Load versus Capacity
If you’ve ever suffered from foot or ankle pain without a specific ‘injury’, it is completely normal to wonder what went wrong and how you might be able to avoid it in the future. It could be explained by the following equation:
Load versus Capacity
Load can be measured in a variety of ways, such as:
Amount of steps taken
Distance walked or ran
Exercise minutes or sessions per week
Not only can load be measured by the above, but it also needs to consider the intensity or how challenging the exercise session has been.
For example:
Walking up a 1km incline is a greater load than walking 1km on flat ground.
Every tissue (muscle, tendon, bone, ligament, fascia) in the body has a certain capacity.
Capacity can also be measured in a variety of ways, such as:
Muscular strength, endurance and power
Bone density
Tendon spring
If we apply a load that’s greater than the tissue’s capacity,
there is a risk of pain or injury.
A very common scenario is when someone begins increasing their load, without the required capacity. Although it may not cause pain straight away, repeated exercise sessions may be occuring quicker than the body's ability to adapt. This can cause damage to the tissue, and initiate symptoms of pain.
This is very common in foot and ankle pain that includes:
Achilles Tendinopathy
Plantar Fasciopathy
Shin pain / shin splints
Stress fractures
In an ideal world, the following level of balance would remain consistent.
The challenge of the balance, is that
The only way to improve capacity is to apply load.
An overarching principle that was spoken about in the Exercise Prescription blog , is progressive overload.
This is the gradual application of load, that will allow the body to adapt and improve capacity. The key component to this principle is that it’s a gradual approach. Take your time.
But, please be aware. Although the only way to improve capacity is to apply load, the inverse is just as true. If you rest or reduce your load due to an injury, your capacity will follow (less strength, less bone density, less tendon resilience).
Therefore, you may not be able to return to the same level as prior to injury, until your capacity has returned.
Another thing to keep in mind is that our capacity will always be dictated by how well we recover. Stress, illness, poor nutrition, poor sleep hygiene and other factors will reduce capacity by hindering our ability to recover from each exercise session. Keep an eye on these factors to ensure your body is fully capable of handling your exercise load.
It is very hard to predict injury, but keeping on track of your load and capacity relationship, is a great step forward.
If you’d like to chat to a practitioner about your load or capacity, book online now.