Strength training is a crucial component in our training programs, helping us build and preserve muscle mass, and keeping us dynamic on the court or field. But an important step that often falls to the wayside in our strength training routine is preventative rehabilitation, more commonly known as “prehab.”
Prehab exercises are movements that work to prevent injury by strengthening body parts we commonly use in our sports, promoting stability through the major joints of the body, developing the core, and increasing strength by widening our range of motion. VIS Expert and Strength & Conditioning coach, Anna Nelson, tells us more about why we should be doing prehab, and how we can incorporate it into our training and recovery routines.
The Benefits of Prehab
The main benefit that prehab provides is that if done correctly, our risk of injury will be significantly reduced. “Often prehab isn't included until an athlete has already suffered an injury, e.g completing regular ankle proprioception exercises and calf strengthening work once recovered from an ankle sprain,” Nelson says. “Had the athlete already trained their ankle proprioception and calf strength, they may not have suffered as severe an ankle injury, if at all.”
Nelson also explains that the incorporation of prehab can also benefit our performance. “Having strong hamstrings and stiff, reactive ankles won't just reduce your injury risk, these physical qualities also contribute to effective acceleration, top speed and change of direction performance. There is a strong crossover between prehabilitation and physical preparation or strength & conditioning training,” she says. By failing to include prehab into our routines, not only do we not physically prepare our body for “the demands you are placing upon it, but we also can suffer from “an increased risk of injury, increased risk of injury recurrence and reduced physical performance as I mentioned above,” according to Nelson.
How To Incorporate Prehab
The most important thing to remember about the incorporation of prehab movements is to identify what body parts we should be strengthening based on the demands of our sports, our injury risks, and any other specific personal characteristics. “There's not a lot of point in a swimmer who has never had lower limb injuries doing prehab for shin splints, or a cyclist doing shoulder prehab as this is not specific to them or their sport,” Nelson says “So before commencing a prehab programme you need to decide what exercises are going to be effective for your individual needs as an athlete.”
“To not include prehab is to not physically prepare your body for the demands you are placing upon it. This can have consequences such as increased risk of injury, increased risk of injury recurrence and reduced physical performance.”
Nelson explains certain types of movements we can integrate into our training based on what body part we want to strengthen:
Ankles/Feet: “If you are prone to ankle sprains or ankle injuries, then it would be wise to perform some form of foot and ankle 'prehab.'
This would include stability exercises like balances and landing on one leg, strengthening exercises focusing on the calf muscles
Each can be targeted by doing a mixture of straight leg and bent knee calf raises, foot intrinsic exercises like toe scrunches or sand pit drills, stiffness and reactivity work like pogo hops, single leg hops, skipping rope drills.”
Muscular Development: “If you have had a muscle tear like a calf or hamstring, there is an increased chance that you will injure that muscle again
Completing an additional few sets of exercises targeting that muscle or muscle group would be wise
Ex. some hamstring curls or RDLs, or calf raises on the weaker side.”
Tendons: “Tendon related injuries also require extensive prehab, tendons take much longer to heal than muscle tissue so its important to treat your rehab exercises like prehab
Continuing with some of these exercises even after the injury symptoms have gone, will reduce the likelihood of your tendon becoming injured again.”
If we aren’t sure what body parts our sport stresses the most, or if we don’t know where to start incorporating prehab into our routine, Nelson encourages us to ask a coach or physical therapist for guidance. “If you are lucky enough not to have suffered an injury but still want to do prehab to keep it that way, then have a think and speak to your coach or PT about what your strengths and weaknesses are, and do some extra work on those weaknesses! Prehab exercises don't need to be extensive, they can be a few sets of exercises as an addition to a warm up, or post session, or integrated into a gym session,” Nelson says.
Whether we are trying to heal a nagging injury, or trying to prevent getting injured in the first place, prehab is the answer! It's a crucial step in all of our training programs and its power to heal should not be overlooked.
