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■ Topics include sports injuries, exercise first aid, exercise for health, sports science

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Physical activity and wellbeing

EXERCISE IS GOOD FOR YOU Exercise can play a very important role in helping you stay healthy and avoid illness which can lead to poor health, sometimes for the rest of your life. Research has shown it can reduce your risk of suffering from osteoporosis (fragile bones), heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes. It has also been shown to improve cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of developing diabetes as well as some cancers.

NOT DOING EXERCISE IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH Not doing physical activity can lead to higher risks of suffering from the conditions mentioned above.

IT’S BETTER THAN ANY PILL!

If you could capture all the benefits of physical activity in one pill, somebody would be onto a very valuable recipe! Not only can it help prevent a whole range of diseases but it can also help in various chronic pain conditions like back pain and arthritis. There are also many social and psychological benefits including promoting a feeling of

WHAT TYPE OF ACTIVITY IS BEST?

While stamina-based activity is particularly important for health, you also need to include some strength and flexibility- based activity to get the best gains.

Stamina-type activities: Walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, tennis and housework (washing floors or windows) Strength-type activities: Walking uphill, carrying shopping, climbing stairs, gardening (digging or mowing) and housework Flexibility-type activities: Dancing, yoga, Pilates, T’ai Chi and gardening

Tips on increasing your activity level ■ Walking is an ideal activity as it’s free and easy to do anywhere. Perhaps take a dog for a walk, or go with a friend, and to make it more interesting you could use a pedometer to count your steps.

■ Look for opportunities to be active during your whole day. For example park at the far end of the car park, or walk one stop further to catch the bus, and take 10 minutes out of your lunch break to go for a walk.

■ Try using the stairs instead of the escalator. If you do use the escalator, start by walking part of the way and gradually progress to walking up the whole way.

■ Choose activities that you enjoy doing. Involve your friends and family to make your activities fun, sociable and enjoyable.

wellbeing, improving mood, helping you sleep better, and reducing stress.

IT’S FUN AND GOOD FOR EVERYONE

The great thing is that exercise is good for everyone so wherever you live, it would be good for you to get those around you to go out for a walk together. That way you can all help motivate each other and as you get fitter you will find you can do more for less effort.

HOW DOES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HELP YOU? ■ It can help you lose weight particularly if you combine this with cutting calories and eating healthily.

■ It helps build muscle which means you burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.

■ It helps protect you against other conditions which cause ill health like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and some cancers.

■ In the long run, physical activity is as effective as drugs in the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

■ Did you know that several short bouts of activity (eg. 3 x

HOW MUCH AND HOW OFTEN? Frequency

Your main aim is to build up to 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on 5 or more days of the week. If this seems too much to start with, try starting with 3 x 10 minute walks spread throughout the day and work towards 2 x 15 minute walks and then 30 continuous minutes. One goal is to try and increase your activity by 2 minutes each day.

Intensity

Moderate intensity means breathing harder and getting warmer than normal. It does not need to be hard. You should be able to talk and be active at the same time and still feel comfortable.

Advice

Whatever your chosen activity, it should be performed at a gentle intensity which gradually increases for the first 10 minutes until you have reached the level you can maintain for your chosen period of activity. This gets the blood flowing to your muscles and allows your heart rate to increase gradually. When you are nearing the end of your activity you should also slowly decrease the level of over 5-10 minutes to allow your heart rate to slow down gradually.

Remember Set yourself realistic goals and don’t worry if you miss one day. Just make sure that the next day you pick up where you left off.

The information contained in this article is intended as general guidance and information only and should not be relied upon as a basis for planning individual medical care or as a substitute for specialist medical advice in each individual case. To the extent permissible by law, the publisher, editors and contributors accept no liability for any loss, injury or damage howsoever incurred (including negligence) as a consequence, whether directly or indirectly, of the use by any person of the contents of this article.

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Exercising with

colds and flu

Advice on whether you should exercise during illness depends to some extent on your symptoms. This leaflet contains some basic advice you can use to help you to decide whether you should or shouldn’t exercise during this time.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM A growing number of research studies are consistently showing that people who participate in regular physical activity suffer from fewer colds than inactive people. Research has shown that moderate exercise causes a boost in the immune system which appears to reduce the risk of infection in the long-term.

However the age old adage applies, everything is best in moderation. There is also well-established evidence that high intensity exercise can suppress your immune system and leave you at greater risk of infection so heavy weights or high heart rate cardiovascular training are definitely not advisable when you’re feeling unwell.

Exercises for ankle sprain

SHOULD YOU EXERCISE IF YOU FEEL UNWELL? Research has shown that moderate exercise when you have a cold does not appear to affect the severity or the duration of the cold. Added to which it is likely that if you are suffering from a cold you will feel better if you take some mild activity such as going for a short walk, than if you sat in a stuffy room watching TV.

