REPs Magazine Fitness Matters 10 | Page 33

manifest into bigger and bigger problems like knee, ankle, hip and lower back injuries.” The key is patience and increasing gradually over time. After months of committed training, there is nothing worse than being sidelined with an injury. When PTs help educate their clients about how to train sensibly for big running events, it can not only help them remain injury-free, it can even help propel them to a new personal best. Know When To Refer If your attempts at preventative training fail and your client does get injured, you must know when to step away and hand over to a medical professional. It’s then up to them to guide you and the client on to a safe path to training. Maintaining contact with a physio, and the client, when they’re sidelined with injury, is the best way of keeping the person as a client, and of being prepared correctly for what to do with them when they’re back on their feet. @REPsUK FM 33