How to prepare for this Rugby season and avoid a rugby injury

How to prepare for this Rugby season and avoid a rugby injury

by | May 5, 2023 | Active Health Blogs

Rugby season is just around the corner and now is the time to start preparing for the upcoming games (If you haven’t started already!). Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a new player, there are several key steps you can take to ensure you’re in top physical and mental shape for the season.

Let’s talk about the importance of proper conditioning recovery, and nutrition in order to prevent injury and have a successful rugby season.

Training and Conditioning.

As the rugby season approaches, it’s important to focus on building a strong base of cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength. Appropriate conditioning will ensure you have the endurance to last through the entire game, as well as the power to perform at your best when the time comes.

A good training program should include a mix of on-field and off-field exercises, such as skills training, sprints, weightlifting, and plyometrics. A comprehensive training program should also incorporate flexibility and mobility exercises to help aid recovery and improve the ability of your muscles to perform when needed.

Rugby Injury Recovery.

A good training program should ensure that you are getting enough rest and recovery time. Taking the time to properly recover will allow your body to repair and come back stronger for the next training session or game. Unfortunately, overtraining can lead to burnout and injury, so make sure to listen to your body and take rest days as needed. This can include getting enough sleep, stretching, and foam rolling.

Nutrition and Hydration.

Proper nutrition and hydration are crucial for optimal performance on the rugby field. Eating nutrient-dense foods, such as lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats, will provide your body with the necessary fuel to perform at your best. It is important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and electrolyte-rich fluids throughout the day.

Not only will proper nutrition and hydration improve your performance, but they will also help to prevent injuries and fatigue. Adequate fuel and hydration can be the difference between a winning performance and an injury-plagued one.

Rugby Injury Prevention.

Injury prevention is crucial for a successful and enjoyable rugby season. Common rugby injuries include soft tissue sprains, strains, and contusions. A comprehensive training program, proper recovery and appropriate nutrition will all contribute to preventing such injuries. Key aspects of injury prevention include completing a good warm-up to ensure you are physically and mentally prepared to take the field.

A good warm-up could include a variety of jogging and dynamic stretching, such as leg swings and arm circles. Another important aspect of injury prevention is having proper technique and form. Unfortunately, incorrect technique with aspects of the game such as tackling, scrummaging, and rucking can lead to injury. Therefore, it is crucial to take your time and perfect your skills.

Additionally, it is important to listen to your body and not push through pain. If an injury does occur, it is crucial to seek advice from a health professional. At Active Health, we understand the unique needs of rugby players and are dedicated to helping individuals achieve their goals and prevent future injury.  We will be able to facilitate your healing and recovery from injury, as well as work alongside you to plan a return to play. Incorporating these injury prevention strategies and seeking professional and individualized advice will optimally lead to a more successful and most importantly, enjoyable rugby season.

To book a visit simply select your location: Christchurch | Rangiora | Hamilton

The nose: The key to winter wellness

The nose: The key to winter wellness

by | Oct 31, 2022 | Active Health Blogs, Christchurch, Physiotherapy


Your nose is your first line of defense to allergens, pollens, viruses and the cold air. As air
flows through your nose it goes to work filtering, warming and adding moisture to the air so
by the time it reaches your lungs it’s clean and at body temperature. The moisture ensures
the lungs function and can clear debris that does get through and inflate and function
optimally.


The other amazing factor is the production of nitric oxide (NO) in our sinuses (laughing gas!).
It doesn’t make you giggle but its effects are widespread and definitely promote wellness.
NO works as a sterilizer (anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial), it promotes the beating of
cilia – the cells that work like a Mexican wave to move your mucus around, reducing snotty
noses and postnasal drip. It acts as a vasodilator (opens the blood vessels) and breathing
against the increased resistance of small breathing tubes (compared to the mouth) opens up
your air scass – this leads to an overall increase in the amount of oxygen you can absorb –
up to 17-20% than through your mouth! NO also has anti-inflammatory effects.