THE FIRST 24 – 48 HOURS If there is significant injury, it is important to get medical advice to gain a positive diagnosis and correct treatment. Follow the PRICE guidelines on the back page immediately after injury and for up to 3-5 days afterwards.

48 HOURS - 3 WEEKS Toe flex – Lie down on your back, point your toes down and then up towards the ceiling. Foot circles – Circle the foot clockwise and anti-clockwise in a sitting or lying position. Toe crunches – Sit on a chair, and use your toes to crumple a towel. Progress to the next exercises when you can complete these without pain.

PROGRESSION SPEED Your therapist will advise you on the speed you should progress on the strengthening/movement control and proprioception progression programme. Progression is not just about being able to do the exercise but to do it correctly, with appropriate control. Remember poor practice leads to poor performance and potential strain on your injury. If at any time you feel pain or discomfort stop the exercises and consult your therapist.

YOUR REHABILITATION PROGRAMME This programme has specific exercises to strengthen muscles around the ankle as well as improve balance and joint position sense (proprioception) of your ankle. In order to achieve proper rehabilitation of your injury it is important to ensure the exercises are performed with good technique. Poor practice may place potential strain on your injury. The following leaflet includes some exercises to help in your rehabilitation.

However there are different circumstances when you should and shouldn’t take exercise if you are feeling unwell. These are summarised by the ‘neck check’ rule.

STATIC STRETCHING EXERCISES

Hold each stretch for 20 seconds and repeat five times on each leg. It is important to stretch the uninjured muscles so that both legs reach a similar point of flexibility.

THE ‘NECK CHECK’ RULE If you don’t have a fever and your symptoms occur above the neck, such

GASTROCNEMIUS STRETCH similar

Take the position shown with feet pointing forwards and heels in contact with floor. Bend the front knee and straighten the back one keeping your head up and hips forward. Keep heels in contact with the floor. Perform this exercise on both legs.

SETS 1

SOLEUS STRETCH

Following from the exercise above, bend your back knee slightly to stretch the soleus muscle. Perform this exercise on both legs.

SETS 1

BALANCE, CO-ORDINATION AND STRENGTHENING EXERCISES

Do each exercise holding for 15 seconds, progressing to one minute as your ankle gets stronger.

SINGLE LEG BALANCE

Stand on your injured leg and balance for 15 seconds. When you can achieve this comfortably progress to holding your arms out to the side while balancing on the injured leg and then progress to closing your eyes. Hold for 15 seconds working up to a minute.

SETS REPS BALANCE BOARD

Stand on a balance/wobble board with both feet and practice balancing. Progress to closing your eyes while balancing and then try throwing a ball against a wall. Work towards doing each activity for a minute.

SETS REPS TOE RAISING AND LOWERING

Sit down or lean against a wall and raise and lower the toe slowly. Repeat 3 sets of 30.

ALPHABET

Draw the alphabet with your foot with a theraband wrapped around it. You should be pulling outwards against the theraband as much as possible. The letters should be drawn as large as possible. Do the exercise at a number of speeds and add repetitions until three sets of A-Z are easy.

SETS REPS

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SETS 3

REPS 30

REPS 5

as a being stuffed-up, having a runny nose, sneezing or a light sore throat it should be fine for you to exercise.

Begin by exercising for 10 minutes lightly (at a much lower intensity than your usual session) and if you feel better during this 10 minutes, continue to exercise lightly.

If you feel worse then it is advisable to stop exercising and give your body a chance to recover from the illness.

If your symptoms are cold-like and not flu-like it is safe to resume intensive sessions a few days after the symptoms have disappeared.

If however you have more flu-like symptoms such as a fever or your symptoms are below the neck such as chest congestion, vomiting, aching muscles, diarrhoea or swollen glands, then you should not work out that day. Under these circumstances your cardiovascular system is likely to already be under stress combating the infection and exercise will only increase this stress and possibly lengthen your recovery time.

If you are still unsure whether the cause of your illness is a cold or flu and you are not sure whether you can

SYMPTOMS Fever Headache

General aches and pains

Fatigue and/or weakness Extreme exhaustion Stuffy nose Sneezing Sore throat

Chest discomfort/ cough

exercise, consult your GP.

If you have flu-like symptoms such as extreme tiredness, aching muscles, and a fever it is best not to resume full intensity training for at least 2-4 weeks after the symptoms have gone because although you may feel better, your body is likely to need more time to recover. During this time it should be OK to do mild to moderate intensity exercise.

TREATING COLDS AND FLU Colds and flu are both caused by viral infections of the respiratory tract and figures suggest that the average adult suffers 2-3 of these infections each

FLU Likely (high 102-1040

Yes Likely and often severe

Yes - up to 2-3 weeks Likely

Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Mild to moderate

COLDS Rare Rare

Sometimes Mild Never

Common Usual

Common

Common and can become severe

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