The term “Load” can be related to any activity or training component you are completing. The term “Load Management” put simply refers to managing your activity or training commitments either whilst injured or to prevent an injury and, most of the time, we are doing both of these things at the same time.
When managing any injury, the amount of load you do is very important. Injuries are often sustained due to over-load of certain structures within your body but under-loading can have negative effects as well.
OVER-LOAD
Is where there is an excessive load placed onto the tendon or soft tissues potentially causing damage. Sometimes this is with specific types of activity. For example, sprinting or running at faster speeds hurts but you can still run at lower speeds pain-free. Other times it may be that you can do a certain volume of exercise or training before aggravating the injury. This can cause all types of pain profiles - pain while warming up that subsides, or pain during exercise that stops and even no pain during exercise but soreness resulting after exercise.
UNDER-LOAD
Is essentially when you are doing too little exercise or have too little strength. The level of intensity is too low in this circumstance to generate any positive effect. In most instances, when somebody gets injured and has pain they believe the appropriate response is to rest and give the body time to heal. Although this is somewhat correct, our bodies are continuously adapting to our environment and without use there can be a wasting of tendons or soft tissues in a process called atrophy. So even though the pain may have subsided during this period of avoidance; once you return to exercise, your body is no longer in a condition to deal with the stress of exercise and this can generate pain or aggravate the injury further. The concept of under-load can be summed up in the age old phrase ‘use it or lose it‘.