This is all missed when you breathe through your mouth! You are more likely to feel calmer
as you slow your breath down and tell your body it’s safe believe it or not breathing through
your nose also improves your memory!!
My favorite saying is it’s as silly to breathe through your mouth as it is to eat through your
nose. People often tell me they can’t get enough air through their nose – this can be due to
issues within your nasal structure and sinuses but often is actually due to chronic mouth
breathing. The disuse leads to nasal stuffiness and a sensation of being blocked, so you
continue to mouth breathe worsening the situation.


So….. tuck your chin in, close your lips, let your teeth sit slightly apart, your tongue floats to
the roof of your mouth so it’s creating a small amount of suction, and is docked behind the
top teeth. Breathe silently and feel your head, neck and shoulders relax and enjoy the calm
and wellness.

Written by Catherine George, The Lung Mechanic

Pre-Season Training; is it really worth it?

Pre-Season Training; is it really worth it?

by | Oct 19, 2022 | Active Health Blogs

It’s always tricky to find the motivation to dust off your sporting gear or rugby boots weeks before the season kicks off for pre-season training. Most sports are played seasonally so there is a lot of the year where players aren’t training or playing regular games.

During the off season it is common for muscular strength, endurance and general conditioning for the sport declines. When the new sport season begins, there are massive physical demands on players. Going from nothing to full training and competitive games can lead to injury, due to lack of conditioning over the off season and the sudden high demand on the body. It would be like running a full marathon after doing no training for 3 months, this would be especially hard on the body and most likely lead to injury.

Why is pre-season training beneficial?

Pre-season is set to take place before the competitive season begins to allow time for players to progressively work on their fitness, strength and game specific skills.

Pre-season training gives players time to condition their bodies to the physical demands of their sport. This will not only help with the players ability to reduce injury during the competitive season but also help improve technical skills of the game. Having a good training schedule weeks before the competition begins means your player will be able to hit the first games performing well, and not feeling as exhausted afterwards.

The impact a team has when they start the season fit and conditioned to the sport is massive, compared to starting unfit and having done no skills for months. This can be the difference between a successful season and a season full of lost games and player injuries.

Along with building the physical aspect of sport, pre-season training is great for team building. It is important for players to spend time with each other, getting to know each other, how they play and interact in order to have a cohesive team.

Tips for Pre-Season training;

  • Start off easy. Give yourself time to increase your physicality and intensity of your training sessions. This will allow time for your body to adjust to the increase in load on the body.
  • Recovery is just as important as training. An easy way to target this is to add cooling down and stretching into each training session. This will help reduce tightness in your muscles which can help to reduce injuries.
  • Have a good mix of exercises and drills. There are many aspects to training that are beneficial to making pre-season training worthwhile. Cardiovascular training is great to help increase your fitness. Resistance training helps to reduce muscle imbalance and builds strength. Speed and agility training is great and be sure to add in sport specific skills and drills, so you are ready for the demands of your sport. Stretching is important too. This will help muscle recovery and increase flexibility.
  • Add in fun games and activities. It doesn’t all have to be sport focused. In order to build sportsmanship and increase team bonding, try some activities that push your players out of there comfort zone or away from the sporting context. For example, taking your team to mini golf, or day tramping or even a movie night.

Where we can help:

We can help with our expert physiotherapists. Our physiotherapists are trained to sport muscle imbalances, biomechanical issues and can test range of motion, flexibility and muscle strength and function. Identifying these can be key in avoiding injury.

We can also help by tailoring individualized exercise program, warms up or drills to ensure you are correctly loading your muscles and optimizing your training load.

Our podiatrist can also offer expert advice. They are trained in assisting with shoe selection. This can be helpful to people who are new to sport or people who will be spending a lot of time in the shoes they have chosen for their sport as it can be a good way of reducing injury or muscle soreness.

