervised exercise sessions?
“It is one physiotherapist looking after a maximum of 4 people at a time for 1 hour. Each person requires an initial assessment with a physio to discuss and outline their goals and desired outcome of the sessions collaboratively, to determine areas that may require extra attention in the sessions and to familiarise themselves with the equipment. During the session, the physiotherapist will set up the equipment and prescribe an exercise to each person which they will then perform under close supervision.”
What are the benefits of small group classes?
“By having small classes, it ensures that the physiotherapist has ample time to ensure that all exercises are being done with correct form, to allow time for making tweaks to exercises on the fly to ensure that everyone is getting the most from their sessions. It also provides the freedom to incorporate a broad variety of exercises into each session to keep them fresh and interesting, because who likes doing the same exercises week in week out.”
What if I have an injury?
“Our classes are ideal for all fitness levels and injuries. This is why we ensure all clients have an initial assessment with a physiotherapist prior to commencing our group classes. This ensures that we know exactly what areas you need to work on to improve your condition, and what we need to modify in the sessions to avoid aggravating your pain.”
What is the difference between a physio-led class and other group classes (especially fitness based pilates training)?
“In our sessions, when niggles arise, our physios have the knowledge base and training to be able to prescribe exercises which can help straight away, rather than having to wait to see a physio separately.
We also have an in depth understanding of your body and why you are here in the first place. This allows us to tailor each and every session specifically to you on any given day. For example, if you wake up one day with a sore lower back or neck, we’re able to give you exercises in the class to help alleviate your pain straight away.”
For those who want some guidance on a strength program that will build strong foundations, what do you recommend?
“If you’re thinking of starting out on your strength journey, that is amazing! I would have a chat to one of our friendly physios to discuss a plan of attack to get you started on the right track from day 1. Research suggests that in order to see meaningful changes in your strength, you need to perform targeted strength work at least 2-3 times per week for 6-12 weeks. So a great way to get you started could be to attend group classes 2x per week for 6 weeks to start building a good base of strength and to familiarise yourself with strength training. At this point, we’d have a chat to determine the best way to progress, whether that be continuing the group sessions with us, moving to a more traditional gym setup or a combination of both!”
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Well there you have it!
All your questions answered about strength, conditioning and the best ways to get a head start on your journey whether you want a tailored approach to your fitness goals or need a more customised program for injury management.
Jana and I are such big advocates of movement for good health. Excellent strength foundations will help you to excel in your chosen sport, training and/or whatever your everyday routine throws at you.
So, to celebrate all things good health, great strength (and education) and excellent movement, b3 have teamed up with Thrive Physio Plus to help you get ahead in your strength and fitness journey.
For 50% off your initial consult at Thrive Physio Plus, call them on 08 8490 0777 and tell them team b3 sent you!
