Staying Active in Bushy Park This Summer: Avoiding Common Injuries

Summer in Hampton brings the parks and riverside to life. Bushy Park fills with runners, cyclists and dog-walkers, the tennis courts get busy, and longer evenings tempt everyone outdoors after a sedentary winter. It’s wonderful for your health. It’s also when we see a predictable rise in a handful of avoidable injuries.

The “too much, too soon” trap

The most common summer injury isn’t dramatic. It’s the slow ache that builds over a fortnight because you went from barely exercising to running three times a week. If you’re returning to running, start shorter and slower than feels necessary, and increase how far you run each week by no more than around ten percent.

Warm up, even when it’s warm out

A warm day doesn’t warm your muscles up for you. Five to ten minutes of easy movement before you start prepares your body for the harder effort to come.

Watch for the sudden ones

A sharp pain in the calf or hamstring during tennis or sprinting, or a rolled ankle on uneven ground, deserves attention rather than running it off. If you feel a sudden sharp pain, especially with swelling or trouble bearing weight, stop, rest, and get it assessed.

When to see a physiotherapist

Most aches settle with sensible rest and a gradual return. But it’s worth booking an assessment if pain lasts more than a week or keeps returning, if you felt a sudden sharp pain during activity, or if something is limiting your normal walking, sleeping or daily activities.

We’re based on Hampton Hill, minutes from Bushy Park, and we see plenty of local runners, cyclists and tennis players through the warmer months. If something’s bothering you, it’s better assessed early.