Aerobic Flush recovery session

What is an aerobic flush recovery session?

On the days in between intense physical activity and training it is extremely common to become physically and mentally fatigued.

With sports coming back and athletes ready to give it there absolute best and kick the year off with a bang! It is likely that at some point you may begin to feel drained both physically and mentally.

Although this may indicate that you need a bit of a rest from your sport and take some time off there is a minor risk that you may lose some of your conditioning during this brief period. There are some alternative ways to maintain your condition and have a break at the same time.

An “aerobic flush” recovery session is a commonly used tool in elite sports to enhance recovery amongst there athletes.

There are many reasons as to why an aerobic flush can be beneficial to add to your routine. Firstly aerobic flush sessions have the capacity to identify any niggles that may need addressing. Secondly they allow the body the opportunity to reduce or “flush” any metabolic waste that is caused by high intensity exercise. Lastly it also provides the athlete with an opportunity to freshen there mind and give them a mental change up from there normal sports.

To give you an example:

Say you are a semi-professional or up and coming AFL player. You are currently training three times a week for about an hour and a half each time and have a game on the weekend.

You can see how this might become quite physically and mentally demanding.

As an “aerobic flush” you can play a low intensity game of soccer or go play a game of tennis instead.

As stated above this can be beneficial both from a physical and mental perspective. In fact there is good evidence to suggest that low intensity exercise can have a positive affect on muscle soreness.

If you would like to find out more about recovery and aerobic flush recovery sessions please refer to our previous article on injury prevention and recovery or please feel free to contact us here at the clinic.

Chris Pearson
Physiotherapist

Injury prevention with return to sport

Injury Prevention Post COVID

Now that local sports are coming back there is the expectation that some teams will be playing multiple games in the same week. It is known that a large spike in activity places players at increased risk of injury. Here are a few tips to try and reduce your risk of getting injured during this busy time of the year.

1. Steadily increase your workload

• From this point on it would be an excellent idea to steadily increase your workload over the next few weeks
• For example, if you are returning back to football and generally run around 5-6km during a game, initially start of by running 1-2km during a training session and then steadily increase your distance over a few weeks

2. Adequate warm up and cool down

• As always make sure you spend 10-15 minutes doing a good warm up and cool down
• A good warm up will include a period of Jogging, some dynamic stretches and some sport specific skill drills
• A good cool down will include a period of Jogging, some passive stretching and some foam rolling

3. Optimise your recovery

Recovery and rest are arguably the most important aspect of your training

• Recovery techniques like using a foam roller or spiky ball, cold water immersion and massage are excellent things you can add to your routine to get the most out of your recovery
• Most importantly make sure you get an adequate amount of sleep and eat good nutritious food.

4. Listen to your body

• If you begin to feel a bit more tired than normal its likely because your body is struggling to keep up with the demands that your sport is placing on you. This might be a good indication to either give yourself an extra day for recovery or to reduce your current workload to a more suitable amount
• If you don’t want to completely reduce your workload, a nice way you can do this is by doing an “aerobic flush”. An example of an “aerobic flush” includes a small 30-minute low intensity game of soccer or a game of touch

5. Get your niggles sorted

• If you have been struggling with an injury and it has not fully recovered now is an excellent time to see your physiotherapist for an assessment. This will allow you to set a plan and complete specific rehabilitation work before the season kicks off. Your physiotherapist can also help guide your return to increased activity. Contact the clinic today on 5578 7155 to discuss how we can help you return to the sporting field in peak condition.

I have a strong core, why do I have back pain?

The prevalence of chronic lower back pain has increased more than 100% in the last decade and continue’s to increase dramatically in the ageing population.
For many years the claim that “strengthening your core muscles” and performing exercises that promote “core stability” has been widely accepted as one of the most effective options for people with lower back pain. However more recently these claims have been challenged due to a lack of merit and supportive evidence. The reality is that there are many factors which can contribute to lower back pain and this does
include things like mental health, physical activity levels, sleep and diet. One thing we are confident of is that people with chronic lower back pain need to remain physically active, because long periods of inactivity can negatively affect recovery. Although at this stage it is still unknown as too what form of exercise is best for the management of
lower back pain, we can be confident that general exercises that we enjoy can be beneficial.

