The Most Common Kiwi Summer Injury Scenarios

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A Kiwi summer is a favourite time of year for many of us, but with all that fun and travel comes a greater chance of injury. 

The Body In Motion team has listed some of our country’s most common scenarios and causes of injury over the summer months + provided quick win advice on reducing the risk and enjoying the sunshine!

Beach days and water activities: 

During the 2021/22 period covered by the Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) Annual Report, there were 12,977 incidents related to beach activities in the country, including rescues and medical treatments. Make sure you swim between the flags on patrolled beaches to stay safe. If you are not a confident swimmer, go no deeper than waist level to avoid getting caught in rips. Be sure to take time to destress at the beach. Adjustable beach chairs can also help reduce back and neck pain when relaxing on the beach – it might just help your back pain!

Tramping and Hiking

According to ACC data, tramping and hiking injuries account for around 10% of all ACC claims during the summer months. Quality footwear has been known to help prevent the chances of lower-body injury, so check into your local shoe clinic for a proper fitting. Stay updated with the Department of Conservation (DOC) advisories. The DOC websites are not just about conservation but also a treasure trove of advice and safety!

Summer BBQs, parties, and picnics:

Balance out rich foods with fruits and veggies to maintain a diverse diet. We all love a good drink, but ensure you drink safely and within your limit to prevent alcohol-related injuries, which spiked to over 4,000 claims in 2020, according to ACC data. 

Playing summer sports:

According to ACC data, sports injuries increase during the summer months, with around 20% of all ACC claims during this period related to sport. Proper warm-ups specific to the sport can reduce injury risk. Regular equipment checks can also prevent unforeseen malfunctions, which are a leading cause of injuries in many sports. 

Road Trips:

Last summer, the New Zealand Police released a harrowing report reporting 21 deaths on our roads in the summer of 2022/23. Adjusting your seat and taking breaks to reduce fatigue can prevent accidents by up to 30% during the holiday season, when road traffic accidents tend to increase.

Overexposure to the sun:

With New Zealand having one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, regular application of sunscreen can reduce the risk of melanoma by about 50%. Avoid going out during midday peak UV levels, which can be up to 3 times more intense than in the morning or late afternoon. 

Ignoring the pain:

ACC data shows a significant increase in claims for untreated or ignored injuries after summer. Use the PEACE & LOVE method to manage initial injury more effectively in the theme of good summer times.

Camping and sleeping differently:

According to ACC data, there are thousands of camping-related injuries each year, with many due to sleeping discomforts or strains from setting up tents. When sleeping, investing in a good mat or cot can reduce the risk of back-related complaints by a significant margin. Quality sleep can reduce daytime fatigue, significantly contributing to summer injuries. 

By following these tips, you can help ensure that your summer in New Zealand is full of joy and injuries-free. Remember to stay safe and enjoy the Kiwi sun.

References:

  • Water Safety New Zealand (2022). Annual Report 2021/22.
  • ACC (2022). Summer injury trends.
  • New Zealand Transport Agency (2022). Road safety data.
  • Cancer Society of New Zealand. Skin cancer.
  • Dubois, B., & Esculier, J.-F. (n.d.). soft-tissue injuries simply need peace and love. 
  • NZ Police Summer Road Accident Report (2023)
  • ACC (2023). Preventing camping injuries.

Sleep hygiene – what is it?

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Getting your 7-9 hours, building healthy sleep patterns, and properly decompressing before bedtime are just some of the things you should consider when thinking about sleep hygiene.

Hear from Pardeep Singh as he takes a deep dive into healthy sleep habits that can help keep you energised, engaged, and even help with chronic pain!

The Surprising Truth About Healthy Posture

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How many times have you heard “sit up straight with your shoulders back?”

Contrary to popular belief, a prolonged straight sitting posture is actually causing more harm than it is good.

Hear from our local posture expert Paul as he dives into the biggest myth around posture and what you can do about it.

The importance of good quality sleep and how to get it

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What is good sleep?

The recommended sleep for adults is between 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

Why is sleep so important?

Consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night is associated with greater risk of:

  • Developing a pain condition Finan, Goodin, & Smith 2013
  • Heightened pain sensitivity Schuh-Hofer et al 2013
  • Accidents and sporting injuries Copenhaver & Diamond 2017
  • Reduced memory and learning Diekelmann & Born 2010
  • Poorer cardiovascular health and disease Covassin and Singh 2016
  • Mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety Freeman et al 2017
  • Decreased immune system and increased susceptibility to infectious agents Asif et al 2017
  • Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Spira et al 2014
  • Some cancers von Ruesten 2012
  • Weight gain and obesity Kobayashi et al 2011

Conversely getting the recommended 7-9 hours’ sleep consistently will improve your mood, energy levels, productivity and reduce your risk of all the above health problems.

The sleep, pain, mental health vicious cycle and how to break it

  • Poor sleep will heighten pain, delay healing and negatively impact on our mental health.
  • Poor mental health (stress, depression and anxiety) will impact on our sleep and pain.
  • Pain can negatively impact on our sleep quality and mental health.

The result of the interplay of poor sleep, mental health and pain that is not managed well can cause a vicious cycle that leads to a drastically reduced quality of life. Overcoming this is a vital part of improving your quality of life.

Breaking the cycle

Any strategies that target mental health, pain or sleep can be effective for breaking this cycle. Research shows that sleep impairments are a stronger, more reliable predictor of pain than pain is of sleep impairments. Therefore, targeting sleep impairments can be a more effective tool to breaking this cycle than targeting pain. The next section will give you tools you can use to do this.

Strategies for improving sleep quality

  • Prioritise sleep as a vital part of your week and take practical steps to ensure it happens.
  • Make a plan to improve your sleep.
  • Set your body clock:
    • Get regular with your wake time and bedtime even on the weekends no matter how poor your sleep was.
    • If you need to catch up on sleep it is better to go to bed earlier rather than try to sleep in.
    • Get out into natural light as soon as possible in the morning.
  • Wind down pre-bedtime:
    • Develop a relaxed bed routine that includes avoiding devices, work or other mentally stimulating activities in the hour before bed.
    • Write down a ‘to-do’ list or a journal to get thoughts out of your head before bed (this can be done during the night if you wake and are struggling to get back to sleep).
    • Ensure your bedroom is dark, cool and quiet (eye masks, earplugs, fans or air con if required).
  • Bed is for sleeping- limit activities such as phones, laptops and TV’s in bed.
  • If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something boring until you feel tired, then try again.
  • Avoid:
    • too many caffeinated drinks during the day (but especially in the afternoon/evening).
    • Alcohol- even if it helps you get to sleep alcoholic drinks at night impact on the quality of your sleep.
  • Identify life stress that may be impacting on sleep and make a plan to manage this:
    • Prioritising a good work life balance.
    • Say ‘No’ to some things if you are over-committed.
    • Prioritise stress reducing exercise during the day.
    • Use relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and diaphragmatic breathing during the day and before bed.
  • Take a twenty to thirty minute catch up nap during the day. Avoid longer than
    thirty minutes during the day to limit impact on sleep quality at night.
  • Get treatment for pain, depression, anxiety and low mood as these conditions
    are shown to impact on sleep quality.

Useful resources on sleep

Two good websites to explore more info on sleep are:
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/s/sleep-tips/
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/
For a review of various sleeping apps to help with sleep see:
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/apps/s/sleep-apps/
For a simple breathing exercise or a guided imagery exercise see:
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/shift-work-disorder/shift-work-you/relaxationexercises-falling-asleep
For a good blog site (by one of NZ’s best-known pain academic and clinician) with some good articles around sleep (as well as many other things pain related) see:
https://healthskills.wordpress.com/?s=sleep

