7 reasons your rehab exercises aren’t working

Doing the rehab but not feeling the results? Here's a few reasons you may not be getting rehab bang for your buck:

1. i) You have the wrong technique

If you aren't feeling an exercise where you're supposed to get someone to check or film your technique - technique can make all the difference.

1. ii) Your exercise is not specific to your injury

Exercises need to be functional for what you are trying to achieve - in running we want exercises to help us manage how we transfer load when our foot hits the ground. As such, open chain exercises such a hip flexion or extension with our foot off the ground don't make much sense.

iii) You're training the muscle in the 'wrong direction'

Particularly with gluts, we can train the muscle in flexion or extension based on your injury history. Ideally, we want to train a muscle away from the direction of injury to get increased muscle activation.

1. iv) It's too easy

If the resistance isn't enough your body isn't going to get the muscle stimulation required. A muscle stimulation should last 72hours after a rehab exercise - that is, a change in function of the muscle and overall movement pattern.

1. v) You are running the day after rehab

Fatal mistake. A day's rest is required in between rehab strength exercises and cardio to ensure your body has enough time to respond to and strengthen the muscle being rehabbed.

1. vi) You're not getting a good eccentric phase

Eccentric phase is where a muscle lengthens still under load - this is where micro tears in the muscle occur which is what we need so the body repairs the tears and creates a stronger muscle. Not enough ROM or doing an exercise too quick are reasons that may affect your eccentric loading phase.

vii) You have the wrong prescription

Reps & sets are everything depending on what you want to achieve. If you require strength/stability you need low reps/heavy weight ie 3 sets 6 reps.

For more an endurance component if this is where you are failing you need higher reps/lower weight ie 3sets 15 reps.