Podiatrist can also do gait analysis. This is extremely helpful to analyze your walking and running style to see if you need any assistance with exercise to improve the way you walk or run. This can be hugely beneficial in injury reduction.

New ACC Maternal Birth Injury Coverage.

New ACC Maternal Birth Injury Coverage.

by | Oct 6, 2022 | Active Health Blogs

Childbirth is such an exciting time for so many reasons. Women’s bodies have a tremendous capacity to adapt and accommodate during childbirth, but sometimes injuries to pelvic structures can occur and these are called Maternal Birth Injuries. These injuries can have long-lasting effects on pelvic function so it’s important to get treatment and support early on. This will help women recover faster and reduce the impact of related injuries and symptoms in the future. Pelvic floor physiotherapy plays an important part in the assessment, treatment and support of these birth injuries. More information on postnatal physiotherapy can be found in our previous post/article.

New ACC Coverage;

As of October 1st 2022, ACC is expanding their personal injury coverage to include some of these specific injuries that occur during childbirth. This means that women who have birth injuries that happen during labour or delivery on or after 1 October 2022 will be eligible to submit a claim to ACC for coverage of their injury. Midwives, doctors, nurses, pelvic health physios and some other healthcare providers can lodge these claims on behalf of their patients within their area of practice. This might be straight away after the birth of a baby while in the hospital, or sometime after birth when it’s been identified further support and care is needed for recovery from the injury.

The specific injuries that will be covered are listed here;

  • Anterior wall prolapse, posterior wall prolapse, or uterine prolapse
  • Coccyx fracture or dislocation
  • Levator avulsion
  • Obstetric anal sphincter injury tears or tears to the perineum, labia, vagina, vulva, clitoris, cervix, rectum, anus, or urethra
  • Obstetric fistula (including vesicovaginal, colovaginal, and ureterovaginal)
  • Obstetric haematoma of pelvis
  • Post-partum uterine inversion
  • Pubic ramus fracture
  • Pudendal neuropathy
  • Ruptured uterus during labour
  • Symphysis pubis capsule or ligament tear

Pelvic health physiotherapists (including our team at Active Health) are able to treat all of the conditions listed above, however are only able to lodge the initial claim for some of the covered injuries. If this pertains to your situation your physio will advise you to see your medical provider (GP or specialist) to have the claim lodged, if this has not already been completed. You will still be able to access pelvic health physiotherapy using ACC Maternal Birth Injury coverage as long as your injury fits ACC’s criteria.

What happens next?

Once the ACC Maternal Birth Injury claim is approved, women can get the support they need from ACC, just like others with musculoskeletal injuries can. This support might include pelvic health physiotherapy, specialist treatment, support at home, or help with other costs. ACC are also offering traditional rongoā Māori healing services as a rehabilitation option. These services include mirimiri (bodywork), whitiwhiti korero (support and advice) and karakia (prayer). 

ACC Maternal Birth Injury coverage does not cover any of the listed injuries that occurred prior to 1 October 2022, episiotomies, pregnancy-related injuries or illness, maternal birth injuries not listed, or injury to the baby, although they may be eligible for treatment injury cover. They acknowledge this is difficult for those excluded by this change and encourage mothers who may have experienced a maternal birth injury that is not listed or which occurred before 1 October 2022, to please talk to their midwife, doctor or primary care provider about support available. 

As Melissa Davison (Pelvic Health Specialist Physiotherapist) reported in her interview with RadioNZ “This is life changing for these women. The more we talk about it, the more the taboo will get lifted and the more women will seek treatment. And while some of these injuries are common, they are not normal and they are treatable. So the more words we get out there to say ‘hey, we can help, it’s effective’, the better it is for women.”

More information on this Maternal Birth Injury coverage may be found HERE on the ACC website.

Our team of Pelvic Health Physiotherapists at Active Health are ready to help all women recover, rehabilitate and be their best. If you are unsure whether your injury is covered or would like to chat about your situation or book an appointment you may contact our team at Active Health 03-383-6290.