References

Asif, N., Iqbal, R., and Chaudhry, F. 2017 Human immune system during sleep. Am J Clin Exp Immunol.; 6(6): 92–96.
Copenhaver EA, Diamond AB. 2017. The Value of Sleep on Athletic Performance, Injury, and Recovery in the Young
Athlete. Pediatr Ann. Mar 1;46(3):e106-e111. doi: 10.3928/19382359-20170221-01.
Covassin and Singh 2016. Sleep Duration and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Epidemiologic and Experimental Evidence
Sleep Med Clin. Mar; 11(1): 81–89.
Diekelmann, S. and J. Born (2010). The memory function of sleep. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11: 114.
Finan, P., Goodin, B., & Smith, M. 2013. The association of sleep and pain: An update and a path forward. J Pain. 2013
December; 14(12): 1539–1552. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4046588/pdf/nihms521705.pdf
Fox, J.L., Scanlan, A.T., Stanton, R. et al. 2020. Insufficient Sleep in Young Athletes? Causes, Consequences, and
Potential Treatments. Sports Med 50, 461–470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01220-8
Freeman et al 2017. The effects of improving sleep on mental health (OASIS): a randomised controlled trial with
mediation analysis. The Lancet VOLUME 4, ISSUE 10, P749-758, OCTOBER 01, 2017
Kobayashi, D., Takahashi, O., Deshpande, G.A. et al. (2012). Association between weight gain, obesity, and sleep duration: a large-scale 3-year cohort study. Sleep Breath 16, 829–833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-011-0583-0
Schuh-Hofer S, Wodarski R, Pfau DB, et al. 2013. One night of total sleep deprivation promotes a state of generalized
hyperalgesia: A surrogate pain model to study the relationship of insomnia and pain. PAIN®. 154:1613-1621.
Spira, A1,2 Lenis P. Chen-Edinboro, 1 Mark N. Wu, 3 and Kristine Yaffe4 2014. Impact of Sleep on the Risk of Cognitive
Decline and Dementia. Curr Opin Psychiatry. Nov; 27(6): 478–483. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000106
Von Ruesten A, Weikert C, Fietze I, Boeing H. 2012. Association of Sleep Duration with Chronic Diseases in the
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Potsdam Study, PLoS One, 2012, vol. 7 pg. e30972

How Quality Diet and Nutrition Can Boost Your Sports Performance

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When it comes to fitness, nutrition and exercise go hand-in-hand – you can’t have one without the other. A lot of emphasis is put on training, and rightfully so, but too often, healthy food choices are ignored or neglected.

Read on to discover five ways good nutrition will boost your sports performance. And if you’re confused by all the mixed messages out there on healthy eating, our Tauranga sports nutritionist and dietitian can provide professional, tailored advice.

  1. Consuming enough calories is key

If you’ve ever seen a viral social media post on the breakfasts of athletes like Michael Phelps or Novak Djokovic, you may have discovered the challenge of consuming enough food to fuel a workout. Whether it’s competitive sport or simply maximising your evening run, cutting calories just won’t do. Exercise increases our bodies’ demands, so you need sufficient energy (ie food!) to fuel your workout effectively.

  1. Nutrients mean energy

Good nutrition is a balancing act of macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat) as well as micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). While every nutrient plays an important role, some – like carbohydrates, B vitamins and iron – are absolutely essential for either creating energy or making it available. When you strike the right balance and all the nutrients you need are in sufficient amounts, your body can get the most energy out of its food.

  1. Nutrition aids recovery

Recovery is an important part of sports performance. After a strenuous workout, your body needs time to rest and repair to build the muscles that were used back up. Working with our Tauranga nutritionist can aid recovery time because they help you tailor a diet that will provide enough carbohydrates to replenish your muscle’s fuel stores, adequate protein to repair your muscles and sufficient fluid and electrolytes to rehydrate properly.

  1. It gives your immune system a boost

Getting sick gets in the way of training. Proper nutrition strengthens your immune system, making it easier for your body to fight off those winter bugs. Plus, a healthy, balanced diet from a registered dietitian will help prevent common deficiencies, like low vitamin D or iron levels, which make it harder for your body to fight off viral and bacterial infections.

  1. Specific diets need specific nutrients

Are you vegan? Vegetarian? Coeliac? While you can certainly fall into any of these categories and be an exceptional athlete, dietary restrictions can make it harder for your body to get all it needs. For instance, a vegan diet will require B12 supplements as the mineral is found only in animal sources. A sports nutritionist has the knowledge to look out for nutritional deficiencies common in different diets, and make sure you’re covering all your bases for superior sports performance.

Is it time to see a sports nutritionist?

If you’d like to perform at your best, book an appointment with Body In Motion’s Tauranga nutritionist and dietitian.