When we begin exercising after prolonged inactivity, we tend to gravitate to the exercises trending on social media, giving us an idea of where to start again.
While adding new movements to our regimen is always great, it's essential to begin with exercises that will build strength and focus on form.
Functional training should be a priority. It will build strength and focus on the correct form in everyday movements, which leads to less injury, better movement patterns, and greater mobility.
The Academy of Physical Education conducted a 6-month study to determine the likelihood of an active person being injured. The proposition is remaining active substantially improves health outcomes but puts individuals at risk for injuries. The goal is to understand the factors that predict and prevent injuries.
Over 100 physically active young adults participated in the study. Participants did the following:
Filled out a questionnaire to identify their physical activity level
Filled out an injury history questionnaire providing insight into injuries in the 12 months before the study and during the duration of the study
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test assessed the quality of movement patterns
A sit-and-reach test to assess lower back and hamstring flexibility
The results were astounding and impactful, giving us insight into how we should plan our exercises. The results are:
Low-quality movement patterns drastically increase the risk of injury by 700%
One cm reduction of flexibility increased the risk of injury by 6%
Prior injuries increase the likelihood of further injury by 6.4X
Predicting injury occurrence on quality of movement has an accuracy rate of 73%
Predicting injury by flexibility is 41% accurate
Lower back and hamstring flexibility is not a reliable predictor of injury
The data clearly shows that injury is likely to occur with improper form.
Functional training provides a solid foundation to move correctly, increase the range of motion, and flexibility, build a strong body and reduce the chance of injury. You can find functional training exercises here.
Source: (1) National Library of Medicine: Prediction and Injury Risk Based on Movement Patterns and Flexibility in a 6-month Prospective Study Among Physically Active Adults (2) NASM: Functional Training: Compound Workouts for Fitness
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