Injuries can be a major setback, affecting our daily lives and hindering our ability to perform physical activities. With the help of physiotherapy, we can take proactive steps to prevent injuries from occurring from the beginning. While accidents can happen unexpectedly, there are ways to prevent the degree of injury which could occur. We’ve found that many injuries occur due to muscle imbalances, lack of strength and flexibility. Whether you play sports, exercise in the gym or live a sedentary lifestyle, preventive steps can improve your health and reduce the risk of injuries.
Build Core Strength
You may have heard once or twice to ‘lock in your core’ when exercising and it couldn’t be more true. Your core is the foundation of your musculoskeletal health as strong core muscles not only provide support for your spine, but also spinal stability for the remainder of your muscles. Therefore, building your core strength has never been more vital to injury prevention.
Improve Flexibility and Range Of Motion
Limited flexibility and poor range of motion can make the body more susceptible to injuries. Before exercising or playing sports, make sure you’re stretching and performing mobility exercises to enhance flexibility and joint mobility. This in turn, improves your joint strength, mobility and makes your muscles more resilient, minimising the risk of soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in identifying and addressing these underlying issues through hands-on treatment and targeted exercises. During your initial consultation at Progressive Physio, our team access your health and identify individual risk factors that could increase your risk of certain injuries.
When our physios have an accurate understanding of your risk factors and health, we’ll design a personalised exercise program to target them. These exercises often include improving strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. Our physios will demonstrate the correct technique and guide you through the movements to ensure that you are performing it efficiently. By incorporating these personalised exercises into your routine, you can enhance your body’s resilience and reduce the risk of injury.
Physiotherapy is not just for recovering from an injury, it also plays a vital role in injury prevention. Through a personalised exercise program, our experienced physiotherapists can identify and address individual risk factors and work with you to build strength, stability, and flexibility to enhance your overall health. Remember, prevention is key and the first step starts with you.
At Progressive Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Penrith, we are able to assess, treat, educate and manage all musculoskeletal injuries. We focus on hands-on treatment, exercise prescription and self management techniques tailored to your specific needs. We utilise evidence based treatments to maximise your outcomes.
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Elin, is an alumni of St. Edward’s University and holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, furthered her academic journey by attaining a Doctor of Physiotherapy from Macquarie University in 2022.
Her passion for sports, particularly football (soccer), is evident in both her academic pursuits and personal endeavors. Specialising in the comprehensive well-being of athletes, Elin focuses on restoring them to peak performance while actively preventing future injuries.
Elin’s professional expertise is centered on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, with a specific emphasis on addressing and preventing knee injuries. Her approach integrates expert treatment with a commitment to educating and empowering patients, fostering their active involvement in enhancing their health and overall quality of life.
As an active participant in NPL football with SD Raiders, Elin brings firsthand experience and a profound understanding of the sport’s demands. Beyond the field, she extends her influence by contributing sports coverage over the weekends.
Christopher (Chris) Han graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, and then completed the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University in 2018. Chris is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Sydney and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health in the field of low back pain and is due to complete this in early 2024.
Chris is currently an assistant Physiotherapist for the NRL Referees. Chris has previous experience as the head Physiotherapist at Panthers Premier League Netball and a number of elite sporting athletes in the private setting.
Through Chris’ experiences, he has a particular interest in all areas of the body and musculoskeletal physiotherapy, sports, vestibular rehabilitation, and Men’s Health (pre and post prostate surgery).
Suzanne graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Health Science (Sports and Exercise Science) in 2015. She then went on to continue her studies at Macquarie University graduating from the Doctor of Physiotherapy post-graduate degree in June 2019.
Since graduating, Suzanne has worked in the local Penrith area in both private practice and Sports Physiotherapy. Suzanne has worked with sporting teams including Penrith District Netball Association, Mt Druitt Rangers (NPL), Penrith Valley Figure Skating Club, and local dance and cheer schools.
Suzanne has a particular interest in working with artistic athletes including cheerleaders and dancers. She has a professional background in both cheer and dance and has previously worked as both a cheer coach and dance teacher. Suzanne’s previous experiences are an invaluable resource to her as a physiotherapist, as she has a thorough understanding of the level of physical fitness and skill acquisition that these athletes must have in order to be successful on stage and in competition.
Suzanne’s other areas of clinical interest reside in lower limb musculoskeletal injuries, spinal pathologies and women’s health.
Nathanial graduated as a physiotherapist in 2012 which saw him work in private practice and hospital settings gaining experience in all areas of physiotherapy including hand therapy, splinting/casting, pre/post-operative care, Men’s Health and general musculoskeletal, occupational and sports physiotherapy. Since then he has gone on to complete further studies in physiotherapy enabling him to be the only dual titled Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist in Penrith.
Nathanial has a strong background in sports physiotherapy achieving accreditation with NSWIS as a service provider and working with many elite sports teams.
Nathanial has a particular interest in working with elite athletes, complex cases and in particular assessment and management of knee, hip and shoulder pain.
Andrea graduated from the Australian Catholic University completing her Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science in 2018 and Master’s of Clinical Exercise Physiology in 2020. After graduating she attained accreditation with ESSA as an Exercise Physiologist.
During her studies she gained clinical experience in both hospital and private practice settings, in cardiac rehabilitation, neurological conditions, cancer and chronic musculoskeletal injuries.
Since working at Progressive, Andrea has a specialist interest in treating musculoskeletal injuries, helping people in the mid-late stage of rehab to get them to return to sport or work. As well as helping people manage chronic conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and diabetes.