What a wild ride the last few months have been! In clinic, we are seeing an influx of overload type injuries, or as we have started calling them now ‘COVERLOAD’ injuries! We have all had some kind of disruption to our lifestyles, and with this, some of us have done more and some have done less at varying stages. With this change in our routine we are susceptible to injury due to the altering loads.

Our bodies are very good at adapting to progressive loads placed on them, but when there is too much load placed on the body too quickly, we are at risk of injury. When we are stressed, we often look to exercise to help with our mental well-being, it gives us a release and helps us stay positive. What we need to be careful of is doing too much of the one thing too quickly. For example, going from running 2 days per week to running 5-6 days per week, without gradually building up will likely lead to an overuse injury.

What we have been seeing a lot of in clinic is conditions such as plantar fasciitis, achilles tendon pain and knee pain, which have been caused by Coverload. Education and knowledge about injuries can help us make better decisions in regard to our training. It is very important to listen to your body, gradually layer your exercise and if you encounter any niggles get them sorted promptly.

Kids have also been succumbing to the dreaded Coverload recently. After a period of relative rest with an extended break from school and sport, they have returned all guns blazing and unfortunately, we are seeing a huge influx of Severs (heel pain) in clinic. Fortunately, we have some practical and effective ways to manage these flare ups.

There have been so many unpredictable changes brought about by Covid-19. We probably didn’t expect to see such an increase in injury rates as an indirect result of the lockdowns/lifestyle changes. We love seeing people out there pounding the pavement and reaching their Peak but managing training loads is so important to prevent a Coverload injury. Also, making sure you are using the correct footwear and are strong enough to achieve your goals is also vitally important.

If you feel like you are battling a Coverload injury, make sure you get in touch with the Peak team and we will be only too happy to offer some advice on management. Exercise rehabilitation, footwear and biomechanical assessment, taping and altering training loads will all be considered. Physical activity is an amazing tonic at the moment, but we want you all to stay happy and injury free!