Are you training for a marathon? Do you find yourself suffering from nagging calf, knee or hip pain/tightness?
Athletes often find themselves suffering from nagging injuries that don’t seem to connect to a specific trauma. There are reasons why this happens, and understanding the concept of load vs. capacity can help athletes better recover and better prevent future injuries.
Simply put, all musculoskeletal injuries are the result of an imbalance between the load placed on the body and the body’s capacity to handle that load. When training for a marathon the two variables that impact load are volume of training and intensity of training. Capacity, on the other hand, is how much load the body can handle without damage, breakdown or dysfunction.
An athlete maintains a healthy balance when the load is less than or equal to the body’s capacity. It’s only when the physical load exceeds the body’s capacity that the body will sustain injury. This load vs. capacity balance applies to all of the musculoskeletal tissues of the body: muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage, bone, disc and nerve.
A physiotherapist will be able to help you overcome nagging issues by:
Helping you better understand the load vs capacity training principle.
Complete a thorough movement assessment to pick up any movement dysfunction.
Helping design you a strength & conditioning program to effectively increase your training loads.
Provide manual therapy as needed to treat and resolve aches and pains
Our Physiotherapists will also be able to refer you on to other members of the In Stride team such as Podiatrists, Dietitians, Myotherapist & Massage Therapists to ensure all aspects of your training needs can be met.
So, don't let niggling issues build up and stop you from achieving your race day goals - book your appointment online today.
Good luck!!