Why Injuries Happen – Part 2: Building Resilience through Adaptation & How to Prevent Sports Injury

A tiny plant pushes through a concrete tile, symbolizing how resilience leads to growth against all odds.

In our previous blog, we explored how injuries can happen when our body’s load capacity is exceeded. In this second part, we’ll look at how to build resilience by understanding and utilising adaptation. Adaptation is your body’s way of responding to consistent, manageable challenges and requires two key elements: load and recovery.

Informing the Body: The Power of Repetition

To create positive changes in strength, flexibility, or endurance, we need to clearly signal our body about what we want it to adapt to. This happens through repetition. When we introduce a stimulus repeatedly—like consistent strength training or regular stretching—the body begins to recognise this as a demand that it needs to handle better in the future. With each session, the body responds by adapting slightly, provided it has enough recovery time to repair and reinforce itself (British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), 2023) (All Elite Physio, 2023).

Load vs. Capacity: Beyond Exercise

Remember, the Load vs. Capacity concept applies not only to physical activities but also to our daily lives. BMJ’s research emphasises that our bodies are constantly managing a baseline of stress from daily tasks like walking, standing, and even emotional challenges. This "base load" exists regardless of any additional physical activity we introduce. On days when you’ve slept poorly, experienced high stress, or eaten inadequately, your body’s recovery capacity is reduced, which can make it harder to handle extra physical load, whether it’s a workout or a mentally demanding task (British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), 2023) (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2023).

Stress as a Catalyst for Change

While stress often has negative connotations, it's essential for growth. Controlled, manageable stress—like the challenges we introduce through exercise—pushes the body to adapt. This is why having a balanced load is crucial; too little stress results in no change, while too much can overwhelm the body’s capacity and lead to injury. According to All Elite Physio’s guide, adapting to stress is how the body builds strength, endurance, and resilience (All Elite Physio, 2023).

Progressive overload combined with proper recovery can lead to strength adaptation and growth.

Adaptation Formula: Load + Recovery = Adaptation

For successful adaptation, we need both load and recovery. Recovery allows the body to repair itself, building back stronger to handle future challenges, too much or too little will not create the desired results. Here’s how to maximise these elements:

1. Optimising Recovery: The quality of our nutrition, sleep, and stress management significantly impacts recovery. Research supports that well-balanced nutrition and sufficient sleep provide the raw materials and energy needed for recovery, enhancing capacity over time (British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), 2023).

2. Building Functional Resilience: Increasing functional abilities, like strength and flexibility, allows us to better handle daily loads and reduces injury risk. As your capacity grows through consistent training, your body can manage higher loads without exceeding its threshold, leading to a greater ability to withstand physical demands (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2023.)

3. Gradual Load Progression: Rather than pushing through excessive loads or “confusing” muscles with constant changes, consistent and gradual load increases help the body adapt more effectively. The Load vs. Capacity model advocates for steady adaptation over abrupt spikes in intensity, which can overwhelm recovery capacity and lead to injury (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2023.).

Stop Chasing Shortcuts

True adaptation requires patience and consistency, not extreme diets, rushed routines, or confusing muscle-targeting tricks. Sustainable change is simple but effective: balance manageable loads with ample recovery. Working gradually near the margin of your current capacity prompts growth while respecting your body’s limits. This strategy is what builds physical freedom and resilience over time.

Two Actionable Steps:

1. Prioritise Recovery for at Least One Week: Use one of these examples for the upcoming week: track your sleep, hydration, and nutrition for a week, aiming for 7–9 hours of sleep per night, balanced meals, and adequate water intake. This routine will provide your body with the foundation to handle physical loads and increase capacity over time.

2. Add a Consistent Functional Movement Practice: Choose one functional exercise, such as squats, lunges, or push-ups, and perform it regularly, at least 3–4 times a week. Start with manageable repetitions and gradually increase as it feels comfortable, allowing your body to adapt.

Reference List:

All Elite Physio, 2023. Running Injuries: Load vs Capacity Explained. [online] Available at: <https://allelitephysio.com.au/running-injuries-load-vs-capacity> [Accessed 21 October 2024].

British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), 2023. Load vs Capacity: the good and the debatable. BJSM Blog. [online] Available at: <https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2023/03/21/load-vs-capacity/> [Accessed 21 October 2024].

International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2023. Understanding Load vs Capacity in Injury Prevention. [online] Available at: <https://ijpt.org/load-vs-capacity> [Accessed 21 October 2024].