You had a bad knee. It now feels better. Great! But what happens next?
For some people, getting out of pain and back to normal day to day life is exactly what they need from physiotherapy. You may leave knowing what to do to keep things moving well, and knowing where we are if you need us again.
For others, however, feeling better is only part of the journey.
Perhaps you want to get back to long walks without your hip beginning to ache. Maybe you play hockey and notice your back or knees struggling towards the end of a match. You might be returning to running after an injury, training for your first 10K, or preparing for an Ironman.
Or perhaps you simply want to feel stronger and more confident in what your body can do.
This is where strength & conditioning can add another dimension to physiotherapy.
From recovery to resilience
Physiotherapy isn’t simply about treating the painful bit. A thorough assessment looks at how you move, your strength and mobility, and the factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.
For example, pain in one area doesn’t necessarily mean that is the only area that needs attention. Reduced strength or control elsewhere can sometimes mean another part of the body is having to work harder than it should.
During rehabilitation, exercises are often used to address these problems and help you return to normal activity.
Strength & conditioning builds on this.
Rather than stopping once everyday activities are comfortable again, we can progressively develop the strength and physical capacity needed for the things you want your body to do. That can be very different from person to person.
Is strength & conditioning the same as personal training?
There can be some overlap, but strength & conditioning within physiotherapy starts with a clinical understanding of your injury, your rehabilitation and how your body is currently functioning.
This means we can bridge the gap between recovering from an injury and returning to higher levels of activity. Rather than simply giving you a workout, the aim is to build the particular strength, control and physical capacity you need for your own goals.
Stefan, one of our Physiotherapists with a particular interest in strength and conditioning explains ‘Often people get to the point where their injury feels much better, but they are not quite back to where they were before. That’s where we can start building things up by improving strength and gradually increasing what the body can cope with, depending on what that person wants to get back to.’
Strength & conditioning isn’t just for athletes
The term ‘strength & conditioning’ can sound sporty, but you don’t need to be an athlete to benefit from it.
Your goal might be to:
- walk further without pain or fatigue
- feel stronger going up and down stairs
- return confidently to gardening or an active hobby
- cope better with a physically demanding job
- get back to running after injury
- improve your strength for tennis, hockey, cycling or another sport
- prepare for a particular event or challenge
The important thing isn’t how athletic you are. It is making sure your body has the capacity for what you’re asking it to do.
What does it actually involve?
Strength & conditioning isn’t simply being given a harder set of exercises.
Our physiotherapists can assess how you move and identify where additional strength, control, mobility or endurance may be useful. Exercises can then be selected specifically for you and progressed appropriately as you become stronger.
Technique matters too. Expert coaching can help make sure you’re performing exercises effectively and safely, rather than simply working harder.
For someone returning to sport, rehabilitation can gradually become more specific to the demands of that sport. For somebody who simply wants to walk further, the programme might look completely different.
Do I need it after physiotherapy?
Not necessarily. Some people recover well, return to everything they want to do and don’t need anything further.
But if you’ve reached the point where your pain is settling and find yourself asking ‘How do I get properly strong again?’, ‘How do I get back to my sport?’ or ‘How can I stop this becoming the thing that limits me?’, strength & conditioning can provide the next stage of your rehabilitation.
At Corsham Physiotherapy, physiotherapy and strength & conditioning don’t have to be two separate things. They can form part of the same journey. From reducing symptoms, through restoring movement and function, to building the strength and resilience you need for the activities that matter to you.
Want to build on your recovery?
If your symptoms have improved but you’d like to become stronger, return to sport or work towards a particular physical goal, our physiotherapist Stefan has a particular interest in strength & conditioning and can help you take the next step.
Book an appointment or contact us to find out more.