Lets provide you with few examples:
1. Walking
Walking is commonly recommended to relieve pain and improve function in people with persistent
lower back pain and this is well supported by evidence.
2. Aquatic Exercise
Water based exercises like swimming and water running and walking can also be very effective for
people with persistent lower back pain. In fact studies demonstrate that water based exercises can
promote an improvement in pain levels, physical function and mental health.
3. Yoga
Yoga is becoming increasingly popular over the past years and there is a good abundance of
evidence that yoga can reduce back pain and disability. The other great thing about yoga is that it
can be done both in a group (via video of course!) or it can be done by yourself at home.
If you would like to find out more about how physiotherapy can help with your lower back pain and
would like an exercise program to help, please feel free to contact us at the clinic. Or call 5578-7155

Chris Pearson
Physiotherapist

Tips to keep you active while your sport is on hold

We often see an increase in injuries when there is a spike in activity- pre season or returning to sport after a holiday are good examples of this. With all sporting league and activities currently on hold, it is important to try and maintain your fitness as much as possible to avoid this spike in load on your return to sport when allowed. Here are some tips to keep you active over the next couple of months:

1. Try and maintain a schedule- if you are used to training twice a week then continue to allocate two sessions a week to ‘at home training’. Keeping a consistent load will help avoid any major drops or spikes in load which are often linked to soft tissue injuries. The Department of Health recommend kids aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day while adults should aim for 30 minutes
2. Sport specific injury prevention programs- now is a great time to complete these programs such as the FIFA 11+ for soccer or KNEE program for netball. Both of these programs incorporate strengthening exercises that can be done with very little space needed. They aim to improve your strength, balance and co-ordination to help prevent soft tissue injuries and improve your movement efficiency. Aim to complete
a strength program like this 2-3 times per week, it should take roughly 20 mins per session.
3. Break up your ‘at home training’ into cardio, strength and skill if possible. Access to fields and equipment is limited so get creative! Your cardio may now be riding a bike (stationary or out on a path/road), swimming in your pool at home or going out for a run around the neighbourhood. If you don’t have a home gym set up your strengthening can be done with body weight exercises, injury prevention programs
(ideas listed above) or via virtual classes. There are a few Pilates studios/gyms offering virtual exercise classes that you can complete at home.
4. Don’t forget to warm up/cool down- just like your usual sport training session would include a warm up, don’t forget to do this as part of your ‘at home training’ as well. This could be as simple as a brisk walk, light jog, dynamic stretches etc for your warm up.
5. Good time to get your niggles sorted- have you been struggling with a bit of soreness/tightness on and off so far this year? Now is a great time to see your physio for an assessment and work on any rehab while the season is on hold so you can return fit and ready to go!

Surviving Arthritis during COVID-19

SO you’re over 55, got an arthritic joint and you’re at a higher risk of problems associated with COVID-19, self isolating and/or limited outdoor time

Managing Osteoarthritic (OA) joints can become a little difficult especially when a large part of the management of chronic OA revolves around exercise.

an OA joint may cause you to feel

• Pain
• Stiffness – morning especially
• weakness
• Crunching or grinding noise
• Poor exercise tolerance
• giving way (lower extremity joints eg. hip / knee)

The best way to manage your OA well in the coming months is

A) Watch your weight

• your activity levels are likely to be less – make sure you offset this by doing your best to avoid weight gain

B) Diet

• ensure a nutritious balanced diet – there is some evidence to suggest that anti-inflammatory foods play a role in reducing inflammation associated with OA

C) Exercise

• it is important to continue to exercise to a level that doesn’t make your symptoms worse
• a combination of strengthening exercises is best – Physio can help here
• avoid peaks and troughs in your activity levels – often pain presents if you’ve had a break and then try to resume

D) Medication

• when needed anti-inflammatory medications can be helpful
• natural remedies may also help

E) Sleep

• to date sleep is the only proven recovery and rejuvenating activity that is research backed
• also sleep appears to impact on the severity of ones symptoms ie. Less or poor sleep seems to make things worse

D) Physiotherapy

YES! Exercise and physiotherapy can greatly affect joint healthy – improve your function and reduce pain. Physiotherapy and education should be the first port of call before any surgical procedures.

WHY and HOW does Physio help?

• Osteoarthritic joints need a healthy amount of load – this can promote cartilage growth by stimulating synovial fluid to nourish the joint
• Bones become stronger and resilient with weight bearing exercises
• Weight loss reduces the direct load on the joint
• Exercise can decrease inflammatory chemicals around the body that may contribute to OA
• Pain relief – Exercise release endorphins that can cause less pain and increased feelings of well being
• Exercise benefits the cartilage by developing stronger muscles / increase range of motion and better muscle motor control

Contact Physiologic on 55787155 to book an appointment OR an offsite Telehealth appointment today to manage your OA.

PHYSIOLOGIC’S BEST WAYS TO EXERCISE DURING COVID 19

EXERCISE and WELL BEING – an absolute must in this time of uncertainty.

Staying home will see your freedom and your physical and mental capacity challenged in the coming weeks/months.

Don’t forget our live FB YOGA with Alex