A Summer of Peace & Love: Stay Active & Injury-Free with Hybrid Health Bath
- Rowan Thorpe
- Jul 29
- 4 min read
With good weather, increased daylight hours, and time off during the summer, many people in Bath increase their physical activity, sport, and exercise — which raises the need for summer injury prevention. More people are playing Padel and tennis, out running and cycling, or in the parks playing football, touch rugby, ultimate frisbee… the list goes on.
While we physiotherapists love to see people being active, the sudden change in intensity could put you at risk of injury. Tendons may react to a sudden increase in workload, muscles might complain from a sudden sprint, and ligaments might sprain from landing awkwardly after a spike playing volleyball.
Now, the aim of this piece isn’t to put you off being active (far from it!) but to give you some advice on how you might reduce your injury risk or, if you do pick up an injury, what the best way to manage it is so that you can get back as quickly as possible. It’s more than just RICE!
How to Prevent Summer Sports Injuries
1. Stay Hydrated and Avoid Overheating
It is important that you remain hydrated and avoid overheating when active in the summer. This is essential for both performance and injury prevention.
2. Warm Up Properly
There might be some disagreement around the best way to stretch and warm up for sport, but it can be helpful in preparing you for the activity and in doing so may reduce your risk of injury. Before exercise, a dynamic warm-up can be more useful as it works to increase your heart rate and circulation around your body to effectively “warm up” your body.
This type of warm-up is also useful in preparing your body for the movements that you are about to ask it to do and should include some general movements to assist with overall mobility but also include exercises that are more specific to the activity you are about to do (e.g. if playing basketball you could include some hopping drills, or if playing Padel you could include some walking lunges, etc.).
3. Build Strong Foundations
One of the best ways — if not the best way — to lower your risk of injury is to have a good foundation to tolerate increases in physical activity and exercise. This foundation would include strength, balance, mobility, and cardiovascular conditioning.
Obviously, this is not something that can be gained 5 minutes before you run onto the court but is important to develop and maintain year-round.
4. Respect Yourself and Your Limits
Finally, respect yourself and your own abilities. Try to avoid being pressured into anything that you do not feel physically able to tolerate. There is a higher risk of injury if you do not have the physical capacity to tolerate the load and stress required for the activity.
There is also the chance that if you are not “fit” enough to do something, you may then dislike that activity or view it negatively, which makes you less likely to try it again in the future. Rather, set this as a goal as something that you would love to be able to achieve in the future and work up to this.
How to Manage a Soft Tissue Injury: PEACE and LOVE Protocols
You are likely familiar with the acronyms ICE, RICE, and maybe even POLICE, which focus on rest, ice, compression, and elevation for acute injury care. However, recent research promotes a more active and holistic recovery strategy, better aligned with tissue healing and rehabilitation.
PEACE (Immediately After Injury)
P – PROTECT: Unload the area and avoid activities that worsen the pain for the first few days (1–3 days).
E – ELEVATE: Keep the injured area higher than the heart as often as possible during the day.
A – AVOID ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES: Don’t take anti-inflammatory medication for at least 2 days, as this may interfere with natural healing processes.
C – COMPRESS: Use bandages or tape to compress the area and help manage swelling.
E – EDUCATE: Seek professional advice from a physiotherapist about the injury and how to approach recovery.
LOVE (After the First Few Days)
L – LOAD: Gradually return to your normal activities, using pain as a guide. Early loading helps support tissue repair.
O – OPTIMISM: Stay positive about your recovery. A positive mindset has been shown to improve recovery outcomes.
V – VASCULARISE: Start pain-free cardiovascular activity to boost blood flow, which supports healing and mood.
E – EXERCISE: Reintroduce specific exercises to regain strength, mobility, and confidence at the injury site.
This approach promotes active rehab, faster recovery, and long-term resilience.
Need Injury Support in Bath? We’re Here to Help.
If you’ve picked up an injury or want expert guidance on how to prevent sports injuries, Hybrid Health in Bath is here to help. Our experienced physiotherapists and sports therapists offer:
✅ Injury prevention and rehab
✅ Sports massage and recovery services
✅ Performance assessments and strength programming
✅ Tailored advice for your training goals
📍 Visit us at 28 Milsom Street, Bath
💻 Or book an appointment online to speak with a physiotherapist today.
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