Infantry Regiment

Many of our clients at our sports physiotherapy clinic Bournemouth switch to triathlon from a swimming, cycling or running background…. The sport has become HUGE since the first one in California in 1974.

Why not give yourself a challenge next year and book one in then methodically work towards your goal?

One thing’s for sure- the journey will never be boring….

Lay out a plan at the beginning of the year- to maximise your strengths and optimise your weaknesses. Get some coaching if you need it and grab a training partner to keep each other motivated through the difficult winter months.

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a triathlete is being off training due to injury. Unfortunately due to the amount of training involved and the different requirements of each sports, injury is not unusual.

Screening is an important strategy for preventing injury before it occurs. A good sports physiotherapist will understand the biomechanical requirements of the sport, the sport specific risk factors and the individual’s musculo-skeletal system.

Screening

Screening is best done early in the season when training load is not too great- and allow time to correct training flaws or muscle imbalances. Screening involves understanding the athletes’ injury history, testing relevant joint ranges of motion and muscle strengths and video analysis of the triathletes’ swimming, cycling and running biomechanics where appropriate. Any current injuries or niggles will also be treated at this time.

This will detect any predisposing factors that may lead to injury. Some common examples are:

■asymmetry between the left and right sides

■joint or muscle inflexibility

■any muscular weakness or joint instability

■any biomechanical faults.

If any relevant factors are detected, the athlete will be prescribed an individually tailored programme of stretches and exercises to rectify the problem and reduce the risk of future injury.

Two main predisposing factors to injury that we see in the practice is stiffness in the thoracic spine and tight hip flexors. This pattern is extremely common in triathletes.

Thoracic Stiffness

Cycling training is one potential cause of thoracic stiffness in triathletes, because of the time spent in the time-trial position. If good spinal posture is not maintained on the bike, the thoracic spine can become excessively hunched when the triathlete becomes fatigued. If the cycling spinal posture is not corrected and the mid-spine is not regularly stretched, stiffness can develop; a drop in cycling performance may follow as a result of the athlete adopting a less efficient aero-dynamic position.

This stiffness can also lead to a multitude of injuries, especially to the shoulders (impingement) during swimming. Swimming performance can also be adversely affected by the resultant restriction to shoulder range of motion, undermining the streamlined hydrodynamic position and causing a potential reduction in stroke length.

Tight Hip Flexors

Tight hip flexors from cycling and running predispose the athlete to low-back injuries, hamstring and hip flexor strains and most lower limb overuse injuries can be linked to tight hip flexors. Hip flexor and quadriceps stretching are essential to prevent this pattern from developing. The muscle groups should be stretched daily, before and after activity (especially after cycling). Stretches should be held for approximately 1 minute without bouncing, performed gently and slowly to the point of tension but never pain.

Biomechanics

The final aspect of the musculo-skeletal screening is to view the triathletes’ biomechanics on video. Efficient and well-aligned running and cycling biomechanics are vital to performing well and also to prevent most lower-limb injuries from developing. When running and cycling, our legs should move up and down like pistons within an engine. If they do not, injuries can ensue. Likewise swimming analysis is essential as good technique is important for improving efficiency and power.

Most triathletes could benefit from this visual assessment of their actions, and it can be performed by any sports physiotherapist or triathlon coach. It is the starting point from which to develop appropriate drills and strategies to improve technique and rectify any biomechanical flaws.