Andy McIntyre (BOst, MSc) says his clinic is always fully booked in January.
The associate osteopath from The Livewell Clinic in London says the reason injuries tend to always flare up at the start of the year is simple.
“Unless it’s a long-term injury, people become injured because they’ve done too much too soon after having done too little for too long,” he tells Fit&Well.
Going from zero to 100—or very little movement in December to suddenly running a 5K every few days in January—is a recipe for inflammation and injury.
The most common ailments tend to relate to overuse: runner’s knee, plantar fasciitis, shin splints and lower-back pain.
Instead, McIntyre (who happens to be treating my lower-back pain from an overuse strain suffered last summer) emphasizes the need to build up gradually with any new activity you’re undertaking.
If running 5K is your target, start with run-walk intervals, he says. Alternate running 30 or 60 seconds with one or two minutes of walking.
If simply going to the gym more often is your goal, start with one or two gentle sessions a week rather than three or four intense workouts.
What should you do if you’ve picked up a January injury?
But what if you’re already nursing an injury from biting off more than you could chew?
McIntyre says you should re-evaluate the activity or resolution that caused the injury in the first place and question whether it’s worth sticking with.
“If it is an activity that is just a means to an end, like losing a few pounds or adding a bit of muscle, rather than an activity you really want to have in your life, then honestly, I think it won’t be that sustainable,” he says.
“Is it worth killing yourself or getting injured because you’re chasing a goal that isn’t going to be part of your life forever?
“Could you find an activity that you enjoy more that is going to be better for your mental health and your physical health long-term without such a fixed goal?”
McIntyre provides his relationship with climbing as a prime example.
“I’m a big climber. That’s what I like doing. But in the last year I’ve barely been going once a week. So, I don’t have a goal in mind, I just want to get back to doing more regular climbing because I enjoy it. I enjoy the people that I get to hang out with. It’s a constant challenge.”
And that means getting back into a rhythm of climbing once a week for a month or two, then increasing the frequency and duration of these workouts once his body has adapted to the increased workload.
That way, come January next year, he’ll have built up enough tolerance to survive a good rest over the holidays and won’t end up on his own treatment table.