• an outside force which comes into contact with the body with sufficient force to cause soft tissue damage; for example, a kick to the shin or a fall onto the shoulder

• a sudden forceful action or uncoordinated movement which causes overstretching of soft tissues; for example, straining a calf muscle when pushing off for a tennis shot

A traumatic injury may affect any of the soft tissues of the body. The injury is called a strain when muscles or tendons are involved. The injury is called a sprain when joint capsules or ligaments are affected. In the event that blood vessels are damaged, internal bleeding will occur and may become visible as bruising.

An overuse injury develops over a period of hours, days or weeks as a result of unaccustomed or excessive, repetitive activities. Examples of repetitive activities are pruning, working on a production line, operating a keyboard, or prolonged running. The resulting injuries most commonly affect tendons, periosteum, and bone.

An overuse injury often begins as a minor irritation in the affected tissues. The pain from such an injury is at first eased by moving the involved area and is therefore often ignored. However, as the tissues become more irritable, the pain becomes worse with work or exercising. Persisting with repetitive activities does not allow the slow-healing tissues to fully repair themselves. If the repeated aggravation is continued and the problem is ignored, a long-term overuse injury will develop which is difficult to self-treat.

There are many underlying causes of overuse injuries. Some of these are:

• a sudden increase or change in activity

• a lack of general fitness and flexibility

• incorrect technique whilst performing an activity

• unsuitable equipment or training surfaces

• poor design of a work area

• the most common causes of overuse injuries are too much, too soon, too often

If you have specific training questions please send email to trainer@activeankle.com