Why Strength & Conditioning Isn’t Just For Athletes

Our Sports Therapist Hannah has just completed a Strength and Conditioning CPD course to expand her knowledge in injury rehabilitation. Fine for Exeter Chiefs and other elite athletes, but how exactly does strength and conditioning help ordinary people with everyday problems? We’ll talk about how each different aspect could help Mabel, our imaginary 80-year old with a rotator cuff tear.

In a Nutshell: Rebuild, Recover, and Return Stronger

Strength and conditioning principles play a crucial role in rehabilitating injuries, by helping individuals regain function, strength, and mobility in a controlled and progressive manner.

Injury rehabilitation can be split into different stages so the individual understands the gradual process of returning from an injury. These stages typically include;

1. Initial Rest and Protection

2. Pain Management

3. Mobility and Flexibility Restoration

4. Strengthening

5. Finally, Return to Sport or Activity

Each stage is tailored to the individual's specific injury and progress.

Faster Recovery After Injury

A common mistake we see when clients are doing rehab exercises, is that they stop as soon as the pain has gone or they feel better. However, this shouldn’t happen, as when exercises start to get easy that’s when we can start to challenge the muscles and joints further to build strength, improve mobility, and prevent future injuries. Progression is key in rehabilitation, so continuing with more challenging variations, increased resistance, or higher repetitions ensures long-term recovery and resilience.

What is Progressive Overload?

Progressive overload is used to challenge people during an injury. This allows them to develop by gradually increasing;

• Resistance 

• Volume

• Intensity

However, this does not mean that every session should be as tough as the last one. Instead there should be a trend towards increasing challenge within sessions across a period of training.

For example; starting with body-weighted movements and progressing onto loaded exercises. Suitably qualified professionals can help manage this “ramping up” to ensure you get maximum benefit with the minimum possible reaction or soreness.

How this helps Mabel

By continuing to improve the strength in her shoulder instead of stopping when the pain stops, Mabel is able to get back to doing things she had previously given up on, such as cleaning windows and playing the trumpet. Playing music and keeping her own home tidy give her a restored sense of self-independence.

Movement Patterns Re-Education

When recovering from an injury, movement pattern re-education is crucial for restoring function, preventing compensation, and reducing the risk of re-injury. It involves retraining the neuromuscular system to move efficiently and safely.

Injuries can lead to poor movement mechanics which can cause pain due to pain, weakness, or muscle imbalances. Common dysfunctional patterns include:

• Limping or altered gait 

• Over-reliance on the uninjured side

• Compensatory movements that put stress on other joints

• Guarding or restricted motion due to pain

We use techniques in so-called “Neuromuscular re-education” such as:

Proprioceptive Training: Use balance exercises, wobble boards, or single-leg stands to regain joint awareness.

Muscle Activation Drills: Engage weak or inhibited muscles with specific activation exercises.

These help to restore normal movement and set up clients for effective long-term recovery.

How this helps Mabel

These low-intensity exercises work alongside other weighted exercises to help build supporting muscles and make Mabel’s progress much smoother. The exercises also build strength and coordination beyond just the injured shoulder, giving her much more confidence to move.

Injury Prevention

Strength and conditioning isn’t only used during injury rehab, it can also be used for injury prevention. Injury pre-habilitation can be used either to lower the risk of an injury occurring or can be used if someone has a history of certain injuries and wants to prevent the injury from happening again. 

Injury pre-habilitation can be introduced to training programmes as a proactive approach to improving movement efficiency, and enhancing overall performance. By incorporating targeted exercises that strengthen muscles, improve flexibility, and enhance stability, athletes and individuals can prepare their bodies to handle physical stress more effectively.

How this helps Mabel

As an elderly person, Mabel is at greatly increased risk for falls and their consequences. Falls can have a seriously detrimental effect on quality of life and lifespan in the years that follow. By taking proactive steps to reduce Mabel’s risk of falls, we can ensure she stays as independent as possible for as long as possible.

Common Injuries and Example S&C Approaches

ACL Rehabilitation: 

• Gradual reintroduction of strength exercises

• Plyometrics with focus on knee stability and power

• Proprioception to retrain balance and coordination

Rotator Cuff Injuries: 

• Controlled shoulder exercises, including external rotations and scapular stabilisation drills.

Lower Back Pain: 

• Core strengthening

• Hip mobility drills

• Proper lifting mechanics

Is Strength & Conditioning Key to Recovery and Injury Prevention?

Strength and conditioning principles take your recovery to the next level. While some patients are content to suspend care once the pain is gone, others see the long-term value of building back stronger. After all, if you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got…

A properly structured training programme can make all the difference in achieving long-term health, mobility, and resilience. Book with Hannah now to take advantage of S&C and get fit for life.